Patane v. Clark
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
508 F.3d 106 (2007)
- Written by Jennifer Flinn, JD
Facts
Eleanora Patane (plaintiff) was an employee at Fordham University (defendant). One of her supervisors was Professor John Richard Clark (defendant). According to Patane, Clark harassed a female professor, regularly watched pornographic videos in his office, and had pornographic videos shipped to his office. As part of her job duties, Patane would be required to open and deliver the videos to Clark. Patane could regularly see Clark watching pornographic videos through the glass in his office door. At one point, Patane discovered that Clark had used her computer to view pornographic websites. Patane complained of Clark’s behavior to the university’s director of equity and equal opportunity, but no action was taken against Clark. Clark became aware of Patane’s complaint against him and conspired with another professor to remove many of Patane’s job duties from her in an effort to force her to resign. Patane filed a lawsuit against the university, Clark, and others, alleging gender-based discrimination, a hostile working environment, and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The district court dismissed Patane’s claims. Patane appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
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