Ridge v. Ind. Univ. Health Arnett, Inc.

350 F. Supp. 3d 707
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedNovember 5, 2018
DocketNo. 4:17 CV 8
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 350 F. Supp. 3d 707 (Ridge v. Ind. Univ. Health Arnett, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ridge v. Ind. Univ. Health Arnett, Inc., 350 F. Supp. 3d 707 (N.D. Ind. 2018).

Opinion

JUDGE JAMES T. MOODY

This matter is before the court on defendant's motion for summary judgment. (DE # 20.) For the reasons identified below, the motion will be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Plaintiff Tamaira Ridge was an employee of defendant Indiana University Health Arnett, Inc. ("IUHA") from September 1999 until her termination in August 2015. (DE # 1 at 1; DE # 22-7 at 3.) IUHA includes a hospital and several specialty physician practices that are administratively managed by practice managers. (DE # 22-7 at 2.) In 2008, plaintiff was promoted to practice manager. (DE # 22-2 at 70.) The following undisputed factual allegations form the basis of plaintiff's present claims of sex discrimination and hostile work environment.

1. Dr. Desy's Comment on Plaintiff's Shoes

In 2011, Dr. Alain Desy told plaintiff, in reference to her high heeled shoes, "I see you've got your fuck-me shoes on today." (DE # 22-1 at 38.) Plaintiff informed her supervisor, William Waggoner, of the comment and Waggoner told her that he would follow-up. (Id. at 39-40.) After this incident, Dr. Desy never made any similar comments to plaintiff.1 (Id. at 40.)

2. Leffew's Comments on Plaintiff's Clothes

Between August 2012 and September 2013, Theresa Leffew supervised plaintiff. (DE # 22-7 at 3.) During this period, Leffew observed plaintiff wearing very tight, low-cut clothing. (DE # 22-4 at 4.) Leffew also received complaints from other practice managers that plaintiff was not dressed appropriately for the workplace. (Id. at 5.) In plaintiff's 2012 performance evaluation, Leffew noted that plaintiff "[m]ay also want to ensure professional attire is always exhibited in the workplace." (DE # 22-2 at 49.) When plaintiff *713asked Leffew what was wrong with her clothing choices, Leffew told her that she is "quite busty" and "curvy." (DE # 22-1 at 12.) Leffew told plaintiff that she needed to be known for her brains and not her beauty, and needed to dress appropriately for the workplace. (DE # 22-1 at 14; DE # 22-4 at 5.) Plaintiff admits that Leffew did not provide this feedback in a mean-spirited way, but in her role as plaintiff's manager. (DE # 22-1 at 11.)

3. Lehe Asks Plaintiff Not to Attend Recruitment Dinners

In February or March 2014, Lori Lehe, an IUHA physician recruiter, asked plaintiff not to attend any recruitment dinner where a recruited physician's wife would be present because plaintiff was single and attractive and the wife might feel uncomfortable knowing that there was going to be a single woman managing her husband on a day-to-day basis. (DE # 22-1 at 42-44.)

4. Plaintiff is Not Promoted to Administrative Director

Between November 2014 and January 2015, Brian Shockney supervised plaintiff. (DE # 22-7 at 3.) In December 2014, plaintiff applied for a position as administrative director. (Id. at 3.) This position required a Masters of Business Administration ("MBA"), which plaintiff did not possess. (Id. at 4.) During a department meeting discussing recruitment for the position, Shockney stated that, given the orthopedic doctors' behavioral problems, a man could better manage the group because the doctors were more likely to follow a man's direction. (DE # 22-1 at 28.) The Vice President of Human Resources Koreen Kyhnell was present at the time. (Id. at 27.) Despite this comment, plaintiff still believed that the decisionmakers for the position would consider her application evenhandedly. (Id. at 28-29.) The position was later filled by James Parsons, a male physical therapist with an MBA. (DE # 22-7 at 3-4.)

5. Wells Refers to Plaintiff as a "Work Wife"

In 2014, when Human Resources Consultant Rebecca Wells checked in with plaintiff to see how she was doing, plaintiff told Wells that doctors in the orthopedic practice group were being abusive to staff and management. (DE # 22-1 at 34.) Plaintiff told Wells that she did not understand why these doctors believed it was okay to treat her or other staff this way. (Id. ) Wells told plaintiff, "Well, you're a work wife. They come in, you're a sounding board. They can vent. They give it to you and then you make it all better, you know. And then they go about their day." (Id. ) However, Wells relayed concerns about the temper of one of the orthopedic doctors, Dr. Orenstein, to her supervisor. (DE # 22-6 at 2.) IUHA sent Dr. Orenstein and Dr. Hubbard, another orthopedic doctor, to an anger management course as a result of concerns expressed regarding their angry outbursts at work. (DE # 22-8 at 4.)

6. Plaintiff's Wage Discrimination Claim

In 2009, Patrick Adsit began working as a licensed physical therapist at IUHA. (DE # 22-7 at 7.) In 2010, Adsit was promoted to the position of rehabilitation supervisor. (Id. ) While Adsit was a rehabilitation supervisor, plaintiff asked Leffew why Adsit was paid more than her. (DE # 22-1 at 63-64; DE # 22-6 at 4.) Leffew told her that Adsit was hired as a physical therapist, a revenue-generating role, and the market pay for a physical therapist is higher than for a practice manager. (Id. )

7. Plaintiff's Termination

In May 2015, plaintiff attended a non-work related charity event. (DE # 22-1 at 49, 53.) During the auction portion of the event, plaintiff "became part of the auction," took off her dress and undergarments, *714and threw them out to the audience. (Id. at 50; DE # 22-3.) She later learned that her dress sold for $1,000. (DE # 22-1 at 53.) She also later learned that this incident had been recorded on video. (Id. at 53-54.)

The video was eventually shared with IUHA employees. On August 3, 2015, Vice President of Human Resources Koreen Kyhnell received an email from Human Resources Consultant Bobbie Shackleferd stating that she had received reports that IUHA employees had been sent text messages containing the video, and titled "Tammy Ridge stripping." (DE # 22-7 at 4.) The video was sent to physicians, managers, and others who worked with, or reported to, plaintiff. (Id. ) Kyhnell showed the video to Wells. (DE # 28-4 at 9.) Additionally, a practice manager who reported to Leffew showed Leffew a copy of the video. (DE # 22-4 at 3.) The practice manager informed Leffew that the video was "going viral" in the General Surgery department, and employees were asking what was going to be done about plaintiff's "inappropriate behavior." (Id. at 3-4.) Leffew directed the practice manager to send the video to James Parsons, plaintiff's supervisor. (Id. at 3; DE # 22-7 at 3.) After learning of the existence of the video, Brian Shockney, the chief operating office for IUHA, instructed a supervisor in plaintiff's practice group that any mention or viewing of the video must stop immediately. (DE # 22-5 at 5; DE # 22-8 at 2.)

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350 F. Supp. 3d 707, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ridge-v-ind-univ-health-arnett-inc-innd-2018.