Mignone v. Mo. Dep't of Corr.

546 S.W.3d 23
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 6, 2018
DocketWD 80108
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 546 S.W.3d 23 (Mignone v. Mo. Dep't of Corr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mignone v. Mo. Dep't of Corr., 546 S.W.3d 23 (Mo. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

On February 9, 2012, Mignone met with Function Unit Manager Paden and Lieutenant Penland. At the meeting, Mignone was asked to agree to continue working with Fagan. She refused.

On February 16, 2012, Mignone was transferred out of Unit 6.1 Over the following several months, she worked at housing units all over the facility, until she was placed in Unit 10 in Fall 2012. The explanation Mignone received at the time of her transfer was that inmates had made a death threat against her. According to Mignone, she was told that a "kite" (or note)

*30with a threat had been found, along with a shank. Although Mignone requested to see the items, she was not shown either a kite or a shank, and was later told by Department supervisors that the threat was verbal, not written. Officer Jani Holt conducted an internal investigation into the threat, and issued a report on April 20, 2012. Holt reported that she "sincerely doubt[ed]" that "an actual 'hit' [had been] placed on COI J. Mignone." Holt's report stated that Mignone "thinks it is all a ploy to get her out of six (6) house and I would agree with that completely."

When Mignone asked about the status of her request to be transferred back to Unit 6 in May 2012, she was informed by the Warden that the investigation into the death threat had not been completed, and that her request to return to Housing Unit 6 would be reevaluated after the investigation concluded. Despite the Warden's claim that the internal investigation of the threat was ongoing, Holt's investigative report had been sent to the Warden weeks earlier. Moreover, on May 23, 2012, the Warden's clerical assistant sent an email stating that "the administrative inquiry where the offender made a threat is complete. However, the matter between [Mignone] and Officer Fagan is not so they have not returned her to her post." The Warden acknowledged that, after completion of the investigation of the death threat, Mignone should have been returned to Unit 6, and Fagan should have been reassigned.

On May 9, 2012, Mignone reported to Lieutenant Lorieann Hunter that Sgt. Nuckols had inappropriately touched her thigh in November 2011. According to Mignone's testimony at trial, Nuckols called her over to him at the beginning of a shift while he was seated in a chair, and placed his hand on her thigh. When Mignone jumped back and asked what he was doing, Nuckols said that there was something on her pants. Nuckols denied the allegation.

Mignone was interviewed by Investigator Bill Johnson on August 7 and 15, 2012, concerning her complaint against Sgt. Nuckols. Mignone's co-worker Officer Keithly sat in on the second interview as a co-worker representative. During the second interview, Johnson pressured Mignone to put her statements in writing, even though she objected because she did not want to guess on dates. Mignone felt like Johnson wanted her to write something inaccurately so she could be punished. Johnson raised his voice, causing Mignone's heart to race. Keithly described Johnson's demeanor as "aggressive" because he was very pushy and would not give Mignone time to answer. Mignone became visibly upset. She hyperventilated and passed out, and struck her head as she fell, causing a concussion. Johnson did not get out of his seat to assist her. Mignone was transported to the hospital by ambulance, and was on leave for a week.

Beginning on October 3, 2012, supervisors completed a series of five "Employee Performance Log" entries concerning alleged acts of misconduct by Mignone, which became part of her personnel file. Mignone had not received any such log entries prior to October 2012.

The first entry concerned Mignone's alleged refusal on October 3, 2012 to report to Officer Holt to be interviewed as part of Holt's investigation. The log entry states that Mignone's conduct "demonstrate[d] blatant insubordination" and "a significant degree of unprofessionalism." The entry warned Mignone that "any further occurrences of this nature could result in further action being taken," and that she would "be closely monitored for any further incidents of this nature." The log entry was signed by multiple supervisory employees.

*31Mignone protested the log entry, contending that she did not refuse to meet with Holt, but instead merely asked for additional information. She also contended that the request that she meet with Holt should have been directed to her attorney, who had previously notified the Department by certified mail that he was representing Mignone in connection with her claims of sexual harassment. The Department denied Mignone's request to remove the log entry from her personnel file. It documented its refusal to rescind the earlier log entry both in a letter, and in a further Performance Log entry, which was once again signed by multiple supervisors.

Mignone received a third log entry on December 12, 2012. This entry asserted that, in an interaction with an inmate, she "began making exaggerated gestures/movements with her arms and legs," which were "visibly on display to the offenders assigned to the wing." The log entry also contended that, in later reaching across a desk for paperwork to sign, Mignone "entered [another Corrections Officer's] personal space with her arms and upper torso," making her co-workers uncomfortable.

On January 16, 2013, Mignone was subject to a further log entry, in which she was accused of "sharing information of a sensitive/confidential nature" by informing another Corrections Officer that this lawsuit was pending, and that a supervisor "gave me a write up for nothing." The log entry also noted that another Corrections Officer reported to a supervisor's office with two unsigned, printed copies of a report Mignone had prepared concerning a claim of sexual harassment.

Finally, on January 30, 2013, a log entry was prepared contending that Mignone "was observed walking down the front walk at which time she turned around and skipped backwards halfway down the walk upon entering [Housing Unit] 10." The log entry contended that Mignone's conduct "poses a safety concern" and "appears unprofessional in nature."

Mignone testified that none of the log entries were justified; she explained that the claimed conduct did not occur, or that it was subject to a benign explanation. The evidence indicated that the log entries constituted a formal counseling, were the most severe form of discipline a Sergeant could issue without approval of higher-level supervisors, and that the log entries were recorded in an employee's annual performance appraisals. Mignone testified that she understood the log entries to be formal documents telling her she had done something wrong, and that they negatively impacted her employment. With respect to the December 2012 entry, Mignone testified that it made her feel "[d]egraded like no other."

Mignone was treated by a family-practice physician, Dr. Rodney Malisos, and by a clinical social worker, Christine Urie, in 2012 and 2013. Dr. Malisos testified that Mignone reported being "under a lot of stress," and told him that she was there for follow-up on a recent urgent care visit for anxiety. Dr. Malisos diagnosed Mignone with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, and prescribed her fluoxetine, an antidepressant medication, and the "herbal product" Sentra AM.

Urie testified that Mignone's primary complaint on her first visit was that a coworker at WMCC had opened the bathroom door two times in January 2012.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
546 S.W.3d 23, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mignone-v-mo-dept-of-corr-moctapp-2018.