FI L ED

U.S. COURT OF APPEAL S

EL EVENTH CI RCUI T

J ANUARY 11, 2010

J OHN L EY

ACTI NG CL ERK [ D O N O T P U B L I S H ]

I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S C O U R T O F A P P E A L S

F O R T H E E L E V E N T H C I R C U I T

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

N o

. 0 9

- 1 2 3 1 4

N o n

- A r g u m e n t C a l e n d a r

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

D

. C

. D o c k e t N o

. 0 8

- 0 0 0 1 4

- C V

- S S C

- 2

C H A T R E E D A N N Y S R I D E J

,

P l a i n t i f f

- A p p e l l a n t

,

v e r s u s

F R E D E R I C K W

. B R O W N

, C I T Y O F A U B U R N

,

P O L I C E D E P A R T M E N T O F T H E C I T Y O F A U B U R N

,

L I N D A B L E C H I N G E R

, i n h e r o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y a s M a y o r o f t h e

C i t y o f A u b u r n

,

J O H N D O E S 1

- 3

,

c e r t a i n u n k n o w n i n d i v i d u a l s

,

D e f e n d a n t s

- A p p e l l e e s

.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A p p e a l f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s D i s t r i c t C o u r t

f o r t h e N o r t h e r n D i s t r i c t o f G e o r g i a

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ( J a n u a r y 1 1

, 2 0 1 0 )

B e f o r e B L A C K

, C A R N E S a n d M A R C U S

, C i r c u i t J u d g e s

.

P E R C U R I A M :C h a t r e e D a n n y S r i d e j

, a n A s i a n m a n o f T h a i d e s c e n t

, a p p e a l s

, t h r o u g h

c o u n s e l

, a m a g i s t r a t e j u d g e ’ s g r a n t o f s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t i n f a v o r o f d e f

e n d a n t s

. 1

O n a p p e a l

, S r i d e

j c o n t e n d s t h e m a g i s t r a t e j u d g e e r r e d i n g r a n t i n g s u m m a r y

j u d g m e n t o n h i s : ( 1 ) c l a i m o f r a c e a n d n a t i o n a l o r i g i n d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n c o n n e c t i o n

w i t h h i s t e r m i n a t i o n

, ( 2 ) c l a i m o f d i s c r i m i n a t o r y f a i l u r e

- t o

- p r o m o t e

, ( 3 ) c l a i m o f

r e t a l i a t i o n

, a n d ( 4 ) G e o r g i a l a w c l a i m o f t o r t i o u s i n t e r f e r e n c e w i t h a b u s i n e s s

r e l a t i o n s h i p

. W e r e v i e w e a c h c l a i m i n t u r n a n d a f f i r m

. 2

I

. D i s c r i m i n a t o r y T e r m i n a t i o n

O n a p p e a l

, S r i d e

j a r g u e s t h e m a g i s t r a t e e r r e d i n g r a n t i n g s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t

o n h i s c l a i m o f d i s c r i m i n a t o r y t e r m i n a t i o n b e c a u s e h e e s t a b l i s h e d a p r i m a f a c i e

Sridej’s complaint orig inally included (1) as name d defe ndants, the Police De partment 1

of the City

of Auburn, a

nd L inda B leching er, Ma

y or of Aubur

n; (2) a f ailure- to-promote cla im in

2006; and (3) a

Family Medica l L eave Act cla im. The mag istrate g rante d the def endants’ motion

for summary

judgme nt as to the afor ementioned de fenda nts and on Sridej’s 2006 fa ilure-topromote cla im, but S ridej has not cha lleng ed these ruling s on appea l. Thus, any claims in that

reg ard a re a bandoned. See A T& T Broadband v. Tech Commc ’ns, Inc

. , 381 F.3d 1309, 1320 n.14

(11th Cir. 2004). Moreove r, Sridej voluntarily dismiss ed his Fa

mily Medica l L eave Act cla im.

We review a g rant of summar y judgme nt de novo

. Thomas v. Cooper Lighti ng, Inc.

