Candina v. University of Miami

185 F. Supp. 3d 1343, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 183002, 2015 WL 12777989
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedOctober 15, 2015
DocketCASE NO. 1:14-cv-24386-KING
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 185 F. Supp. 3d 1343 (Candina v. University of Miami) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Candina v. University of Miami, 185 F. Supp. 3d 1343, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 183002, 2015 WL 12777989 (S.D. Fla. 2015).

Opinion

FINAL ORDER OF DISMISSAL AND AFFIRMING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

JAMES LAWRENCE KING, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Magistrate Judge Andrea M. Simon-ton’s September 28, 2015 Report and Recommendation (the “R & R”) (DE 27), which recommends granting of Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for Failure to [1345]*1345State a Claim (DE 10), filed December 15, 2014. On October 6, 2015, Defendant filed Objections in Part to the Report and Recommendation (DE 28). The matter is now ripe for determination.

This Court has performed de novo review of the record, R & R and Defendant’s Objections to the R & R. This Court concludes that Judge Simonton carefully considered the record, correctly analyzed the law, and properly concluded that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (DE 10) should be granted without prejudice. This Court agrees with the Magistrate’s conclusion that Plaintiff adequately demonstrated her claim of gender stereotyping in the charge of discrimination filed with the EEOC and therefore that permitting an amended Complaint would not' be futile for lack of exhaustion.

Concluding that the Report contains a thorough and well reasoned recommendation, the Court grants Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss for the reasons given by the Magistrate Judge.

Therefore, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:

1. Magistrate Judge Simonton’s Report and Recommendation (DE 27) be, and the same is hereby, AFFIRMED and ADOPTED as an Order of this Court.
2. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (DE 10) be, and the same is, hereby GRANTED.
3. This Action is DISMISSED without prejudice.
4. The Clerk shall CLOSE this case.

DONE and ORDERED in Chambers at the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building and United States, Courthouse, Miami, Florida, this 15th, day of October, 2015.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

ANDREA M. SIMONTON, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Presently pending before this Court is Defendant University of Miami’s Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim, ECF No. [10]. Plaintiff Maria Candína has filed a Response in opposition, ECF No. [15], and the University has filed a Reply, ECF No. [16]. The Defendant also filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority, ECF No. [26], The Honorable James Lawrence King, United States District Judge, has referred this Motion to the undersigned Magistrate Judge, ECF No. [17].1 For the reasons stated below, the undersigned recommends that the Motion be GRANTED, and that the Complaint be dismissed without prejudice.

I. THE COMPLAINT

Plaintiff Maria Candína has filed a four-count Complaint seeking injunctive relief, reinstatement, and damages against her former employer, Defendant University of Miami (“the University”), based upon the University’s alleged violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., (“Title VII”) due to discrimination based on sex: gender stereotyping (Count 1) and retaliation (Count 2); and, violations of the corresponding Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992, Fla. Stat. § 760.10 et seq. (“FCRA”) due to discrimination based on sex: gender stereotyping (Count 3); and retaliation (Count 4).

According to the Statement of Facts set forth in the Complaint, from approximately July 2000 through May 3, 2013, Plaintiff was employed as a registered nurse by Defendant University of Miami. She alleges that she began to experience unlawful [1346]*1346discrimination in the beginning of 2011, when a co-worker, nurse Donell Miller, confirmed that Plaintiff was homosexual and had a long-term relationship with another woman. According to the Complaint, nurse Miller was well known as a religious woman who freely expressed her hate against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people, and began directing verbal hostility toward the Plaintiff. The Complaint alleges that in June or July 2011, “Ms. Miller made the following comments about a beautiful girl with a masculine look,” stating, ‘“Look at that they are disgusting, they make me sick, they should all be tied at the stake, set on fire and bum in hell.’ ” ECF No. [1] at ¶ 18. According to the Complaint, a staff member, case manager Danny Diaz, responded by rebuking Ms. Miller, telling her that he was ashamed of what she was saying, and that his relative was a lesbian who was a good person. Mr. Diaz complained to the Defendant’s Human Resources department, and an investigation was opened. The Plaintiff was interviewed as a witness to the above event. According to the Complaint, after the Plaintiff gave her testimony to high-ranking employees in the Human Resources department, she was asked if she also wanted to file a complaint against Ms. Miller. Plaintiff agreed, and Ms. Miller was suspended for a few days.

Thereafter, Ms. Miller retaliated by increasing her daily harassment against the Plaintiff, and by telling other employees that she would “get rid of’ the Plaintiff one way or another.” ECF No. [1] at ¶ 21. The Complaint alleges that Ms. Miller created a hostile and intimidating working environment, and “spread the word that Plaintiff was gay and that she had a relationship with another woman,” and continued to verbally harass the Plaintiff. ECF No. [1] at ¶ 22. Specifically, in this regard, the Complaint alleged “Ms. Miller continued to make offensive sexually related comments, which transpired hatred and aversion toward Plaintiff and anybody that did not conform to Ms. Miller’s perception of acceptable gender roles.” ECF No. [1] at 22.

Plaintiff alleges that she tolerated the above situation for over a year because she loved and needed her job. She also alleges that she knew that Ms. Miller had been counseled and admonished many times and had not changed her conduct; the Plaintiff alleged that she had overheard a conversation between Ms. Miller and Mr. Hinds, the Director of Equality Administration in which Ms. Miller complained that she was being harassed but that she could not be touched because she was black and Bahamian. The Plaintiff alleges that in this same conversation, Ms. Miller stated to Mr. Hinds that he was also from the Bahamas and that everyone in the Bahamas knew each other and helped each other. The Plaintiff alleges that, nevertheless, she complained many times about discrimination and harassment to the Nurse Manager and to the Hospital Administrator, and that she was assured that they would take care of it, and that her complaints had been transmitted to the Human Resources department. Plaintiff then alleges that Ms. Miller switched from the morning shift with Plaintiff to the afternoon shift, and that the Plaintiff was then made Charge Nurse of the morning shift. This limited her interaction with Ms. Miller to staff meetings and change of shift report meetings. Plaintiff alleges that Ms. Miller continued to harass Plaintiff at these times.

According to the Complaint, the events that the Defendant used as a basis to terminate her employment • began on March 28, 2013, when she accompanied Dr. Lupi, the Nursing Administrator, to visit patients in the Plaintiffs unit. During the visit, a patient approached Dr.

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185 F. Supp. 3d 1343, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 183002, 2015 WL 12777989, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/candina-v-university-of-miami-flsd-2015.