louisville/jefferson County Metro Government v. Jill Hume

CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedApril 29, 2021
Docket2019 CA 001906
StatusUnknown

This text of louisville/jefferson County Metro Government v. Jill Hume (louisville/jefferson County Metro Government v. Jill Hume) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
louisville/jefferson County Metro Government v. Jill Hume, (Ky. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

RENDERED: APRIL 30, 2021; 10:00 A.M. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals NO. 2019-CA-1906-MR

LOUISVILLE/JEFFERSON COUNTY METRO GOVERNMENT APPELLANT

APPEAL FROM JEFFERSON CIRCUIT COURT v. HONORABLE ANN BAILEY SMITH, JUDGE ACTION NO. 17-CI-006634

JILL HUME APPELLEE

OPINION AFFIRMING

** ** ** ** **

BEFORE: GOODWINE, MAZE, AND MCNEILL, JUDGES.

MAZE, JUDGE: Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government (Metro) appeals

from a judgment confirming a jury verdict in favor of Lieutenant Jill Hume (Lt.

Hume). Metro argues that it was entitled to a directed verdict because Lt. Hume

failed to establish the essential elements of her hostile work environment claim.

We conclude that the trial court did not err by submitting Lt. Hume’s claims to the jury. We further conclude that Metro was not unfairly prejudiced by Lt. Hume’s

closing argument. Hence, we affirm.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Lt. Hume, as we

are compelled to do, the relevant facts of this matter are as follows. After

graduating from the Training Academy, Lt. Hume began working for the

Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD). By 2016, she had risen to the rank

of Lieutenant and was assigned to work in the Special Operations/Special Events

unit in LMPD’s First Division. In the course of her duties, Lt. Hume occasionally

worked with Lt. Rob Shadle (Lt. Shadle), but their relationship had never been

anything other than professional.

Lt. Hume testified that, on February 10, 2016, Lt. Shadle came to her

office looking for the unit commander, Major Kelly Jones. The two spoke briefly,

and Lt. Shadle left after Lt. Hume told him Major Jones was not there. Later that

day, Lt. Hume received a text message from Lt. Shadle on the “WhatsApp”

messaging application. The text simply read, “hey you.” Lt. Hume ignored the

message.

The following day, Lt. Hume received another text from Lt. Shadle,

again reading, “hey you.” The text was followed by another message reading,

“This is Rob the cop.” Late in the evening on February 14, Lt. Shadle sent Lt.

Hume a photo of a man holding an erect penis and testicles, accompanied by the

-2- text, “thinking about you.” She immediately responded to the message with, “Hey

jackass you are texting the wrong f***ing person stupid.” She also told her

husband about the photo and message. Lt. Shadle’s name and photo was included

with the messages.

The following day, Lt. Hume spoke to several coworkers, who

suggested that she report the incident. On February 16, Lt. Hume advised Major

Jones about the incident. Major Jones testified that Lt. Hume was reluctant to file

a formal complaint. However, Lt. Hume testified that Major Jones minimized the

contact and asked if she had ever had a relationship with Lt. Shadle. Lt. Hume also

testified that Major Jones actively discouraged her from filing a complaint,

repeatedly suggesting that the matter be handled informally, and he pointed out the

potentially negative effect that a formal complaint may have for Lt. Shadle’s

career.

Lt. Hume and Major Jones met again over the next two days. On

several occasions, Lt. Hume was presented with a document waiving a formal

investigation. She declined to sign the document. After consulting with several

other officers, Lt. Hume filed a formal complaint February 19. The resulting

investigation was conducted by Lt. Joshua Hasch of the Professional Standards

Unit (PSU).

-3- On February 22, Lt. Shadle sent a text message to Lt. Hume, thorough

regular messaging, requesting that she call him. Lt. Shadle’s message stated that

he had heard a rumor floating around him and he would like to talk to her about it.

The message concluded by stating he understood if she did not want to talk to him.

Lt. Hume reported the message. The following day, Lt. Shadle was given a verbal

order to have no contact with Lt. Hume.

In his interviews with investigators, Lt. Shadle stated that he never

intended to send the photo or texts to Lt. Hume. Rather he intended to send the

text to a person named “Jillian Smith,” with whom he had a relationship

previously. Smith contacted the investigators and provided a statement over the

phone, but she was not called as a witness. Smith confirmed Lt. Shadle’s account

that they had an online relationship about a year before the incident in question.

On March 24, 2016, Lt. Hasch issued preliminary findings concluding

that the charge against Lt. Shadle for conduct unbecoming an officer was

sustained. On March 31, Lt. Hasch issued additional findings that Lt. Shadle had

not intended to send the photo or texts to Lt. Hume, and there was no evidence he

had engaged in a pattern of inappropriate conduct. Accordingly, Lt. Hasch

concluded that the charge against Lt. Shadle for sexual harassment was not

sustained. On April 11, former Chief Steve Conrad adopted the findings and

imposed a twenty-day suspension without pay.

-4- While the investigation was proceeding, Lt. Hume met with then-

Chief Steve Conrad and Deputy Chief Michael Sullivan. In these meetings, Lt.

Hume repeatedly emphasized that she did not want to see or have any contact with

Lt. Shadle. However, Lt. Shadle later had another person contact Lt. Hume’s

husband via text message and voice mail. In response, Lt. Shadle was given a

written no-contact order from his superior. Several other officers reported seeing

Lt. Shadle around Lt. Hume’s work area, even though he was not assigned to that

unit. Lt. Hume also stated that she saw Lt. Shadle at the promotion ceremony for

another officer and at “Compstat” meetings (Department Briefings). Lt. Hume

also testified that she had seen Lt. Shadle working traffic near the Portland

Festival, even though he had been ordered not to work the event. Lt. Hume also

alleges that details about her complaint against Lt. Shadle became widely known in

the Department.

On December 12, 2017, Lt. Hume filed a complaint against Metro,

alleging that she was subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work

environment in violation of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act (KCRA). Following

discovery, Metro moved for summary judgment, which the trial court denied. The

matter then proceeded to a jury trial in October 2019. The jury returned a verdict

in favor of Lt. Hume and awarded damages of $1,200,000, plus attorney fees.

-5- Metro now appeals from this judgment. Additional facts will be set forth below as

necessary.

Metro primarily argues that the trial court erred by denying its motion

for directed verdict on Lt. Hume’s sexual harassment and hostile work

environment claims. As an initial matter, Lt. Hume argues that Metro’s brief fails

to comply with CR1 76.12(c)(v). Lt. Hume notes that the brief fails to comply with

the rule because it does not include references to the record at the beginning of

each argument showing where the issue was properly preserved and in what

manner. However, we note that Metro’s statement of the case does include a

reference to the record indicating that Metro moved for a directed verdict. While

this is not strictly in compliance with the rule, the reference at that point in the

brief could be sufficient to show that the issue was preserved for review.

We are more concerned that the reference in Metro’s brief only states

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