, 2

506 F.3d 1361, 1363 ( 11th Cir. 2007). Summ ary judgme nt is appropria te when the evidenc e,

viewed in the lig ht most favorable to the nonmoving pa rty , prese nts no ge nuine issue of mate rial

fac t and compels judg ment as a ma tter of law

. Id. “The re is no g enuine issue of materia l fac t if

the nonmoving pa

rty fails to make a

showing sufficie nt to establish the exi stence of an e lement

essential to that par

ty ’s ca se and on w hich the par ty will bear the burden of

proof a t trial.” Jones

v. Ge rwens , 874 F.2d 1534, 1538 ( 11th Cir. 1989). “Ge nuine disputes are those in which the

evidenc e is such that a r easona ble jury could re turn a ve rdict for the non-movant.” Mize v.

Jefferson City Bd. of Educ., 93 F.3d 739, 742 ( 11th Cir. 1996) (quotations omitt ed).

2c a s e o f r a c e a n d n a t i o n a l o r i g i n d i s c r i m i n a t i o n i n g e n e r a l a n d i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h

h i s t e r m i n a t i o n

. 3

U n d e r T i t l e V I I

, i t i s u n l a w f u l f o r a n e m p l o y e r “ t o f

a i l o r r e f u s e t o h i r e o r t o

d i s c h a r g e a n y i n d i v i d u a l

, o r o t h e r w i s e t o d i s c r i m i n a t e a g a i n s t a n y i n d i v i d u a l w i t h

r e s p e c t t o h i s c o m p e n s a t i o n

, t e r m s

, c o n d i t i o n s

, o r p r i v i l e g e s o f e m p l o y m e n t

,

b e c a u s e o f s u c h i n d i v i d u a l ’ s r a c e

. . . o r n a t i o n a l o r i g i n

. ” 4 2 U

. S

. C

.

§ 2 0 0 0 e

- 2 ( a ) ( 1 )

. A p l a i n t i f f c a n e s t a b l i s h a p r i m a f a c i e c a s e o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n

b a s e d o n c i r c u m s t a n t i a l e v i d e n c e b y s h o w i n g : “ ( 1 ) h e i s a m e m b e r o f a p r o t e c t e d

c l a s s ; ( 2 ) h e w a s q u a l i f

i e d f o r t h e p o s i t i o n ; ( 3 ) h e s u f f e r e d a n a d v e r s e e m p l o y m e n t

a c t i o n ; a n d ( 4 ) h e w a s

. . . t r e a t e d l e s s f a v o r a b l y t h a n a s i m i l a r l y

- s i t u a t e d i n d i v i d u a l

o u t s i d e h i s p r o t e c t e d c l a s s

. ” M a y n a r d v

. B d

. o

f R e g e n t s

, 3 4 2 F

. 3 d 1 2 8 1

, 1 2 8 9

( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 3 )

.

T h e o n l y e l e m e n t o f t h e p r i m a f a c i e c a s e d i s p u t e d b y t h e p a r t i e s i s t h e

s i m i l a r l y s i t u a t e d p r o n g

. T o m e e t t h i s p r o n g

, a p l a i n t i f f m u s t s h o w t h e

“ e m p l o y e e s a r e s i m i l a r l y s i t u a t e d i n a l l r e l e v a n t r e s p e c t s

. ” K n i g h t v

. B a p t i s t H o s p

.

o f M i a m i

, I

n c

. , 3 3 0 F

. 3 d 1 3 1 3

, 1 3 1 6 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 3 )

. I t i s a l s o “ n e c e s s a r y t o

As an initial matter, to the extent Sridej alleg es g ener al discrimination based on va rious 3

comments, he fa iled to establish these we re a dverse employ ment actions in and of the mselves.

See D avis v. Town of Lake Park, 245 F.3d 1232, 1239 ( 11th Cir. 2001) (holding to pr ove an

adver se employ

ment action under

Title VI I , an employ ee must show a “ serious and material

chang e in the ter

ms, conditions, or privilege s of employ ment”) ( emphasis in orig inal).

