Michael Riley v. Janet Napolitano , 537 F. App'x 391 ( 2013 )


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  •       Case: 13-30088          Document: 00512319773              Page: 1       Date Filed: 07/24/2013
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT  United States Court of Appeals
    Fifth Circuit
    FILED
    July 24, 2013
    No. 13-30088                                 Lyle W. Cayce
    Summary Calendar                                    Clerk
    MICHAEL J. RILEY,
    Plaintiff - Appellant
    v.
    JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
    SECURITY,
    Defendant - Appellee
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Eastern District of Louisiana
    USDC No. 2:11-CV-187
    Before WIENER, ELROD, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:*
    Michael J. Riley appeals: the district court’s granting Janet Napolitano’s
    motion for summary judgment and dismissing, with prejudice, Riley’s claim
    alleging discriminatory discharge from his employment with the Federal
    Emergency Management Office (“FEMA”); and the court’s denying Riley’s
    *
    Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published
    and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
    Case: 13-30088     Document: 00512319773    Page: 2   Date Filed: 07/24/2013
    No. 13-30088
    motion for a new trial. AFFIRMED.
    I. Facts and Procedural History
    Riley was hired by FEMA as an Equal Rights Officer in January 2006.
    On July 11, 2007, Riley sent an e-mail to then-Acting Cadre Manager Louis
    Cleveland, which Riley copied to Director Pauline Campbell, stating various
    complaints about his status in the department. Although his e-mail contained
    the statement “I feel as if I am being mistreated”, he did not elaborate further
    as to what the mistreatment was or how he was being mistreated; nor did the
    e-mail assert his complaint was based on a protected status such as age,
    gender, or race.     Shortly thereafter, James Montgomery, then-immediate
    supervisor to Riley, decided, with the consent of Campbell, to terminate Riley’s
    employment as a result of unauthorized use of his Government-issued travel
    charge card in an amount exceeding $7,000.00. He was terminated officially on
    August 1, 2007.
    Upon termination, Riley filed a discrimination complaint with the FEMA
    Office of Equal Rights, alleging unlawful retaliatory discharge. Riley thereafter
    filed the instant suit against Napolitano, on January 27, 2011. Napolitano
    moved for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56;
    the motion was granted on November 15, 2012. On November 21, 2012, Riley
    moved for a new trial; the motion was denied on December 17, 2012. Riley’s
    appeal challenges both decisions of the district court.
    II. Discussion
    The district court’s grant of summary judgment is reviewed de novo.
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    E.g., Vaughn v. Woodforest Bank, 
    665 F.3d 632
    , 635 (5th Cir. 2011) (internal
    citation omitted). “The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows
    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). Whether a
    dispute of material fact exists requires our considering the evidence in the
    record as a whole, drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-movant;
    in so doing, we will neither make credibility determinations nor weigh the
    evidence. See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 
    530 U.S. 133
    , 150
    (2000). If the record, viewed in the light most favorable to the non-movant,
    “could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for [the non-movant], there is no
    genuine issue for trial, and summary judgment is proper.”                 Kelley v.
    Price-Macemon, Inc., 
    992 F.2d 1408
    , 1413 (5th Cir. 1993).
    To survive summary judgment, Riley must demonstrate that there exists
    a prima facie claim of retaliation under Title VII: “(1) [he] engaged in protected
    activity; (2) an adverse employment action occurred; and (3) a causal link exists
    between the protected activity and the adverse employment action”. Turner v.
    Baylor Richardson Med. Ctr., 
    476 F.3d 337
    , 348 (5th Cir. 2007). Napolitano
    contends, and the district court held, Riley did not meet these requirements
    because he failed to demonstrate that he engaged in an activity protected by Title
    VII. Specifically, Riley’s July 11, 2007 e-mail did not constitute protected activity
    within the meaning of Title VII because it did not refer to any practice made an
    unlawful employment practice under Title VII. Riley maintains his sending the
    e-mail constituted a protected activity sufficient to satisfy this element of a prima
    facie claim.
    “An employee has engaged in protected activity when [he] has (1) ‘opposed
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    any practice made an unlawful employment practice’ by Title VII [opposition
    clause] or (2) ‘made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in
    an investigation, proceeding, or hearing’ under Title VII [participation clause].”
    Douglas v. DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations Co., 
    144 F.3d 364
    , 372 (5th Cir.
    1998) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a)). Because Riley did not file a formal
    complaint until after his termination, and he has not offered evidence of any
    other action under the participation clause, he has failed to establish that he
    engaged in protected activity under that clause. Nor did the July 11, 2007 e-mail
    “oppose[] any practice made an unlawful employment practice by Title VII.” Riley
    admits his e-mail did not complain of mistreatment based on a protected status
    such as gender, age, or race. As the district court noted correctly, our court has
    consistently held that a vague complaint, without reference to an unlawful
    employment practice under Title VII, does not constitute protected activity. See
    Riley v. Napolitano, No. 11-187, 
    2012 WL 5818146
    , at *4 (E.D. La. Nov. 15, 2012);
    see also Davis v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist, 448 F. App’x 485, 493 (5th Cir. 2011);
    Tratee v. BP N. Am. Pipelines, Inc., 277 F. App’x 390, 395 (5th Cir. 2008). Because
    Riley has not engaged in protected activity, he fails to demonstrate a prima facie
    claim of retaliation sufficient to survive Napolitano’s motion for summary
    judgment.
    Riley further contends FEMA’s stating his termination was based on his
    alleged abuse of a Government-issued credit card was pretext.           Had Riley
    established a prima facie claim, the burden would have shifted to Napolitano to
    articulate a “legitimate, non-discriminatory reason” for Riley’s termination; if
    Napolitano carried that burden, only then would Riley have the opportunity to
    offer evidence that, inter alia, the reason for termination was mere pretext for
    discrimination. Vaughn v. Woodforest Bank, 
    665 F.3d 632
    , 636 (5th Cir. 2011).
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    Because Riley has failed to establish a prima facie claim of retaliation, our
    inquiry ends there.
    III. Conclusion
    For the foregoing reasons, the judgments of the district court are
    AFFIRMED.
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Document Info

Docket Number: 13-30088

Citation Numbers: 537 F. App'x 391

Judges: Elrod, Graves, Per Curiam, Wiener

Filed Date: 7/24/2013

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/7/2023