Kirschling v. Atlantic City Board of Education

10 F. Supp. 3d 587, 2014 WL 1301695, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43233
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedMarch 31, 2014
DocketCivil No. 11-4479 (NLH/JS)
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 10 F. Supp. 3d 587 (Kirschling v. Atlantic City Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kirschling v. Atlantic City Board of Education, 10 F. Supp. 3d 587, 2014 WL 1301695, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43233 (D.N.J. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

HILLMAN, District Judge:

This matter comes before the Court by way of Defendant Atlantic City Board of Education’s motion [Doc. No. 58] for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. The Court has reviewed the parties’ submissions and decides this matter pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 78.

For the reasons expressed below, Defendant’s motion will be granted.

I. JURISDICTION

Plaintiff brings this action against Defendant Atlantic City Board of Education (“Defendant” or “the Board”) asserting claims under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”), N.J. Stat. ANN. § 10:5-1 et seq. Plaintiff originally filed suit against the Board in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic County, Law Division. The Board subsequently removed the action to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 et seq., asserting that original jurisdiction exists over Plaintiffs state law claim based on diversity of citizenship. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

On November 15, 2011, the Court issued an Order directing the defendant to clarify its assertion of diversity jurisdiction. In response, the Board filed an amended notice of removal. The Court having been satisfied that complete diversity of citizenship exists 1 and that the exercise of jurisdiction here is proper,2 the case proceeded [591]*591through discovery to the filing of the Board’s motion for summary judgment.

II. BACKGROUND

The Board “is a public entity responsible for the education and well-being of more than 7,000 students in the Atlantic city area.” (Def.’s Statement of Undisputed Material Facts [Doc. No. 58-5] (hereinafter, “Board’s SOF”), ¶ 1; Pl.’s Reply to Statement of Undisputed Material Facts [Doc. No. 64] (hereinafter, “Pl.’s Reply SOF”), ¶ 1.) Plaintiff, a Caucasian3 male, is a former employee of the Board who was hired in July 2000 as the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources — a position he held until July 31, 2009. (Board’s SOF ¶¶ 4-5, 8; Pl.’s Reply SOF ¶¶4-5, 8.) Approximately two years after his employment by the Board ended, Plaintiff filed the complaint in this action alleging that the Board violated the NJLAD when it constructively discharged Plaintiff because of his Caucasian race. (Board’s SOF ¶¶ 18-19; Pl.’s Reply SOF ¶¶ 18-19.)

In his complaint, Plaintiff alleges that he was constructively discharged “because, as was directly told to Plaintiff, the [Board] sought to place a black (African-American) in his position” in order to “ensure the hiring of African-Americans with personal, familial and financial ties to ... African-American Board members” and to “increase the number of African-American employees” in the Atlantic City School District. (Compl., Ex. A to Amended Notice of Removal, [Doc. No. 10-1] ¶¶ 8-9.) Plaintiff further alleges that the Board “replaced Plaintiff with an African-American female.” (Id. ¶ 10.) The Board, however, denies that it discriminated against Plaintiff on the basis of his race and disputes Plaintiffs characterization of his separation from employment with the Board on July 31, 2009. The Board contends that “[t]oward the end of his 2007 employment contract, Plaintiff retired and tendered his resignation.” (Board’s SOF ¶ 11; see also PL’s July 13, 2009 Resignation Letter, Ex. K to Certification of Peter Perla, Esq. [Doc. No. 58-4].)

Plaintiff denies that his “resignation was done voluntarily” and contends that he was “forced to retire and did so a year before the expiration of his three year contract.” (PL’s Reply SOF ¶ 11.) Plaintiff contends that ultimately he believed that the Board “would stop at [nothing] to remove him” and therefore, he resigned his position effective July 31, 2009. (PL’s Counter Statement of Material Facts [Doc. No. 64] (hereinafter, “PL’s Counter SOF”), ¶ 97.) According to Plaintiffs testimony, his belief that the Board would stop at nothing to remove him stemmed from the following: (1) he was told that the Board “wanted a black administrator in his position” and informed him “of the individual who would replace him”; (2) he was told by a Board member that the Board member was “going to get him”; (3) he was subjected to “so much unfounded criticism” for his implementation of a drug testing policy that the Superintendent attended “Personnel Committee meetings to act as a buffer” between Plaintiff and Board members on the Committee; (4) he was subjected to “rehashed challenges to his accumulated sick, comp and vacation time” despite previous Board audits on the issue; (5) he was “improperly stripped of ... over 120 accumulated sick and vacation days”; (6) he was subjected to three memoranda in February and March of [592]*5922009 which “he knew would eventually be mutated into criminal allegations”; (7) he observed that the Board “ignored exculpatory documents”; (8) he was suspended from his position with pay on March 4, 2009; (9) he was “subjected to public ridicule in both the Atlantic City Press and radio”; and (10) he was “so riddled with anxiety and stress that he” sought medical treatment in March of 2009. (Id. ¶ 97) (citing Dep. Tr. of Thomas Kirschling, Ex. I to Pl.’s Opp’n, 381:21-383:23).4

III. DISCUSSION

A. Summary Judgment Standard

In the present motion, the Board seeks the entry of summary judgment in its favor on Plaintiffs sole claim under the NJLAD.5 Summary judgment is appropriate where the Court is satisfied that “ ‘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, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 56).

An issue is “genuine” if it is supported by evidence such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict in the nonmoving party’s favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is “material” if, under the governing substantive law, a dispute about the fact might affect the outcome of the suit. Id. “In considering a motion for summary judgment, a district court may not make credibility determinations or engage in any weighing of the evidence; instead, the nonmoving party’s evidence ‘is to be believed and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor.’ ” Marino v. Indus. Crating Co., 358 F.3d 241, 247 (3d Cir.2004) (citing Anderson, 471 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505).

Initially, the moving party bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.

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Bluebook (online)
10 F. Supp. 3d 587, 2014 WL 1301695, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43233, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kirschling-v-atlantic-city-board-of-education-njd-2014.