3c o n s i d e r w h e t h e r t h e e m p l o y e e s a r e i n v o l v e d i n o r a c c u s e d o f t h e s a m e o r s i m i l a r

c o n d u c t a n d a r e d i s c i p l i n e d i n d i f f e r e n t w a y s

. ” I

d

.

A l t h o u g h t h e r e c o r d s h o w s S r i d e j w a s A s i a n

, q u a l i f

i e d f o r h i s p o s i t i o n

, a n d

d i s c h a r g e d f

r o m h i s p o s i t i o n

, t h e r e i s n o e v i d e n c e s i m i l a r l y s i t u a t e d e m p l o y e e s

w e r e t r e a t e d m o r e f

a v o r a b l y

. S r i d e

j i n i t i a l l y s t a t e d h e k n e w o f s e v e r a l o t h e r

o f f i c e r s i n t h e p o l i c e d e p a r t m e n t w h o w e r e f o u n d u n f i t f o r d u t y a n d w e r e p e r m i t t e d

t o s e e a p s y c h i a t r i s t o r h a v e l i g h t d u t y u n t i l t h e i r p r o b l e m w a s r e s o l v e d

. H o w e v e r

,

S r i d e j l a t e r c l a r i f

i e d h e d i d n o t k n o w i f a n y s u c h o f f i c e r s h a d b e e n e v a l u a t e d t o b e

u n f i t f o r d u t y

. S r i d e

j h a s f a i l e d t o a l l e g e a p r i m a f a c i e c a s e o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n

b e c a u s e h e p r e s e n t e d n o e v i d e n c e s i m i l a r l y s i t u a t e d e m p l o y e e s w e r e t r e a t e d m o r e

f a v o r a b l y

. A c c o r d i n g l y

, t h e m a g i s t r a t e d i d n o t e r r i n g r a n t i n g t h e d e f e n d a n t s ’

m o t i o n f o r s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t a s t o t h e d i s c r i m i n a t o r y

- d i s c h a r g e c l a i m

. 4

I I

. F a i l u r e t o P r o m o t e

S r i d e j n e x t a r g u e s t h e m a g i s t r a t e e r r e d i n g r a n t i n g s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t o n h i s

c l a i m o f d i s c r i m i n a t o r y f a i l u r e t o p r o m o t e b e c a u s e h e e s t a b l i s h e d a p r i m a f a c i e

c a s e o f d i s c r i m i n a t o r y f a i l u r e t o p r o m o t e

, a n d C o r p o r a l N a d e a u

, w h o w a s o u t s i d e

The mag istrate assumed Sride j established a prima facie case of discrimination in 4

connec tion with his termination, but this C ourt ca n aff irm on any

g round supported by

the

rec ord. See Lucas v . W

.W . Grainger, Inc

. , 257 F.3d 1249, 1256 ( 11th Cir. 2001). Even

assuming Sride

j proved a prima facie case of discrimination, howeve r, he did not pre sent any

evidenc e showing the nondiscriminatory rea sons for discha

rg ing Sride

j—that he was f

ound unfit

for duty and eng ag ed in inappropr iate beha vior on three occa sions—were prete x tual.

4t h e p r o t e c t e d c l a s s

, w a s p r o m o t e d i n s t e a d

. S r i d e j a l s o c o n t e n d s C h i e f F r e d e r i c k W

.

B r o w n ’ s p r o f

f e r e d r e a s o n s f

o r d e n y i n g h i m t h e p r o m o t i o n w e r e p r e t e x t u a l

.

A p l a i n t i f

f c a n e s t a b l i s h a p r i m a f a c i e c a s e o f f

a i l u r e

- t o

- p r o m o t e b y s h o w i n g

( 1 ) h e i s a m e m b e r o f a p r o t e c t e d c l a s s ; ( 2 ) h e w a s q u a l i f i e d f o r a n d a p p l i e d f

o r t h e

p r o m o t i o n ; ( 3 ) h e w a s r e j e c t e d d e s p i t e h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n s ; a n d ( 4 ) o t h e r e m p l o y e e s

,

w h o w e r e e q u a l l y o r l e s s q u a l i f i e d b u t w e r e n o t m e m b e r s o f t h e p r o t e c t e d c l a s s

,

w e r e p r o m o t e d

. W

i l s o n v

. B / E A e r o s p a c e

, I n c

. , 3 7 6 F

. 3 d 1 0 7 9

, 1 0 8 9 ( 1 1 t h C i r

.

