O'Kell v. Haaland

Opinion

1 2 3 FILED IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT 4 EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON Apr 08, 2020 5 SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 9 10 KELLY O’KELL, NO. 2:18-CV-00279-SAB 11 Plaintiff, 12 v. ORDER DENYING MOTIONS 13 DAVID BERNHARDT, in his official FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; 14 capacity as Secretary of the United States MOTION FOR SANCTIONS 15 Department of the Interior, 16 Defendant. 17 18 Before the Court are Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 19 26; Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF No. 28, and 20 Plaintiff’s Motion for Sanctions, ECF No. 30. Plaintiff is represented by Matthew 21 Crotty and Michael Love. Defendant is represented by Vanessa Waldref. The 22 motions were heard without oral argument. 23 Plaintiff is a former employee of the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of 24 Interior. Plaintiff alleges she did not receive a promotion due to her age, and then 25 after she complained she was retaliated against for filing an Equal Employment 26 Opportunity (EEO) complaint. Defendant asserts it had legitimate reasons for not 27 promoting and disciplining Plaintiff and ultimately terminating her. The credibility 28 of Plaintiff and the various witnesses is at the heart of this matter. Because there l|| are genuine issues of material fact as to the legitimacy of Defendant’s proffered 2|| reasons for not promoting, disciplining and terminating Plaintiff, summary 3|| judgment is not appropriate. See Wallis v. J.R. Simplot Co., 26 F.3d 885, 890 (9th Cir. 1994). 5 Similarly, Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Plaintiff's Motion for Sanctions depend on the credibility of witnesses. Defendant’s request to limit damages can be addressed at trial. Likewise, if, at trial, Plaintiff shows that 8|| Defendant withheld evidence, the Court can fashion an appropriate remedy at that time. 10 Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED: 11 1. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 26, is DENIED. 12 2. Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Damages, ECF 13 No. 28, is DENIED. 14 3. Plaintiff's Motion for Sanctions, ECF No. 30, is DENIED. 15 IT IS SO ORDERED. The District Court Clerk is hereby directed to enter this Order and to provide copies to counsel. 17 DATED this 8th day of April 2020. 18 19 20 21 bl Ecce 3 Stanley A. Bastian United States District Judge 25 26 27 28 ORDER DENYING MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; MOTION