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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND * * * * * * Civil No. JFM 99-1797 * * * * ***** MEMORANDUM

CHERYL NYE, Plaintiff, v. CARL ROBERTS, et al., Defendants.

Now pending before the court are the Motion of Defendants Carl Roberts and the Board of Education of Cecil County to Dismiss and/or, Alternatively, for Summary Judgment; Defendant Carl Roberts' Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment; the Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Adjudication; the Defendants' Motion to Strike Plaintiff's Responses to Defendants' Allegations of Material Undisputed Facts; the Defendants' Motion to Enlarge Page Limitation for Defendants' Reply to Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment; and the Defendants' Motion for Leave to File A Response to Plaintiff's Reply to Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Adjudication. The facts relevant to the motions are discussed below. Cheryl Nye ("Nye") was hired as a school psychologist by the Cecil County Public Schools ("CCPS") in 1981. Beginning in 1989, she was assigned to Leeds Elementary School ("Leeds"). She alleges that Leeds' principal, Robert Harris ("Harris"), harassed her numerous times during the 199394 school year, and the spring and summer of 1996. First, Harris and Nye were discussing a student in 1

a school hallway when Harris, who was leaning against the wall, put his arm around Nye, "came in close proximity of [her] face," and said, "Isn't this nice, just like in high school." Second, Harris approached Nye in the hallway, with the intent of harassing her, when Nye told him, "There is a kid behind me," thus preventing an incident. Third, in May 1994, Nye was using the phone in Harris' office, when he entered the office, put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her neck. She was forced to push him away. Fourth, Harris attempted to grab Nye after a special education meeting (known as "ARDS"). Nye believed Harris was trying to grab her breast; she pushed his arm away. Nye alleges that Harris tried to grab her at other ARDS meetings, as well. At the end of the school year, she requested a transfer away from Leeds. Nye did not reveal that Harris' harassment prompted the request. The transfer was granted. In the spring of 1996, Nye ran into Harris at a hallway in the Board of Education's central office. Harris asked her about her marriage and said he wanted her to come back to Leeds. He then put his arm around her waist and whispered, "You can be my girlfriend again." Nye then learned that she had been transferred back to Leeds. During a break in an August 15, 1996 Administrators & Supervisors meeting, Harris grabbed Nye's arm, leaned in and said, "You're back in my school." Nye has also alleged that Harris harassed other teachers and that Nye witnessed other harassment by CCPS administrators and supervisors. Nye complained about Harris' harassment on August 19, 1996 to Dr. R. Wayne Carmean ("Carmean"), the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, and Henry Shaffer ("Shaffer"), the Director of Human Resources. The Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Carl Roberts ("Roberts"), authorized an investigation, led by Carmean and Ms. Helen Chapman ("Chapman"), Supervisor in Human Resources. 2

In a report dated September 20, 1996, they stated that although they interviewed numerous witnesses, they could neither corroborate nor refute Nye's allegations. On January 15, 1997, Nye's attorney, Andrew Fury, wrote a letter to Carmean, notifying him of additional evidence corroborating Harris' harassment. Carmean and Chapman investigated these incidents by interviewing witnesses and again concluded that they could neither corroborate nor refute Nye's allegations. Harris was not reprimanded, although Chapman and Carmean recommended sexual harassment retraining. On May 20, 1997, Nye wrote to the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education ("OCR"), stating in an unsworn letter that she had been the victim of sexual harassment. On October 15, 1997, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") received Nye's sworn charge, which is dated October 3, 1997. Nye resigned by letter dated August 28, 1998. Nye filed suit on June 18, 1999. She claims that CCPS perpetuated a hostile work environment, that she was retaliated against for complaining about sexual harassment and that she was constructively discharged in violation of 42 U.S.C.

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