Brantley v. Muscogee County School District

906 F. Supp. 2d 1307, 2012 WL 5362281, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155072
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedOctober 30, 2012
DocketNo. 4:10-CV-77 (CDL)
StatusPublished

This text of 906 F. Supp. 2d 1307 (Brantley v. Muscogee County School District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brantley v. Muscogee County School District, 906 F. Supp. 2d 1307, 2012 WL 5362281, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155072 (M.D. Ga. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

CLAY D. LAND, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Godfrey Biggers, Carlton Brantley, Henry Crawford, Larry Dowdell, Melvin Griffin, Pondiel Mabry, William Marshall, Connie McCoy, Hayward Par-ham, Reginal Richardson, Jerry Starks, Patrick Stroud, Larry Thompson, and Calvin Williams (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) are current and former plant services and custodial employees of Defendant Muscogee County School District (“School District”). Plaintiffs accuse the School District of engaging in a pattern of racial discrimination that relegated certain black employees to a modest retirement system called the Public School Employees Retirement System (“PSERS”) while manipulating the rules to make a more generous retirement plan called the Teachers Retirement System (“TRS”) available to similarly-situated white employees. Plaintiffs, who are black, assert that they were placed in the PSERS because of their race and that some of the School District’s employees fraudulently prevented them from being placed in the TRS.

Plaintiffs’ entire case hinges on one former School District employee’s incorrect understanding of the TRS eligibility requirements. That employee, Defendant Kinard Latham (“Latham”), served as the School District’s plant services director from 1974 to 1996. Plaintiffs assert that Latham’s testimony regarding the TRS eligibility requirements establishes that each Plaintiff was actually eligible for TRS enrollment but was denied an opportunity to enroll. It is clear, however, that Latham never had any responsibility for approving or rejecting TRS applications. It is also obvious that Latham’s understanding of the TRS eligibility requirements was just plain wrong. Therefore, Latham’s testimony cannot establish what criteria the TRS used to determine eligibility, and it cannot establish that Plaintiffs were eligible for TRS enrollment.

Latham’s misunderstanding about the TRS eligibility requirements led to some enrollment application mistakes during the 1980s. The evidence suggests that Latham permitted several employees to cheat on their TRS applications by inflating their job titles to include the word “manager” or “supervisor.” Based on the application mistakes permitted by Latham, the TRS accepted several plant services employees as members even though they were not qualified for membership. When Latham tried to help more employees (including several Plaintiffs) join the TRS in 1993, he used the employees’ actual titles instead of inflated titles. In response, the TRS found that the employees were not qualified for TRS membership because they were not managers or supervisors. The TRS also provided the School District with a clear definition of the terms “supervisor” and “manager.”

Latham’s mistakes triggered several School District investigations, which led to process changes in the School District’s personnel department. Latham’s mistakes also led to miseommunication, gossip and [1312]*1312distrust among plant services, employees. Due to Latham’s mistakes, plant services personnel who believed that they were unfairly excluded from the TRS made a series of complaints over the years, including a complaint to the NAACP in 1998 and a state court lawsuit in 2007. What is clear now, however, is that while the TRS permitted a few plant services employees to enroll in the TRS during the 1980s based on mistakes in their TRS applications, Plaintiffs were not eligible for TRS enrollment based on their job titles and job duties.

The School District and Defendants Don A. Cooper, Jr., Carolyn French,1 Marie Stringfellow, and Jerry Duck (collectively, “School District Defendants”) filed summary judgment motions as to each Plaintiff: Godfrey Biggers (ECF No. 88), Carlton Brantley (ECF No. 104), Henry Crawford (ECF No. 90), Larry Dowdell (ECF No. 91), Melvin Griffin (ECF No. 94) , Pondiel Mabry (ECF No. 89), William Marshall (ECF No. 96), Connie McCoy (ECF No. 99), Hayward Parham (ECF No. 100), Reginal Richardson (ECF No. 95) , Jerry Starks (ECF No. 93), Patrick Stroud (ECF No. 92), Larry Thompson (ECF No. 97), and Calvin Williams (ECF No. 103). As discussed in more detail below, these motions are granted as to Plaintiffs’ federal law claims, and the Court declines to exercise jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ state law claims, which are dismissed without prejudice.

Defendant Latham filed a summary judgment motion as to all Plaintiffs. As discussed in more detail below, Latham’s summary judgment motion (ECF No. 101) is granted as to Plaintiffs’ federal law claims, and the Court declines to exercise jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ state law claims, which are dismissed without prejudice. Defendant Thomas M. Shellnutt, Sr. filed a summary judgment motion as to all Plaintiffs. As discussed in more detail below, Shellnutt’s summary judgment motion (ECF No. 102) is granted as to Plaintiffs’ federal law claims, and the Court declines to exercise jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ state law claims, which are dismissed without prejudice.

Plaintiffs also seek summary judgment on their 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against the School District and Defendants Don A. Cooper, Jr., Kinard Latham and Carolyn French. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs’ motion (ECF No. 105) is denied.

Finally, all Defendants (“Defendants”) filed a motion to strike certain documents filed by Plaintiffs on July 28, 2012 because the filings were untimely and far exceeded the narrow scope set by the Court for the filings. Even though Plaintiffs blatantly disregarded the Court’s order regarding the deadline and the scope of the supplemental responses to Defendants’ summary judgment motions, the Court has reviewed Plaintiffs’ untimely supplemental filings and concludes that they do not make a difference in the outcome of the summary judgment motions. Defendants’ Motion to Strike (ECF No. 158) is therefore moot.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment may be granted only “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). In determining whether a genuine dispute of material fact exists to defeat a motion for summary judgment, the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment, drawing all [1313]*1313justifiable inferences in the opposing party’s favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is material if it is relevant or necessary to the outcome of the suit. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A factual dispute is genuine if the evidence would allow a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id.

The summary judgment process requires the attorneys for the parties to distill the record to an understandable description of the facts that are relevant to the question whether a genuine dispute exists to be tried. The process also requires the attorneys for the parties to explain the law in. a cogent manner to assist the Court in applying it to the alleged material facts.

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Bluebook (online)
906 F. Supp. 2d 1307, 2012 WL 5362281, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155072, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brantley-v-muscogee-county-school-district-gamd-2012.