Bolliger et al v. Dallas County et al
Filing
27
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER granting 15 Motion for Summary Judgment. (Ordered by Judge Ed Kinkeade on 7/9/2012) (twd)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
DALLAS DIVISION
BYRON BOLLIGER, ET AL.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
DALLAS COUNTY, ET AL.,
Defendants.
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
§
Civil Action No. 3:10-CV-2441-K
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Before the court is Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, filed January 23,
2012. The court has considered the motion, response, reply, summary judgment record,
and the applicable law. Because Plaintiffs have failed to raise a genuine issue of material
fact regarding their claims, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment is granted, and
Plaintiffs’ claims are dismissed with prejudice.
I.
Factual and Procedural Background
The facts presented herein are largely undisputed. However, where relevant facts
are disputed, such dispute is noted and the court views the facts in the light most
favorable to Plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs Byron Bolliger (“Bolliger”) and Cristin Chaffin
(“Chaffin”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) were employed by Defendant Dallas County (the
“County”), both working at the Dallas County Juvenile Justice Charter School (“School
001”). Both were initially employed in 2004. During the relevant time period, Bolliger
1
held the position of Campus Administrator, and Chaffin held the position of Assistant
Campus Administrator. Plaintiffs are both white.
In April 2009, the students at School 001 were scheduled to take the Texas
Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (“TAKS”) test. Prior to the testing, training
workshops were held for employees who would be involved in giving the test. Plaintiffs
both attended the workshops. Both Plaintiffs also signed Oaths of Test Security and
Confidentiality. Bolliger signed as Campus Principal and Test Administrator (General),
and Chaffin signed as Test Administrator (Administration Specific).
Plaintiffs worked together in preparing and administering the TAKS test at School
001 in April 2009. They received the bulk of the testing materials on the afternoon
prior to the test. Bolliger and Chaffin worked past 10:00 on the night before the test
began to get the materials organized and ready for distribution. On April 28, 2009, the
morning of the test, Bolliger was present when Chaffin distributed the TAKS booklets
to the teachers, and he assisted her in distributing the booklets.
While the test booklets were being distributed, Bolliger was called out of the room
to attend to other matters. Jennifer Yoo-Schoby (“Yoo-Schoby”) replaced Bolliger and
helped Chaffin finish distributing the test materials. Yoo-Schoby was the District
Testing Coordinator. She did not indicate that there was a problem with the way
Chaffin distributed the test booklets, the manner in which Chaffin documented the
distribution, or the forms being used. Plaintiffs issued the test materials by receiving
2
panel request sheets from the teachers and issuing the booklets requested.
They
believed they did so in compliance with state regulations.
That same day, Instructional Manager Virginia Perry (“Perry”) came to School
001 and indicated she had questions regarding the TAKS test administration on the
campus. Perry is black. Plaintiffs met with Perry, Angelica Borrego (“Borrego”), and
Dennis Vasquez (“Vasquez”). Perry questioned the way they had been distributing the
test booklets and how they had documented the test booklet distribution.
Perry
questioned Plaintiffs’ use of the Materials Control Form for documentation, which was
provided to Plaintiffs by Yoo-Schoby. Perry stated that the form was different than the
form used in the state manual, and asked a variety of other questions regarding the
security of the testing materials.
Plaintiffs viewed the upshot of this meeting differently than Perry did. They state
that during the meeting, Perry never gave them any direct orders or instructions
regarding the test administration. The next day, Plaintiffs continued distributing the
test materials using the incorrect procedures and contrary to Perry’s instructions.
On April 29th, both Plaintiffs received a memo from Perry with specific directives
regarding the TAKS testing, and they state that they followed those directives. Perry
then sent Plaintiffs another memo on April 30th directing them to prepare and submit
individual statements accounting for the alleged testing irregularities.
Plaintiffs
completed the statements as requested. Around that same time, Yoo-Schoby filed an
3
incident report stating that on Tuesday April 28th testing material had been distributed
for the entire week at one time, and that when the testing material was returned at the
end of the day, it was not properly verified and confirmed for accuracy in number.
Plaintiffs were both terminated on May 6, 2009, and were told the reason was
“poor performance during the April State Assessment administration.” Plaintiffs state
that a number of incidents involving African-American test administrators and
coordinators had been reported, and that they personally knew of a number of AfricanAmerican test administrators who performed poorly on the TAKS testing, but these
individuals were not terminated.
