Lohrasbi v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

147 F. Supp. 3d 746, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159771, 2015 WL 7720459
District Court, C.D. Illinois·Decided November 29, 2015·No. No. 13-3105·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

OPINION

. SUE E. MYERSCOUGH, United States District Judge:

Before the Court is Defendant Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois’s Renewed and Revised Motion for Summary Judgment (d/e 37), pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 56. The MOTION is GRANTED because Plaintiff Ardeshir Lohrasbi’s claim is time-barred and the doctrine of equitable tolling does not apply.

I. BACKGROUND

On June 24, 2013, Plaintiff filed a Complaint in this Court against the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (“Defendant”). Plaintiff claims he suffered adverse employment actions based on Defendant’s decisions to serve him with a notice of trespass, to place him on administrative leave pending an evaluation of his'fitness to work, and to deny him the status and benefits of Professor Emiritus. These decisions, Plaintiff alleges, were discriminatory actions motivated by Plaintiff’s race and national origin'.

Plaintiff is a citizen of the United States Who was born in Iran. Plaintiff suffers from essential" tremors, a medical condition causing him to shake. In 1980, he began working at the University of "Illinois at Springfiéld and, in 1986, he was made a tenured professor. Plaintiffs last position at the University of Illinois at Springfield was Associate Professor of Business Administration in the College of Business. The Springfield campus is part of the University of Illinois system, 110 ILCS 327/40-5, which is governed by Defendant, the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 110 ILCS 327/40-5. .

In June of 2011, Plaintiff decided to retire and entered into- a Resignation Agreement with Defendant, to be effective December 30, 2011. Plaintiff voluntarily signed the agreement on June 16, 2011. Defendant, through the Dean of the College of "Business and Management, Ron McNeil, signed the agreement on June 17, 2011. In consideration- of Plaintiff’s retirement, Defendant agreed to pay Plaintiff a one-time payment of $21,345, as well as compensation for other research and teaching commitments previously, made by Plaintiff. The Resignation Agreement contained an integration clause stating that “No amendment, modification or alteration of this Agreement shall be binding unless in writing, dated subsequent to the date hereof, and duly executed by both parties hereto.” Def. Renewed and Revised Mot. Summ. J. (d/e 37-23) at 11-12.

On June 27, 2011, Dean McNeil wrote a letter to Plaintiff advising him. that McNeil would inform the Chair of the Department of Business Administration that McNeil was recommending Plaintiff for emeritus status and that McNeil would endorse a recommendation from the Department for such status. Def. Renewed and Revised Mot. Summ. J. Exh. (d/e 37-23) at 16. Additionally, the letter advised Plaintiff that “[i]t is the College’s plan and commitment” for Plaintiff to continue to teach three sections per year, an option for Professors Emeriti. Id. The letter was signed by both Dean McNeil and Plaintiff.

In August of 2011, Plaintiff communicated to Dean McNeil on at least two occasions that Plaintiff would like to delay his retirement or otherwise continue to teach in the spring because of impending financial issues concerning a potential recurrence of his wife’s cancer. Dean McNeil notified Interim Provost Lynn Pardie of Plaintiffs wishes to delay retirement via memorandum on two occasions. Provost [749]*749Pardie later informed Dean McNeil that the University could not grant Plaintiffs request because the University would ‘hot alter the resignation agreement and faculty members cannot be rehired ^thin 60 days of retirement. It is unclear when Plaintiff was notified of the University’s decision.

On November 14, 2011, Plaintiff was discussing the pending decision regarding his retirement with Dean McNeil’s, assistant, Patty Sanchez. At one point, during the conversation, Ms. Sanchez heard Plaintiff use the phrase “maybe a machine gun,” though she was unaware of the cbritext of the comment. Plaintiff -maintains he was referring to people using guns to commit suicide, as, earlier that day, he had attended a celebration of life for his friend and mentor Dennis Camp who had shot himself. Ms. Sanchez did not feel threatened or concerned by the comment or the conversation at the time. Over the following weekend, Ms. Sanchez, determined she should report Plaintiffs comments. Ms. Sanchez reported the comment to the University’s Attorney Mark Henss.

As a result of Ms. Sanchez’s reporting the comment, Chief of the University Police, Donald Mitchell initiated a report and assigned Officers Jerry Kuchar arid Amanda Baughman to follow up. During ari interview with Plaintiff regarding the incident, Chief Mitchell asked Plaintiff three questions regarding the “machine gun” statement. Chief’Mitchell asked Plaintiff if Plaintiff made the utterance “maybe a machine gun?” and Plaintiff responded that he did not recall or that he did' riOt know what the Chief was talking about. It is not clear whether Chief Mitchell provided any context for the question, such as when or to whom Plaintiff allegedly made the utterance. Chief Mitchell asked Plaintiff if he owned a gun, and Plaintiff responded that he did not and that his culture ■ did not allow for the possession of a gun except in war. Chief Mitchell asked Plaintiff if he felt like he wanted to hurt someone or himself, and Plaintiff responded that he did not and he would not kill himself because his wife had cancer and his family would be left with nothing. According to Chief Mitchell, his officers asked several other questions, and Plaintiff told officers about the situation surrounding his retirement. Def. Renewed and Revised Mot. Summ. J. Exh. (d/e 3746) at 6-8. Chief Mitchell stated that, during the interview, Plaintiff appeared to be nervous, trembling, and sweaty, that his voice went up and down, and Plaintiff could not stay focused on the conversation. Id. at 5-7.

Based upon the statement reported by Ms. Sanchez, his interview with Plaintiff, and the recent history of school shootings nationally, Chief Mitchell decided to issue Plaintiff a “Notice of Trespass” because Chief Mitchell believed that Plaintiff was potentially a danger to the University community. On November 28, 2015, after discussing the “machine gun” comment, the University Administration also decided to investigate. Dean McNeil was asked to evaluate. Plaintiff’s behavior. Dean McNeil ran into Plaintiff in the hallway later that day. The details of the encounter are disputed, but Dean McNeil stated that he found Plaintiffs behavior concerning and reported as much to Provost Pardie. Dean McNeil also asked Plaintiff to see Interim Human Resources Director Robert Lael. It is unclear what was stated to Plaintiff about the purpose of the meeting with Director Lael.

At the meeting with Director Lael, Plaintiff was asked whether he needed any help. Plaintiff responded that he did not. The context of the conversation is unclear. Defendant suggests it was about Plaintiffs behavior and Defendant’s concerns. Plaintiff suggests it was about his retirement situation. Based upon the meeting with [750]*750Director Lael and Dean McNeil’s stated concerns, a meeting was scheduled for December 1, 2011 to address the situation with Plaintiff.

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

Lohrasbi v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 147 F. Supp. 3d 746, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 159771, 2015 WL 7720459 (C.D. Ill. 2015).

147 F. Supp. 3d 746 (Lohrasbi v. Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related