Slack v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth.

353 F. Supp. 3d 1
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJanuary 11, 2019
DocketCase No. 1:16-cv-00130 (TNM)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 353 F. Supp. 3d 1 (Slack v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Slack v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 353 F. Supp. 3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2019).

Opinion

TREVOR N. McFADDEN, U.S.D.J.

Plaintiff Robyn Slack lost her job at Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ("WMATA") after refusing to act as the sole point of contact for a procurement contract, which she claimed would have violated the law. She sued WMATA for unlawful retaliation and her supervisor, Judy Mewborn, for defamation. The Court dismissed Ms. Slack's retaliation claims under the False Claims Act and the District of Columbia Protection Act because sovereign immunity barred those claims. See Slack v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth. , 325 F.Supp.3d 146, 150-51 (D.D.C. 2018) (" Slack I "). WMATA now moves for summary judgment on the remaining claims, and Ms. Slack opposes. WMATA's motion will be denied as to Ms. Slack's retaliation claim under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA"), but sovereign immunity bars her retaliation claim under the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA"). Because Ms. Mewborn enjoys immunity from Ms. Slack's defamation claim, Ms. Mewborn's motion for summary judgment will be granted as to that claim.

I. BACKGROUND

Ms. Slack was a Capital Analyst in WMATA's Office of Systems Maintenance. Slack Dep. at 58, ECF No. 51-2. In this position, Ms. Slack provided oversight management for budgets and projects in WMATA's Capital Improvement Program ("CIP"). See "Job Description for Capital Program Analyst," ECF No. 51-7. Ms. Mewborn was her direct supervisor. Slack Dep. at 60.

Ms. Mewborn oversaw "CIP 0027," a project aimed at improving the safety and reliability of interlocking track structures *6and replacement of switch machines. Olumid Dep. at 8, ECF No. 52-4. Ms. Mewborn proposed that Ms. Slack would be the contact person for "all orders being requested that are related to CIP 0027." July 1, 2014 Email, ECF No. 51-8. Ms. Slack claims that she told Ms. Mewborn in a meeting that such a plan would violate WMATA's legal and regulatory obligations to maintain "internal controls." Slack Dep. at 81-83.

A few months later, Ms. Mewborn issued Ms. Slack a written warning about her job performance. See "Poor Performance and Conduct - Written Warning," ECF No. 51-9. In her warning, Ms. Mewborn criticized Ms. Slack for, among other things, using confidential information about her co-worker's salary to request her own promotion. Id. After Ms. Slack objected to the written warning, a WMATA employee relations officer investigated and concluded that it was unclear whether Ms. Slack had used confidential information to learn her co-worker's salary. Jones-Ogunsuy Dep. at 28-29, ECF No. 51-4. So Ms. Mewborn issued Ms. Slack a revised memorandum without reference to Ms. Slack's alleged use of confidential information. "Unsatisfactory Performance," ECF No. 51-11. This memorandum included several other concerns: (1) inability to meet department expectations; (2) failure to meet deadlines and unable to work in a fast-paced, high stress environment; (3) failure to follow up and provide requested information; and (4) failure to follow clear instructions. Id. Six weeks later, WMATA fired Ms. Slack. "Termination of Employment" Memorandum, ECF No. 51-12.

Ms. Slack sued WMATA for unlawful retaliation and Ms. Mewborn for defamation. Slack I , 325 F.Supp.3d at 150. WMATA moved to dismiss Ms. Slack's retaliation claims under the False Claims Act and the District of Columbia Whistleblower Protection Act, and the Court dismissed these claims based on WMATA's sovereign immunity. Id. at 151. WMATA and Ms. Mewborn ("Defendants") have now moved for summary judgment on the remaining claims, and Ms. Slack opposes.

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, a movant must 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) ; see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A factual dispute is material if it could alter the outcome of the suit under the substantive governing law. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A dispute about a material fact is genuine "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Id. "[A] party seeking summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once the movant makes this showing, the non-moving party bears the burden of setting forth "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson , 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

As the Court explained in Slack I , the Eleventh Amendment generally prohibits a federal court from exercising jurisdiction over claims against a state. 325 F.Supp.3d at 151 ; U.S. Const. amend.

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353 F. Supp. 3d 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/slack-v-wash-metro-area-transit-auth-cadc-2019.