Opinion ID: 4036615
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Court Case

Text: The Plaintiffs filed suit against the City of Cleveland, Michael McGrath (both in his individual and official capacities), Martin Flask (both in his individual and official capacities), Calvin Williams (both in his individual and official capacities), and Frank G. Jackson (in his official capacity) (collectively, the “Defendants”) on November 28, 2014. Count I of the No. 15-4398 O’Donnell, et al. v. City of Cleveland Page 5 Complaint alleges that the Defendants discriminated against the Plaintiffs in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act), and Ohio Rev. Code § 4112.02(A). Count II alleges a violation of constitutional rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Finally, Count III alleges a breach of contract claim. The Plaintiffs’ theory of the case was that there was a policy in place that addressed officers involved in traumatic events. That policy, they assert, was to relegate those officers to the Gymnasium for a set period of time—namely, forty-five days. The Plaintiffs contend that McGrath relegated them to the Gymnasium and/or restricted duty for a longer period of time than established in policy because they were Caucasian officers involved in a traumatic event with African American suspects, which caused political problems for the mayor, the safety director, and the chief of police. The district court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of the Defendants. On appeal, the Plaintiffs assert numerous arguments.1 They claim that the district court failed to properly construe facts in their favor in violation of the summary judgment standard; that the district court erred in granting the Defendants’ summary judgment on the state law discrimination claim; that the district court erred in dismissing and denying their 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983 claims; and that the district court erred in dismissing the Plaintiffs’ breach of contract claim for failure to exhaust contractual remedies. We review each in turn.