After they were unsuccessful in appealing their terminations, Plaintiffs brought
suit against the County, alleging racial discrimination in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C.
§ 2000e, et seq., and 42 U.S.C. § 1981a. The County now moves for summary judgment
on all of Plaintiffs’ claims.
II.
Summary Judgment Standard
Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, affidavits and other
summary judgment evidence show that no genuine issue of material fact exists and the
moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56; Celotex Corp.
v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2551 (1986). The moving party bears the
burden of identifying those portions of the record it believes demonstrate the absence
of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-25, 106 S.Ct. at 2551-54.
4
Once a movant makes a properly supported motion, the burden shifts to the nonmovant
to show that summary judgment should not be granted; the nonmovant may not rest
upon allegations in the pleadings, but must support the response to the motion with
summary judgment evidence showing the existence of a genuine fact issue for trial. Id.
at 321-25, 106 S.Ct. at 2551-54; Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255-57,
106 S.Ct. 2505, 2513-14 (1986). All evidence and reasonable inferences must be
viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369
U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993 (1962).
III.
Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment
It is well-settled that Title VII and section 1981 provide parallel causes of action
for public employees alleging racial discrimination in employment, which are examined
under the same evidentiary framework, and require essentially the same proof to
establish liability. Davis v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 448 Fed. Appx. 485, 490-91 (5th Cir.
2011); Lauderdale v. Tex. Dept. of Crim. Justice, 512 F.3d 157, 166 (5th Cir. 2007);
Hernandez v. Yellow Transp., Inc., 670 F.3d 644, 657 (5th Cir. 2012). Accordingly,
Plaintiffs’ two racial discrimination claims can be considered together.
A.
Applicable Law
Title VII prohibits intentional discrimination against individuals with respect to
their compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment, because of such
individual’s race, color, religion, sex or national origin. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a). Where
5
a defendant has moved for summary judgment in an employment discrimination case
based on circumstantial evidence, the court applies the burden-shifting framework
established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973).
Under this framework, the plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case of
discrimination, which requires a showing that the plaintiff 1) is a member of a protected
group; 2) was qualified for the position at issue; 3) was discharged or suffered an adverse
employment action by the employer; and 4) was replaced by someone outside his
protected group or was treated less favorably than other similarly-situated employees
outside the protected group. McCoy v. City of Shreveport, 492 F.3d 551, 556 (5th Cir.
2007); Wheeler v. BL Development Corp., 415 F.3d 399, 405 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 546
U.S. 1061(2005). Once the plaintiff has set forth a prima facie case of discrimination,
the employer must articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the adverse
action taken. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802; Raytheon Co. v. Hernandez, 540 U.S.
44, 49 n.3 (2003).
If the employer carries its burden of production, the ultimate burden of showing
intentional discrimination shifts back to, and rests with, the plaintiff. Nasti v. CIBA
Specialty Chemicals Corp., 492 F.3d 589, 593 (5th Cir. 2007); Wallace v. Methodist Hosp.
Sys., 271 F.3d 212, 219 (5th Cir. 2001), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 1078 (2002). To satisfy
this burden, the plaintiff must offer sufficient evidence to raise a genuine issue of
material fact either that 1) the defendant’s reason is not true, but is instead a pretext for
6
discrimination (pretext alternative); or 2) that the defendant’s reason, while true, is only
one of the reasons for its conduct, and another “motivating factor” is the plaintiff’s
protected characteristic (mixed-motive alternative). Vaughn v. Woodforest Bank, 665 F.3d
632, 636 (5th Cir. 2011); Burrell v. Dr. Pepper/Seven Up Bottling Group, Inc., 482 F.3d 408,
411-12 (5th Cir. 2007). Here, Plaintiffs are following the pretext approach, so they must
show either evidence of disparate treatment or that the County’s proffered explanation
for their discharge is false or unworthy of credence. Nasti, 492 F.3d at 593; Laxton v.
Gap, Inc., 333 F.3d 572, 578 (5th Cir. 2003).
