Geer v. Gates Chili Cent. Sch. Dist.

321 F. Supp. 3d 417
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedJuly 25, 2018
Docket17-CV-6161L
StatusPublished

This text of 321 F. Supp. 3d 417 (Geer v. Gates Chili Cent. Sch. Dist.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Geer v. Gates Chili Cent. Sch. Dist., 321 F. Supp. 3d 417 (W.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

DAVID G. LARIMER, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Wesley Geer filed this action in March 2017, alleging that he was terminated from his employment as a high school teacher with the Gates-Chili Central School District ("District") in 2017, in violation of his federal civil rights and tortiously under New York law.

Three motions are now pending before the Court: a motion by defendants Joseph DiMaria and Employee Health Referral Systems, Inc., d/b/a Employee Health Systems ("EHS") to dismiss the complaint (Dkt. # 24); a motion by plaintiff for leave to file a second amended complaint (Dkt. # 37); and a motion by plaintiff to compel production of certain discovery-related documents (Dkt. # 45).

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated, the facts are taken from the amended complaint (Dkt. # 8), the allegations of which are assumed to be true, for purposes of the motion to dismiss. See Koch v. Christie's Int'l PLC , 699 F.3d 141, 145 (2d Cir. 2012). The Court has also considered certain documents that are referred to or incorporated by reference in the complaint. See *420Whipple v. Reed Eye Associates , 213 F.Supp.3d 492, 495 (W.D.N.Y. 2016).

Plaintiff, who was born in 1959, was a tenured middle-school social studies teacher with the Gates-Chili Central School District ("District") from 1999 until his termination on April 7, 2016. He was terminated as a result of certain charges brought against him, which resulted in a arbitrator's finding that plaintiff was guilty of "conduct unbecoming a teacher, immoral character, insubordination and neglect of duty." Amended Complaint ¶ 23 (referencing arbitrator's decision); Arbitrator's Decision (Dkt. # 32-4) at 3. This mostly related to plaintiff's interactions with students, particularly on several occasions when he lost his temper and shouted at students.1

Around 2009, plaintiff, who alleges that he has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder for many years, sought psychological treatment for problems stemming from several causes, including his wife's illness and other traumatic events. Complaint ¶¶ 52-54. During the 2011-12 academic year, plaintiff also participated in therapy, pursuant to the District's employee assistance program ("EAP"). He alleges that he did so at the direction of the District. Complaint ¶ 106. Plaintiff does not appear to take issue with that directive, as he alleges that his participation in the EAP was a reasonable accommodation for his emotional or psychological difficulties. Complaint ¶ 104.

The EAP was administered by defendant EHS, pursuant to a contract between EHS and the District. Under the terms of the contract, which is expressly referenced in the complaint, any information provided by an employee using the EAP was to remain confidential. See Dkt. # 32-3 at 3-4.

According to plaintiff, then-principal Gerard Iuppa, who himself was a licensed psychologist, understood the problems that plaintiff was dealing with, but was generally satisfied with plaintiff's work performance. Iuppa retired in January 2013.

Following Iuppa's retirement, defendant Lisa Buckshaw became the principal. Plaintiff alleges that with the knowledge and support of defendant Superintendent Kimberle Ward, Buckshaw sought to get rid of plaintiff. The reasons for her alleged animus toward plaintiff are not entirely clear, but at least part of it appears to stem from Buckshaw's alleged awareness that plaintiff had opposed Buckshaw's hiring because of her role in prior instances of illegal employment discrimination, against other employees. Complaint ¶¶ 91-93. (Aside from plaintiff's opposition to Buckshaw's appointment, those alleged acts of discrimination are unrelated to the events giving rise to this lawsuit.)

Over the course of the 2013-14 school year, Buckshaw allegedly took several disciplinary actions against plaintiff, relating to various incidents involving plaintiff's interactions with students and other teachers. Plaintiff alleges that these were essentially trumped-up charges and that Buckshaw, with Ward's support, was trying to manufacture a pretext for plaintiff's termination.

During the 2015-16 academic year, Buckshaw recommended plaintiff's termination. Pursuant to *421N.Y. Educ. L. § 3020-a, which generally provides that a tenured employee is entitled to a hearing when charges have been brought against him, a hearing was held before an arbitrator/hearing officer. At that hearing, EHS's president/owner, Joseph DiMaria, testified pursuant to a subpoena issued by the District.

DiMaria testified at the hearing that he met plaintiff in 2014, based on a referral from the District pursuant to the EAP, requesting him to talk to plaintiff about "some concerns and issues the District had expressed." Plaintiff's Ex. 6 (Dkt. # 26-7) at 110. DiMaria stated that those matters generally related to "[c]oncerns expressed by teachers who worked with Mr. Geer or about either some of his classroom activities [and] their relationships with him ...." Id. at 112.

DiMaria further testified that he met with plaintiff on four occasions, as well as with some other District staff members, roughly between February and April 2014. He stated that in general, those other employees "felt intimidated, threatened in a sense [by plaintiff]. I don't think physical threat but feeling that Mr. Geer was aggressive and they felt intimidated by him, and they were afraid to express it because they felt some level of intimidation and retaliation." Id. at 113.

In his testimony, DiMaria said virtually nothing about any communications between plaintiff and him. DiMaria did indicate that he had relayed some of the other teachers' concerns to plaintiff. But following these meetings, DiMaria ultimately recommended that plaintiff be allowed to resume teaching, with "some more structure and supervision," at least initially, so that if further problems arose, they could be dealt with in an orderly way. Id. at 114. He testified that pursuant to his usual procedures, he also conducted a mental health screen of plaintiff, to see if any other issues needed to be addressed, but that "[n]one of the results indicated further treatment or test."

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

Related

Foman v. Davis
371 U.S. 178 (Supreme Court, 1962)
Delaware State College v. Ricks
449 U.S. 250 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Bender v. City Of New York
78 F.3d 787 (Second Circuit, 1996)
Koch v. Christie's International PLC
699 F.3d 141 (Second Circuit, 2012)
Taylor v. Brentwood Union Free School District
908 F. Supp. 1165 (E.D. New York, 1995)
Rolon v. Henneman
517 F.3d 140 (Second Circuit, 2008)
Zdenek Marek v. Old Navy (Apparel) Inc.
348 F. Supp. 2d 275 (S.D. New York, 2004)
Friedman v. Self Help Community Services, Inc.
647 F. App'x 44 (Second Circuit, 2016)
Marsh v. . Ellsworth
50 N.Y. 309 (New York Court of Appeals, 1872)
Toaspern v. Laduca Law Firm LLP
2017 NY Slip Op 7374 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2017)
Park Knoll Associates v. Schmidt
451 N.E.2d 182 (New York Court of Appeals, 1983)
Howell v. New York Post Co.
612 N.E.2d 699 (New York Court of Appeals, 1993)
Lackow v. Department of Education
51 A.D.3d 563 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2008)
Park Knoll Associates v. Schmidt
89 A.D.2d 164 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
321 F. Supp. 3d 417, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/geer-v-gates-chili-cent-sch-dist-nywd-2018.