Conyers v. Virginia Housing Development Authority

927 F. Supp. 2d 285, 2013 WL 695627, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26428
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedFebruary 26, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 3:12-CV-458
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 927 F. Supp. 2d 285 (Conyers v. Virginia Housing Development Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Conyers v. Virginia Housing Development Authority, 927 F. Supp. 2d 285, 2013 WL 695627, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26428 (E.D. Va. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JAMES R. SPENCER, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Virginia Housing Development Authority (“VHDA”)(ECF No. 35). Pro se Plaintiff Nicolle Conyers (“Plaintiff’) alleges that VHDA unlawfully discriminated and retaliated against her based on her race and/or sex in violation of Title VII of the CM Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) during her employment with VHDA. Plain[288]*288tiff has also filed a Motion for Sanctions for Spoliation of Evidence against VHDA for allegedly destroying relevant evidence (EOF No. 29). On February 22, 2013, the Court heard oral argument on the Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons stated below, the Court GRANTS VHDA’s Motion for Summary Judgment and DENIES AS MOOT Plaintiffs Motion for Sanctions.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff filed suit in this matter on June 22, 2012 after receiving a right-to-sue letter from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) on or about April 1, 2012. (Am. Compl. ¶ 33.) Plaintiffs Complaint initially named three VHDA employees as individual defendants: Susan Dewey, Christine Cavanaugh, and Mark McBride. Plaintiff amended her Complaint and dismissed the action against Susan Dewey on July 17, 2012. Plaintiffs Amended Complaint alleges employment discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, Count I alleges employment discrimination on the basis of race and/or sex, and Count II alleges that Plaintiff was retaliated against for making complaints regarding employment discrimination to her employer.

On August 8, 2012, VHDA filed a Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint in its entirety and Christine Cavanaugh (“Cavanaugh”) and Mark McBride (“McBride”) filed a separate Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint as to them. On September 20, 2012, 2012 WL 4338649, the Court granted the Motion filed by Cavanaugh and McBride, and dismissed Plaintiffs claims against these individual defendants. The Court denied VHDA’s Motion to Dismiss, but to the extent that Plaintiff also sought to present claims for hostile work environment and civil conspiracy, the Court held that Plaintiff had not sufficiently stated a claim for which relief can be granted for either hostile work environment or civil conspiracy.

On September 19, 2012, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Sanctions for Spoliation of Evidence, but withdrew the motion on September 25, 2012 in an effort by the parties to resolve the issue on their own. On December 13, 2012, Plaintiff filed the instant Motion for Sanctions with regards to the same evidence as her prior motion. On January 23, 2013, VHDA filed its Motion for Summary Judgment. Both matters have been fully briefed, and the Court heard oral argument on February 22, 2013.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The following facts are not in dispute. Plaintiff, an African-American female, was formerly employed in the Information Technology Services (“ITS”) department at VHDA, a not-for-profit organization that helps Virginia residents obtain affordable housing. Plaintiff began working full-time at VHDA in 2003 (PI. Dep. 32-33), and in April 2007, she became a Senior Desktop Support Analyst (PI. Dep. 44.) Plaintiff was to report to the HelpDesk Manager, who reported to the Assistant Director of Technology Management, who, in turn, reported to the ITS Director. From the summer of 2005 until the end of Plaintiffs employment with VHDA, Janet Wiglesworth was the ITS Director. (Id. at 51.)

On March 6, 2008, Plaintiff was placed on probation until August 31, 2008 for accessing and reading an email containing personal information between another VHDA employee and Wiglesworth without Wiglesworth’s permission. (See PI. Dep. 61-64; id. Ex. 13.) In connection with this probation, Plaintiff was given a Performance Correction Counseling form which provided that Plaintiff was to “use [289]*289the proper chain of command,” and “bring any issues to her Manager (David Kohan) or Assistant Director of her department ...” (PI. Dep. Ex. 13.) The form also directed that Plaintiff “is not to go directly to Director of ITS (Janet Butler)1 without prior knowledge from either David Kohan or [the Assistant Director of Plaintiffs department.]” Id. Further, Plaintiff was advised that she would be terminated if she violated any VHDA policies while on probation, and that after the probation concluded, the “Desktop Services Manager and Managing Director of Human Resources will review [Plaintiffs] progress and performance after the period has passed to determine if [Plaintiff] should come off probation, remain on, or should be terminated.” Id.

In March 2010, Plaintiff was assigned a work order requiring her to conduct a “root cause analysis,” wherein she was to analyze a problem affecting Blackberry users within VHDA management, including Wiglesworth. (PI. Dep. 106, 109-10.) On March 17, 2010, Plaintiff and Wiglesworth discussed their personal friendship in Wiglesworth’s office, and after Plaintiff questioned the status of the friendship, Wiglesworth advised Plaintiff that Wiglesworth would have to involve Human Resources. (Id. at 98-100.) On April 1, 2010, Plaintiff met with Wiglesworth and Christine Cavanaugh, a Human Resources generalist at VHDA, and Wiglesworth informed Plaintiff that Plaintiff was being placed on probation for thirty days. (Id. at 85-86.) At this meeting, Wiglesworth told Plaintiff that Plaintiff had breached her trust and that she would no longer tolerate Plaintiff intruding upon her personal life. (Id. at 89.) Wiglesworth instructed Plaintiff to follow the chain of command and to refrain from loitering outside of Wiglesworth’s office. (Id. at 92-93.) Lastly, Wiglesworth advised Plaintiff that if she acted inappropriately or violated the terms of her probation, she would face an extension of probation, would be referred to the Employee Assistance Program (“EAP”), and could be terminated. (Id. at 94-95.) After Wiglesworth left the meeting, Cavanaugh told Plaintiff not to have any contact with Wiglesworth whatsoever. (Id. at 121.)

Following the April 1, 2010 meeting, Plaintiff continued to work on the root cause analysis that she had previously been assigned, and in doing so, communicated with Wiglesworth directly regarding problems that Wiglesworth had experienced related to her Blackberry. (See id. at 105.) In mid-April 2010, Cavanaugh informed Plaintiff that she was suspended for three days for violating the terms of her probation by communicating directly with Wiglesworth about the root cause analysis. (Id. at 103-04.) Plaintiff was also referred to a mandatory session with an EAP counselor. (Id. at 131-32.) Subsequently, and without communicating with Wiglesworth beforehand, Plaintiff paid for stew that Wiglesworth had ordered to benefit another co-worker’s fundraiser. (Id. at 142.)

In May 2010, Wiglesworth and Cavanaugh met with Plaintiff to inform her that the probation had been extended because Plaintiff had violated the terms of her probation by communicating with Wiglesworth about the root cause analysis and by loitering outside of Wiglesworth’s office. (Id. at 103, 116, 148, 154.) At this meeting, Wiglesworth warned Plaintiff that any future violations of her probation would result in termination, and that Plaintiff was not to contact Wiglesworth directly ever in the course of their working rela

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927 F. Supp. 2d 285, 2013 WL 695627, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/conyers-v-virginia-housing-development-authority-vaed-2013.