Ultimately, “whether summary judgment is appropriate depends on numerous
factors, including the strength of the plaintiff’s prima facie case, the probative value of the
proof that the employer’s explanation is false, and any other evidence that supports the
employer’s case.” Price v. Fed. Express Corp., 283 F.3d 715, 720 (5th Cir. 2002); Laxton,
333 F.3d at 579. Summary judgment is appropriate where the evidence, when viewed
as a whole, would not permit a jury to infer that the actual reason for the employer’s
action was discriminatory. Brown v. Kinney Shoe Corp., 237 F.3d 556, 565 (5th Cir.), cert.
denied, 534 U.S. 817 (2001). A “mere scintilla” of proof does not always create a material
fact issue, and even where a plaintiff’s evidence may “permit a tenuous inference of
pretext,” it still may be insufficient for a reasonable fact finder to infer discrimination.
Crawford v. Formosa Plastics Corp., 234 F.3d 899, 902-03 (5th Cir. 2000). Therefore, in
7
each case the determination of whether a jury could reasonably infer discrimination must
be made upon the nature, extent, and quality of the evidence. Id. at 903.
B.
Analysis
The County does not argue that Plaintiffs have failed to establish a prima facie case
of discrimination, so the court will proceed directly to the second step of the analysis –
whether the County has articulated a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for
terminating Plaintiffs from their employment. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802;
Nasti, 492 F.3d at 593. The County has articulated such a reason – poor performance
during the April 2009 State Assessment administration – and it is supported by the
summary judgment record.
Therefore, the burden shifts back to Plaintiffs to raise a genuine issue of material
fact whether the County’s reason for their discharge was actually a pretext for racial
discrimination. To carry their burden, Plaintiffs must show either that the County’s
explanation for their terminations is false or unworthy of credence, or that they were
treated differently than similarly situated individuals who are outside of their protected
class. Nasti, 492 F.3d at 593; Laxton 333 F.3d at 578.
To show pretext, Plaintiffs have first stated that they disagree with the County’s
decision, or in other words, that its decision was wrong. Plaintiffs cannot survive
summary judgment by simply disputing the underlying facts of the County’s decision.
Sandstad v. CB Richard Ellis, 309 F.3d 893, 899 (5th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 539 U.S. 926
8
(2003); see also Perez v. Region 20 Educ. Service Ctr., 307 F.3d 318, 325 (5th Cir. 2002)
(“merely disagreeing with an employer’s negative performance assessment is insufficient
to show pretext.”). The question is not whether an employer made an erroneous
decision; it is whether the decision was made with discriminatory motive. Mayberry v.
Vought Aircraft Co., 55 F.3d 1086, 1091 (5th Cir. 1995); Black v. Sysco Foods of Houston,
512 F. Supp.2d 1030, 1037 (S.D. Tex. 2007). Even if the County made an incorrect
decision when it determined that Plaintiffs’ performance on the April 2009 State
Assessment administration was poor enough to warrant their discharge, Plaintiffs have
provided no evidence of discriminatory motive that would suggest that discrimination
was the real reason for the decision.
Plaintiffs’ second argument regarding pretext is that there were a number of other
testing-related incidents involving the actions of black test administrators who also
performed poorly on the TAKS testing, but were not terminated. To successfully show
that other employees are similarly situated, an employee must offer a comparator who
was treated more favorably “under nearly identical circumstances,” which is satisfied
when “the employees being compared held the same job or responsibilities, shared the
same supervisor or had their employment status determined by the same person, and
have essentially comparable violation histories.” Lee v. Kansas City S. Ry. Co., 574 F.3d
253, 260 (5th Cir. 2009); Berquist v. Washington Mut. Bank, 500 F.3d 344, 353 (5th Cir.
2007), cert. denied, 552 U.S. 1166 (2008); Okoye v. Univ. of Tex. Hou. Health Sci. Ctr., 245
9
F.3d 507, 514 (5th Cir. 2001).
Although Plaintiffs identify approximately seven
individuals who allegedly were not terminated in a similar situation, this evidence is
merely conclusory, because Plaintiffs have not provided evidence of any of the
underlying details that are required to show that these employees were similarly situated.
Therefore, this allegation also does not raise a material fact issue concerning pretext. See
Eason v. Thaler, 73 F.3d 1322, 1325 (5th Cir. 1996) (conclusory assertions are not
competent summary judgment evidence). Because Plaintiffs cannot raise a genuine issue
of material fact regarding pretext, the court must enter summary judgment for the
County.
IV.
Conclusion
For the reasons stated herein, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is
granted, and Plaintiffs’ claims are hereby dismissed with prejudice. Judgment will be
entered by separate document.
SO ORDERED.
Signed July 9th, 2012.
__________________________________________
ED KINKEADE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
10
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?