Hawthorne-Burdine v. Oakland University

158 F. Supp. 3d 586, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9145, 2016 WL 319523
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJanuary 27, 2016
DocketCase No. 15-cv-13285
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 158 F. Supp. 3d 586 (Hawthorne-Burdine v. Oakland University) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hawthorne-Burdine v. Oakland University, 158 F. Supp. 3d 586, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9145, 2016 WL 319523 (E.D. Mich. 2016).

Opinion

Opinion and Order Granting Dependants’ Motion to Dismiss and/or Motion for Summary Judgment [12] and Granting Medicolegal’s Motion to Dismiss [14]

HON. GERSHWIN A. DRAIN, United States District Court Judge

I. Introduction

On September 16, 2015, Plaintiff Dorothy Hawthorne-Burdine (“Plaintiff’), filed her Complaint against Oakland University, Oakland University Police Department, Medicolegal Services, LLC, 28 individually named defendants, and Does 1-100 (collectively, “Defendants”). Dkt. No. 1. On September 23, 2015, Plaintiff filed a 57 page, 300 paragraph First Amended Complaint, alleging Oakland University discriminated against her on the basis of disability, race, and age in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.-, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1981a, 42 U.S.C. § 1981; and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 623. Dkt. No. 4. Plaintiff also alleges various state [591]*591law claims, including violations of Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (EL-CRA), Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 37.2101, et seq.; and Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil .Rights Act (PWDCRA), Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 37.1101, et seq. Id., ...

This matter is. before the Court on Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss and/or Motion for Summary Judgment, filed on October 29, 2015. Dkt. No. 12. Defendant Medicole-gal Services, LCC filed a separate Motion to Dismiss on October 30, 2015. Dkt. No. 14. Plaintiff filed a response brief on December 7, 2015, Dkt. No. 24.1 For the reasons discussed herein, Court, will GRANT Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss, and/or Motion for Summary Judgment [12] and DENY Medicolegal’s Motion to Dismiss [14] as MOOT.

II. Background

A. Plaintiffs Employment at Oakland University

Plaintiff is an African-American female who is currently 63 years old. Dkt. No. 4, p. 2, ¶ 1 (Pg. ID No. 58). Plaintiff was hired by Oakland University in August 2010 as an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing. Id. Plaintiffs employment consisted of her teaching two terms — fall and winter — in an eight month academic year for four years, ending in 2014. Id. at ¶¶ 43-44, 47.

During the first year of Plaintiffs employment, things quickly soured between her and the School of Nursing staff. See id. at ¶ 88. In June 2011, Plaintiff was called to a meeting with the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Interim Dean, and the Executive Director of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).2 Dkt. No. 12, p. 10 (Pg. ID No. 254). The meeting was to address Plaintiffs confrontational behavior towards administrative staff, who Plaintiff felt treated her with disrespect because they called her by her first name, and Plaintiffs refusal to complete required forms. See id.; Dkt. No. 4, p. 17, ¶ 88 (Pg. ID No. 73). Defendants allege that a police officer, posted outside the meeting room, had been tempted to intervene due to Plaintiffs volume. See Dkt. No. 12-2, p. 3 (Pg. ID No. 279); Dkt. No. 4, p. 18, ¶ 96 (Pg. ID No. 74). '

The interim dean issued a letter to. Plaintiff, apprising her about performance deficiencies. Dkt. No. 12-3, pp. 2-3 (Pg. ID No. 281-82). The letter also served to remind Plaintiff that Oakland University required her to complete external grant applications,3 comply with the faculty travel and reimbursement process, and abstain from intimidating, threatening, or harassing any persons. Id. A follow-up letter was sent in July 2011, summarizing the meeting and noting that Plaintiff “made it clear that [she had] no intention of following Oakland University policies or procedures or interacting with faculty and staff in a meaningful, professional manner.” Dkt. No. 12-4, pp. 2-3 (Pg. ID No. 284-85). Plaintiff was asked to reconsider her position. Id.

[592]*592Adversarial incidents continued to occur after the summer 2011 meeting. In October 2011, the Chair of the Nursing Committee on Advancement and Promotion (NCAP) reported that Plaintiff had verbally abused other attendees, including one incident in which Plaintiff started screaming “get out” repeatedly at another attendee.4 Dkt. No. 12-5, p. 1 (Pg. ID No. 287). In March 2013, Plaintiff told the Assistant Dean of the School of Nursing.to “get [her] ignorant ass out of [Plaintiffs] office,”5 after the Assistant Dean attempted to limit Plaintiffs interaction with a. faculty candidate to keep the process similar for all applicants. Dkt. No. 12-6, p. 2 (Pg. ID No. 289). The Associate Dean also reported being frightened of Plaintiffs explosive behavior and that Plaintiff told other employees that the Associate Dean was a “bitch.” Id. Plaintiff disputes that she ever called the Associate Dean a “bitch,” and claims that the Associate Dean could not be frightened of Plaintiff' because they went out to lunch and Plaintiff paid.-Dkt. No. 4, pp. 23-24, ¶ 130 (Pg. ID No. 79-80).

In June 2013, the Oakland University Police Department reviewed concerns expressed by various staff members about Plaintiffs behavior. Dkt. No. 12, p. 11 (Pg. ID No. 255), According to the reports submitted to the police department, three -witnesses reported concerns about them interactions with Plaintiff. Dkt. No. 12-7, pp. 2-3 (Pg. ID No. 291-92). Plaintiff was described to police as exhibiting “very aggressive behavior,” causing fear and discomfort to ■ her colleagues, and making threats against a co-worker. Id. (“[Plaintiff] has stated that she does not like [her, colleague] and that one day she will ‘tear her apart’ and ‘no one will be able to pull her off.’ ”) Despite the behavior exhibited by Plaintiff, it was determined that she was not yet a security threat. See id.

B. Plaintiffs Request for Disability Accommodation

In August 2013, Plaintiff alleges that the Associate Provost denied her request for disability accommodation submitted on May 16, 2013.6 Dkt. No. 4, p. 30, ¶ 170, The Associate Provost instructed Plaintiff to work with administrators in the School of Nursing on her accommodations. Id. at ¶ 172. Plaintiff believed that this “indicated that the University would take no further action,” and thus was not an adequate accommodation. Id.

C. Removal from Campus

The adversarial relationship between Plaintiff and her employer reached a climax in September 2013. A student in Plaintiff’s Nursing 452 class recorded Plaintiff making a twenty-two minute long monologue during class about student [593]*593grading7 and lack of respect from prior students. See Dkt. No, 22.8 The student reported that she recorded this class because it was the fourth class in which Plaintiff exhibited abnormal behavior. Dkt. No. 12, p. 13 (Pg. ID No. 257).

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158 F. Supp. 3d 586, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9145, 2016 WL 319523, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hawthorne-burdine-v-oakland-university-mied-2016.