2 0 0 4 )

.

I n t h e f

a i l u r e

- t o

- p r o m o t e c o n t e x t

, e v i d e n c e o f a d i s p a r i t y i n q u a l i f i c a t i o n s

b e t w e e n t h e p l a i n t i f

f a n d t h e c a n d i d a t e s e l e c t e d m a y e s t a b l i s h p r e t e x t

. A s h v

.

T y s o n F o o d

s

, I n c

. , 1 2 6 S

. C t

. 1 1 9 5

, 1 1 9 7 ( 2 0 0 6 )

. “ A p l a i n t i f f m u s t s h o w t h a t t h e

d i s p a r i t i e s b e t w e e n t h e s u c c e s s f u l a p p l i c a n t ’ s a n d [ h i s ] o w n q u a l i f i c a t i o n s w e r e o f

s u c h w e i g h t a n d s i g n i f

i c a n c e t h a t n o r e a s o n a b l e p e r s o n

, i n t h e e x e r c i s e o f i m p a r t i a l

j u d g m e n t

, c o u l d h a v e c h o s e n t h e c a n d i d a t e s e l e c t e d o v e r t h e p l a i n t i f f

. ” B r o o k

s v

.

C o u n t y C o m m ’ n o

f J e f f e r s o n C o u n t

y

, A l a

. , 4 4 6 F

. 3 d 1 1 6 0

, 1 1 6 3 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 6 )

.

S r i d e j h a s n o t p r e s e n t e d a n y e v i d e n c e s h o w i n g B r o w n ’ s a r t i c u l a t e d r e a s o n s

f o r p r o m o t i n g N a d e a u o v e r S r i d e j w e r e p r e t e x t u a l

. B r o w n ’ s s t a t e d r e a s o n s f o r

p r o m o t i n g N a d e a u o v e r S r i d e j w e r e t h a t S r i d e

j h a d l e s s o v e r a l l l a w e n f o r c e m e n t

e x p e r i e n c e a n d S r i d e

j h a d e x h i b i t e d s o m e q u e s t i o n a b l e b e h a v i o r o n t h e j o b i n

5r e c e n t m o n t h s

. S u c h r e a s o n s a r e n o t i m p l a u s i b l e o r i n c o n s i s t e n t a n d m i g h t

m o t i v a t e a r e a s o n a b l e e m p l o y e r

. S e e C h a p m a n v

. A I T

r a n s p

. , 2 2 9 F

. 3 d 1 0 1 2

, 1 0 3 0

( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 0 ) ( e n b a n c )

. A c c o r d i n g l y

, t h e m a g i s t r a t e d i d n o t e r r i n g r a n t i n g t h e

d e f e n d a n t ’ s m o t i o n f

o r s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t a s t o t h e f a i l u r e

- t o

- p r o m o t e c l a i m

.

I I I

. R e t a l i a t i o n

S r i d e j a l s o a r g u e s t h e m a g i s t r a t e e r r e d i n g r a n t i n g s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t o n h i s

r e t a l i a t i o n c l a i m b e c a u s e h e m e t h i s b u r d e n o f p r o v i n g a p r i m a f a c i e c a s e o f

r e t a l i a t i o n

. I n s u p p o r t

, h e e x p l a i n s t h e a c t s o f r e t a l i a t i o n

— r e c e i v i n g f r i v o l o u s

w r i t e u p s

, d e n i a l o f h i s p r o m o t i o n t o s e r g e a n t

, a n d t e r m i n a t i o n

— h a p p e n e d i n c l o s e

p r o x i m i t y t o h i s p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a n e x t e r n a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e d e p a r t m e n t a n d t o

h i s f i l i n g o f t h e E E O C c o m p l a i n t

.

