Fox v. DeJoy

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Alabama
DecidedSeptember 26, 2024
Docket1:22-cv-00141
StatusUnknown

This text of Fox v. DeJoy (Fox v. DeJoy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fox v. DeJoy, (S.D. Ala. 2024).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION ASIA FOX, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 22-00141-JB-MU ) LOUIS DEJOY, ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER This action is before the Court on Defendant Louis DeJoy’s (“Mr. DeJoy”) Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Law in Support (Doc. 75), Plaintiff Asia Fox’s (“Ms. Fox”) Response (Doc. 77), and Mr. DeJoy’s Reply (Doc. 79). A hearing was held and the Court has reviewed the motion, briefs and the various exhibits filed. For the reasons discussed below, the Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED. INTRODUCTION In her Amended Complaint, Ms. Fox requests relief for race discrimination, retaliatory discharge, wrongful suspension, hostile work environment, character defamation, and unknown civil rights violations. (Doc. 4). Ms. Fox claims retaliation based on her supervisor, Sharon Shelter’s (“Shelter”), and other supervisors’, progressive discipline and alleged delayed payments. Ms. Fox relates her retaliation claims only to a December 2019 incident involving an off-duty United State Postal Service (“USPS”) employee (“the December 2019 Incident”). Ms. Fox also alleges that she suffered an on-the-job injury in April 2022, and that her supervisor refused to file a report. In the Motion for Summary Judgment Mr. DeJoy contends that the December 2019 Incident does not constitute protected activity. Mr. DeJoy argues Ms. Fox does not allege and cannot establish that USPS took any retaliatory actions because of her prior protected EEOC

activity or to dissuade protected activity. Further, Ms. Fox cannot prove a causal connection between protected activity and her progressive discipline. Mr. DeJoy also contends the Postal Service had legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for progressive discipline and Ms. Fox cannot prove pretext. Finally, Mr. DeJoy maintains Ms. Fox’s injury claims are barred because she failed to exhaust her administrative remedies as to these claims and that such injury claims are exclusively covered by the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). 5 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.

In responding to the Motion for Summary Judgment Ms. Fox neither responded to the narrative summary of undisputed facts prepared by Mr. DeJoy nor responded to the legal arguments advanced in support of summary judgment. STANDARD OF REVIEW Under Rule 56, “summary judgment is proper ‘if the pleadings, depositions, answers to

interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.’” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)). Material facts are those that support an essential element of the claim. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247–248 (1986). The Eleventh Circuit has expressly held that Rule 56 applies in employment discrimination cases. Wilson v. B/E Aerospace, Inc., 376 F.3d 1079, 1086 (11th Cir.

2004) negative treatment on other grounds (“In Chapman v. AI Transport, 229 F.3d 1012, 1026 (11th Cir. 2000) (en banc), we explained ‘that the summary judgment rule applies in job discrimination cases just as in other cases. No thumb is to be placed on either side of the scale.’ Id. at 1026.”), abrogated on other grounds by Lewis v. City of Union City, 918 F.3d 1213, 1218 (11th Cir. 2019) (en banc).

Relevant here, a pro se litigant’s “pleadings are held to a less stringent standard than pleadings drafted by attorneys and will, therefore, be liberally construed.” Tannenbaum v. United States, 148 F.3d 1262, 1263 (11th Cir. 1998) (per curiam). Regarding summary judgment, even though pro se pleadings are entitled to a more lenient interpretation, “a pro se litigant does not escape the essential burden under summary judgment standards of establishing that there is a genuine issue as to a fact material to his case in order to avert summary judgment.” Brown v.

Crawford, 906 F.2d 667, 670 (11th Cir. 1990). However, a pro se litigant “is subject to the relevant law and rules of court, including the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.” Moon v. Newsome, 863 F.2d 835, 837 (11th Cir. 1989). Thus, to survive summary judgment, Ms. Fox must present more than a “mere scintilla of the evidence” supporting the existence of a genuine issue of material fact; evidence must be presented on which a trier of fact could find for a plaintiff. Id. at 251–52.

A properly supported motion requires a non-movant to come forward with sufficient evidence on each count of the complaint that must be proven. Early v. Champion Int’l Corp., 907 F.2d 1077, 1080 (11th Cir. 1990). Unless the non-moving party can present sufficient evidence creating a genuine dispute that could support resolution in its favor, there is no issue for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249. “In making this determination, the court must review all evidence and make all reasonable inferences in favor of the party opposing summary judgment.” Chapman, at

1023 (quoting Haves v. City of Miami, 52 F.3d 918, 921 (11th Cir. 1995)). However, “[The non- moving party] need not be given the benefit of every inference but only of every reasonable inference.” Graham v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 193 F.3d 1274, 1282 (11th Cir. 1999) “[A]n inference is not reasonable if it is only a guess or a possibility, for such an inference is not based on the evidence, but is pure conjecture and speculation.” Daniels v. Twin Oaks Nursing Home,

692 F.2d 1321, 1324 (11th Cir. 1982). ANALYSIS Summary judgment is appropriate in this case because there are no genuine issues of material fact. Ms. Fox fails to demonstrate any case law or evidence in support of her Opposition to Mr. DeJoy’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Moreover, Ms. Fox fails to dispute Mr. DeJoy’s Statement of Undisputed Material Facts (material facts). (See Doc. 77). Ms. Fox fails to show that

Mr. DeJoy’s Motion for Summary Judgment is genuinely disputed by “(A) citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials; or (B) showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot

produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). Ms. Fox, also did not respond to Mr.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Tannenbaum v. United States
148 F.3d 1262 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
Carr v. Tatangelo
338 F.3d 1259 (Eleventh Circuit, 2003)
Loretta Wilson v. B/E Aerospace, Inc.
376 F.3d 1079 (Eleventh Circuit, 2004)
Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co.
398 U.S. 144 (Supreme Court, 1970)
Lindahl v. Office of Personnel Management
470 U.S. 768 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Southwest Marine, Inc. v. Gizoni
502 U.S. 81 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Chavez v. Secretary Florida Department of Corrections
647 F.3d 1057 (Eleventh Circuit, 2011)
Harvey M. Scharf v. Department of the Air Force
710 F.2d 1572 (Federal Circuit, 1983)
Margaret J. Schultz v. United States Navy
810 F.2d 1133 (Federal Circuit, 1987)
David Richard Moon v. Lanson Newsome, Warden
863 F.2d 835 (Eleventh Circuit, 1989)
Solutia, Inc. v. McWane, Inc.
672 F.3d 1230 (Eleventh Circuit, 2012)
Vernon E. Hargray v. City of Hallandale
57 F.3d 1560 (Eleventh Circuit, 1995)
John D. Chapman v. Ai Transport
229 F.3d 1012 (Eleventh Circuit, 2000)
MacLean v. City of St. Petersburg
194 F. Supp. 2d 1290 (M.D. Florida, 2002)
Russell v. City of Mobile Police Department
552 F. App'x 905 (Eleventh Circuit, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Fox v. DeJoy, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fox-v-dejoy-alsd-2024.