A federal judge from the Eastern District of New York has granted summary judgment to Hofstra University, dismissing the sexual harassment and retaliation claims of a woman who served former student manager of the football team
In the summer of 2006, plaintiff Lauren Summa began dating a member of the Hofstra football team. She ultimately applied for, and was selected to be, team manager. That fall, players on the team began making lewd comments to her, initially when she traveled on bus rides with the team to away games. Essentially, lewd comments were made to her by players on the team. The comments, allegedly, escalated, leading the plaintiff to speak with defendants Melissa Connolly, the vice president of the Office of University Relations at Hofstra, David Cohen, the head coach for the Hofstra football team. Cohen ultimately cut one of the players, whose comment led the plaintiff to file an official complaint.
The controversy might have ended there, had the university not bypassed Summa in its search for a manager for spring football. This, alleged the plaintiff, was a retaliatory act. She initially filed her complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights. But within a year, the complaint was escalated to the federal courts.
Her claims included discrimination, harassment and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§2000e et seq. (“Title VII”), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §§1681 et seq. (“Title IX”), and New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. Law §§290 et seq. (“NYSHRL”), and aiding and abetting violations of NYSHRL.
The defendants moved for summary judgment.
Among the key findings of the court was that the purported sexual harassment was more likely “gender neutral” harassment, meaning it was not motivated by her gender and thus did not qualify as sexual harassment. The court also found that the incidents, “when viewed objectively, (do not) rise to the level of severity or pervasiveness necessary to support an actionable claim of sexual harassment.”
In addition, the court found that Hofstra responded promptly and appropriately to the incidents. “The law requires that the employer take remedial action upon learning of harassment, and that it is unquestionably what (the defendant) did,” wrote the court.
Meanwhile, the retaliation claim fell short because Summa failed to demonstrate that the person in charge of hiring student managers had knowledge of her complaints, which is a required element for any retaliation claim.
Lauren E. Summa v. Hofstra University, David Cohen, and Melissa Connolly in their individual and official capacities; E.D.N.Y.; CV 08-0361, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37975; 4/7/11
Attorneys of Record: (for plaintiff) Douglas Holden Wigdor, LEAD ATTORNEY, Thompson, Wigdor & Gilly LLP, New York, NY. (for defendants) Domenique Camacho Moran, LEAD ATTORNEY, Michael Alan-Herman Schoenberg, Farrell Fritz, P.C., Uniondale, NY.