T i t l e V I I p r o h i b i t s a n e m p l o y e r f r o m r e t a l i a t i n g a g a i n s t a n e m p l o y e e

b e c a u s e t h e e m p l o y e e h a s o p p o s e d a n y u n l a w f u l d i s c r i m i n a t i o n o r b e c a u s e t h e

e m p l o y e e “ h a s m a d e a c h a r g e

, t e s t i f i e d

, a s s i s t e d

, o r p a r t i c i p a t e d i n a n y m a n n e r i n

a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n ” o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n w i t h t h e E E O C

. 4 2 U

. S

. C

. § 2 0 0 0 e

- 3 ( a )

. A

p l a i n t i f f c a n e s t a b l i s h a p r i m a f a c i e c a s e o f r e t a l i a t i o n u n d e r T i t l e V I I b y s h o w i n g

“ ( 1 ) h e e n g a g e d i n s t a t u t o r i l y p r o t e c t e d e x p r e s s i o n ; ( 2 ) h e s u f f e r e d a n a d v e r s e

e m p l o y m e n t a c t i o n ; a n d ( 3 ) t h e r e i s s o m e c a u s a l r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e t w o e v e n t s

. ”

P e n n i n g t o n v

. C i t

y o f H u n t s v i l l e

, 2 6 1 F

. 3 d 1 2 6 2

, 1 2 6 6 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 2 0 0 1 )

.

6I n e x a m i n i n g t h e f i r s t e l e m e n t o f a r e t a l i a t i o n c l a i m

, T i t l e V I I p r o t e c t s a n

e m p l o y e e w h o t e s t i f

i e s a b o u t u n l a w f

u l c o n d u c t i n a n i n t e r n a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n

. S e e

C r a w f o r d v

. M e t r o

p o l i t a n G o v e r n m e n t o

f N a s h v i l l e

, 5 5 5 U

. S

.

_ _ _ , 1 2 9 S

. C t

. 8 4 6

,

8 4 9 ( 2 0 0 9 )

. T h e e m p l o y e e ’ s s t a t e m e n t s

, h o w e v e r

, m u s t b e a b o u t r a c e o r g e n d e r

d i s c r i m i n a t i o n t o f

a l l w i t h i n t h e s c o p e o f p r o t e c t e d e x p r e s s i o n u n d e r T i t l e V I I

. S e e

i d

. W i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e t h i r d e l e m e n t

, “ a p l a i n t i f f m e r e l y h a s t o p r o v e t h a t t h e

p r o t e c t e d a c t i v i t y a n d t h e n e g a t i v e e m p l o y m e n t a c t i o n a r e n o t c o m p l e t e l y

u n r e l a t e d

. ” P e n n i n g t o n

, 2 6 1 F

. 3 d a t 1 2 6 6

. H o w e v e r

, t o s a t i s f y t h e c a u s a l l i n k

p r o n g

, “ a p l a i n t i f

f m u s t

, a t a m i n i m u m

, g e n e r a l l y e s t a b l i s h t h a t t h e d e f e n d a n t w a s

a c t u a l l y a w a r e o f t h e p r o t e c t e d e x p r e s s i o n a t t h e t i m e t h e d e f e n d a n t t o o k t h e

a d v e r s e e m p l o y m e n t a c t i o n

. ” R a n e y v

. V i n s o n G u a r d S e r v

. , I

n c

. , 1 2 0 F

. 3 d 1 1 9 2

,

1 1 9 7 ( 1 1 t h C i r

. 1 9 9 7 )

.

T h e m a g i s t r a t e d i d n o t e r r i n g r a n t i n g s u m m a r y j u d g m e n t t o t h e d e f e n d a n t s

o n S r i d e j ’ s r e t a l i a t i o n c l a i m b e c a u s e h e d i d n o t s h o w h i s e m p l o y e r w a s a w a r e o f

a n y p r o t e c t e d e x p r e s s i o n a t t h e t i m e o f a n y a d v e r s e e m p l o y m e n t a c t i o n

. F i r s t

,

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