Tompkins v. Montgomery County Board of Education

926 F. Supp. 2d 1274, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22822, 2013 WL 627123
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedFebruary 20, 2013
DocketCase No. 2:10-cv-1015-MEF
StatusPublished

This text of 926 F. Supp. 2d 1274 (Tompkins v. Montgomery County Board of Education) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tompkins v. Montgomery County Board of Education, 926 F. Supp. 2d 1274, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22822, 2013 WL 627123 (M.D. Ala. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

MARK E. FULLER, District Judge.

After an independent review of the file, it is the ORDER, JUDGMENT and DECREE of the court that:

1. The plaintiffs objection (Doc. # 131) to the Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge filed on January 31, 2013 are overruled;

2. The Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge (Doc. # 129) entered on January 16, 2013 is adopted;

3. The defendant’s Motion for summary Judgment (Doc. # 122) is GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED.

RECOMMENDATION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE

WALLACE CAPEL, JR., United States Magistrate Judge.

Before the court is Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 122) and Plaintiffs Response in Opposition (Doc. 126). On December 3, 2010, the District Judge referred this case to the undersigned Magistrate Judge “for all pretrial proceedings and entry of any orders or recommendations as may be appropriate.” Order (Doc. 3).

Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, filed his original Complaint on November 30, 2010 and raised claims pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.; and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985. The Complaint named as defendants: the Montgomery County Board of Education, the Board members, and certain named employees of the Board; Don E. Williams, the “Hearing Officer” who presided over Plaintiffs administrative challenge to his termination; and Charles Norton, a union attorney from the Alabama Education As[1277]*1277sociation, who initially served as Plaintiffs attorney in the hearing challenging his termination. All of the named defendants filed motions to dismiss. On August 15, 2011, 2011 WL 3584306, the District Judge entered an Order (Doc. 60) adopting the undersigned’s Recommendation and dismissing Plaintiffs Title IX, and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 claims as to all defendants and dismissing all defendants, with the exception of the Montgomery County Board of Education, as parties to this action. Accordingly, the only remaining claim is Plaintiffs Title VII claim against the Montgomery County Board of Education. On October 19, 2012, the sole remaining defendant, the Montgomery County Board of Education (“Defendant”), filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 122).

After a review of Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 122), Plaintiffs Opposition (Doc. 126) and supporting briefs, and for the reasons that follow, the undersigned RECOMMENDS that Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 122) be GRANTED.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

The court has carefully considered the pleadings in this case and all documents submitted in support of, and in opposition to, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. The submissions of the parties, viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, establish the following relevant facts:

Plaintiff is an African American male. Plaintiff began his employment with the Montgomery County Board of Education on or around October 26, 1998, as a physical education teacher/coach and was assigned to the Montgomery County Youth Facility.

In April 2006, Plaintiff was detained at the Montgomery Youth Facility by a bailiff and sheriff regarding a personal matter. On April 12, 2006, Plaintiff was placed on paid administrative leave until April 17, 2006 (three days) while the matter was investigated.

Plaintiff requested and on December 8, 2006, received a transfer from his position as a Science and Physical Education Teacher at the Montgomery Youth Facility to a new position as a Physical Education Teacher at FEWS Secondary Alternative School (“FEWS”). The transfer was effective January 2, 2007. FEWS is an alternative school facility for students with disciplinary problems. Lorenzo Pharrams (“Pharrams”) was the principal of FEWS and served as Plaintiffs direct supervisor.

Sometime after beginning his term of employment at FEWS, a female student accused Plaintiff of sexual harassment or inappropriate conduct. Plaintiff was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation of the charges against him. Pharrams conducted an investigation and concluded Plaintiff was not guilty of the accusations. On October 27, 2008, Plaintiff sent an email to Pharrams stating that the female student who had made the accusations against him had been reassigned to his class.

In or around November 2008, Plaintiff videotaped students misbehaving in his classroom.

On or about December 10, 2008, Plaintiff filed a grievance with Pharrams. Plaintiffs grievance included allegations concerning “personnel files,” “unfair change in working conditions and student suspension,” “unfair working conditions,” and “Student arrest and discipline records.” Essentially, Plaintiff alleged that the Board: 1) denied him access to his personnel records, including development plans and evaluations, and released confidential information from his personnel file, specifi[1278]*1278cally his social security number and date of birth; 2) allowed disruptive students to return to his classroom; 3) arbitrarily assigned him too many students; and 4) removed reports of errant students from student files.

On January 5, 2009, Plaintiff filed a notice of appeal relating to his December 10, 2008 employee grievance, as amended on December 19, 2008, stating that his immediate supervisor, Pharrams, was nonresponsive.

On January 12, 2009, Pharrams responded in writing to each of the four items listed on Plaintiffs grievance (level I grievance response). In his response, Pharrams warned Plaintiff to stop videotaping his students, stating “There are board and school approved policies that are currently in place as it relates to documentation of student behavior but video taping your under aged students is not one of them.” Def.’s Ex. D (Doc. 123-4) at 2. Plaintiff was placed on administrative leave with pay, beginning January 13, 2009, pending an investigation of his grievance.

On January 14, 2009, Plaintiff appealed Pharrams’s response to his grievance. On January 16, 2009, Jimmy Barker (“Barker”), Assistant Superintendent, Office of Human Resources, responded to Plaintiffs grievance in a follow-up letter. Barker’s letter reminded Plaintiff to “cease and desist in the video taping of [his] classroom until such time that a legal opinion regarding possible FERPA violations can be ascertained by this office.” Def.’s Ex. E (Doc. 123-5) at 3. Also on January 16, 2009, Barker responded in writing to Plaintiffs grievance (level II grievance response).

On or around January 16, 2009, radio station personality Kevin Elkins informed Thomas E. Salter (“Salter”), senior communications officer with Montgomery Public Schools, that Plaintiff had given Elkins a videotape of students misbehaving in Plaintiffs class.

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Bluebook (online)
926 F. Supp. 2d 1274, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22822, 2013 WL 627123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tompkins-v-montgomery-county-board-of-education-almd-2013.