See v. Cleveland Clinic Foundation

222 F. Supp. 3d 569, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164310, 2016 WL 6962594
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedNovember 29, 2016
DocketCASE NO. 1:15-cv-01894-DAP
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 222 F. Supp. 3d 569 (See v. Cleveland Clinic Foundation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
See v. Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 222 F. Supp. 3d 569, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164310, 2016 WL 6962594 (N.D. Ohio 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

DAN AARON POLSTER, UNITED STATE DISTRICT JUDGE

I. Background

Carla See (“See”) is an African American and, at times relevant, over forty years old. Aff. of See ¶ 3, Doc #: 1-1; Compl. ¶ 10, Doc #: 1-1; Dep. (pt. I) of See 28, Doc #: 20-1. See was hired as a Supervisor II with Defendant Cleveland Clinic Foundation’s (“CCF”) Taussig Cancer Institute in February 2014. Aff. of See ¶ 2.

See’s supervisor position oversaw half of the schedulers and half of the secretaries: about 22 people. Aff. of See ¶ 19. A separate supervisor position oversaw the patient care assistants and the other half of the schedulers and secretaires: about 23 to 28 people. Dep. of Williams 20, Doc ##: [573]*57320-3 and 22-2. Both of these supervisor positions reported to Defendant Cheryl Wright (“Wight”). Aff. of See ¶ 18. Latoya Williams, also African American, held this other supervisor position until summer of 2014. Dep. of Williams at 22-23, 143. Crystal Cernanec, who is Caucasian and under forty years old, occupied this other supervisory position from January 2015 until July 2016. Decl. of Cernanec ¶¶ 2, 3, 8, Doc #: 20-6. However, in between the times when Williams and Cernanec occupied this second supervisor position, that position was unfilled and See was responsible for the supervision duties of both roles: supervising up to about fifty employees. Aff. of See ¶ 24. See, Williams, and Cernanec all tried (successfully or unsuccessfully) to transfer out of these supervisor positions and cited difficulty either with management or Wright specifically as an important motivation for trying do so. Dep. of See 144-149; Dep. of Williams 23-25, 45, 142; Aff. of Cernanec ¶ 10.

While employed in her supervisory role, See’s performance reviews were generally, but not entirely, positive. Performance Review Form B, Doc #: 22-5 (showing See received “fully meets” or “meets most” expectations in all categories during her forty-five and ninety day reviews.).

See’s position was ultimately eliminated in March 2015. Aff. of See at ¶ 54.

A March 6, 2015, letter from CCF to See stated in part, “Cleveland Clinic has made the business decision to eliminate your position. This difficult decision was necessitated by the changing landscape of the health care industry and the need to operate more efficiently in the future.... Finally, the elimination of your position with the Cleveland Clinic will be considered an involuntary termination without misconduct. As such, Cleveland Clinic will not contest any application for Unemployment Insurance Benefits based on the elimination of your position.” Notice of Termination 1, 3. See disputes the characterization of her termination as a mere elimination of her position, and, on August 13, 2015, filed suit in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas alleging nine causes of action arising from discrimination on the basis of race, age, and use of Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) time off. Doc #: 1. The matter was removed to federal court on September 15, 2015.

On August 31, 2016, Defendants CCF and Wright (“Defendants”) filed the instant Motion for Summary Judgment, Doc #: 19. This Motion is fully briefed. See Resp., Doc #: 22; Reply, Doc #: 25. For the reasons discussed below, the Court grants the Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendants also filed a Motion to Strike several depositions, Doc #: 23, which the Court presently denies as moot.

II. Legal Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show “that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); accord Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). “On the other hand, if a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party, summary judgment for the moving party is inappropriate.” Baynes v. Cleland, 799 F.3d 600, 606 (6th Cir. 2015) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The movant bears the initial burden of showing that there is no material issue in dispute. Id. at 607 (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). “A fact is deemed material only if it might affect the outcome of the [574]*574lawsuit under the governing substantive law.” Id. (citing Wiley v. United States, 20 F.3d 222, 224 (6th Cir. 1994)). In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the facts and any inferences reasonably drawn from them in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. (citing Kalamazoo Acquisitions, LLC v. Westfield Ins. Co., 395 F.3d 338, 342 (6th Cir. 2005)).

III. Discussion

A. Wrongful Discharge in Violation of Public Policy Claims

In Counts V, VIII, and IX, See alleges violations of Ohio public policy. More specifically, in Count V, See alleges she “was wrongfully terminated in violation of public policy by being terminated due to her race, age and use of medical leave.” Compl. ¶ 142. See further alleges that her termination was “retaliation, based on Plaintiffs seeking to challenge Defendant Wright’s employee reviews,” Compl. ¶ 149. In Count VIII, See alleges violations of Ohio public policy, as adopted from the FMLA, for discharge in response to her use of medical leave. Compl. ¶¶ 211, 215. In Count IX, See similarly alleges “it is unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee or in any manner discriminate against an employee for receiving medical treatment for serious and life-threatening medical conditions.” Compl. ¶ 221.

The elements of the tort of wrongful discharge in violation of public policy are,

(1) that clear public policy existed and was manifested in a state or federal constitution, statute or administrative regulation, or in the common law (the clarity element); (2) that dismissing employees under circumstances like those involved in the plaintiffs dismissal would jeopardize the public policy (the jeopardy element); (3) the plaintiffs dismissal was motivated by conduct related to the public policy (the causation element); and (4) the employer lacked overriding legitimate business justification for the dismissal (the overriding justification element).

Leininger v. Pioneer Natl. Latex, 115 Ohio St.3d 311, 875 N.E.2d 36, 39-40 (2007). At issue here, first and foremost, is the second, “jeopardy” element. In order to prove the jeopardy element, a plaintiff must show that “without a common-law tort claim ...

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Bluebook (online)
222 F. Supp. 3d 569, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 164310, 2016 WL 6962594, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/see-v-cleveland-clinic-foundation-ohnd-2016.