Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
April 1 — This is the full text of the executive
summary of U.S. District Judge Susan Webber
Wright's 39-page memorandum opinion and order
to dismiss Paula Jones’ sexual harassment suit
against President Clinton and Danny Ferguson.
There are six pages in the summary below;
footnotes are indicated by number in the text and
are reproduced at the end of the document.
The plaintiff in this lawsuit, Paula
Corbin Jones, seeks civil damages from
William Jefferson Clinton, President of
the United States, and Danny Ferguson, a
former Arkansas State Police Officer, for
alleged actions beginning with an
incident in a hotel suite in Little Rock,
Arkansas. This case was previously before
the Supreme Court of the United States to
resolve the issue of Presidential
immunity but was remanded to this Court
following the Supreme Court&30146;s
determination that there is no
constitutional impediment to allowing
plaintiff’s case to proceed while the
president is in office. See Clinton v.
Jones, 117 S. Ct. 1636 (1997). Following
remand, the President filed a motion for
judgment on the pleadings and dismissal
of the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(c)
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
Ferguson joined in the president's
motion. By Memorandum Opinion and Order
dated August 22, 1997, this Court granted
in part and denied in part the
President's motion. See Jones v.
Clinton, 974 F. Supp. 712 (E.D. Ark.
1997). The Court dismissed plaintiff's
defamation claim against the President,
dismissed her due process claim for
deprivation of a property interest in her
State employment, and dismissed her due
process claims for deprivation of a
liberty interest based on false
imprisonment and injury to reputation,
but concluded that the remaining claims
in plaintiff's complaint stated viable
causes of action. See id. Plaintiff
subsequently obtained new counsel and
filed a motion for leave to file a first
amended complaint, which the court
granted, albeit with several
qualifications. See Order of November
24, 1997. 1 The matter is now before the
Court on motion of both the President and
Ferguson for summary judgment pursuant to
Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. Plaintiff has responded in
opposition to these motions, and the
President and Ferguson have each filed a
reply to plaintiff's response to their
motions. For the reasons that follow, the
Court finds that the President's and
Ferguson's motions for summary judgment
should both be and hereby are granted. 2
I.
This lawsuit is based on an incident
that is said to have taken place on the
afternoon of May 8, 1991, in a suite at
the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock,
Arkansas. President Clinton was Governor
of the State of Arkansas at the time, and
plaintiff was a State employee with the
Arkansas Industrial Development
Commission ("AIDC"), having begun her
State employment on March 11, 1991.
Ferguson was an Arkansas State Police
Officer assigned to the Governor's
security detail.
According to the record,
then-Governor Clinton was at the
Excelsior Hotel on the day in question
delivering a speech at an official
conference being sponsored by the AIDC.
Am. Compl. 7 3 Plaintiff states that she
and another AIDC employee, Pamela
Blackard, were working at a registration
desk for the AIDC when a man approached
the desk and informed her and Blackard
that he was trooper Danny Ferguson, the
Governor's bodyguard. Pl.'s Statement of
Mat. Facts, paragraphs 1-2. She states
that Ferguson made small talk with her
and Blackard and that they asked him if
he had a gun as he was in street clothes
and they "wanted to know." Pl.'s Depo. at
101. Ferguson acknowledged that he did
and, after being asked to show the gun to
them, left the registration desk to
return to the Governor. Id.; Pl.'s
Statement of Mat. Facts, paragraph 2. The
conversation between plaintiff, Blackard,
and Ferguson lasted approximately five
minutes and consisted of light, friendly
banter; there was nothing intimidating,
threatening, or coercive about it. Pl.'s
Depo. at 226-27.
Upon leaving the registration desk,
Ferguson apparently had a conversation
with the Governor about the possibility
of meeting with plaintiff, during which
Ferguson states the Governor remarked
that plaintiff had "that come-hither
look," i.e. "a sort of [sexually]
suggestive appearance from the look or
dress." Ferguson Depo. at 50; Pl.'s
Statement of Mat. Facts, paragraph 3;
President's Depo. at 109. 4 He states
that "some time later" the Governor asked
him to "get him a room, that he was
expecting a call from the White House and
... had several phone calls that he
needed to make," and asked him to go to
the car and get his brief case containing
the phone messages. Ferguson Dep. at 50,
67. Ferguson states that upon obtaining
the room, the Governor told him that if
plaintiff wanted to meet him, she could
"come up." Id. at 50.
Plaintiff states that Ferguson later
reappeared at the registration desk,
delivered a piece of paper to her with a
four-digit number written on it, and said
that the Governor would like to meet with
her in this suite number. Pl.'s Statement
of Mat. Facts, paragraph 6. She states
that she, Blackard, and Ferguson talked
about what the Governor could want and
that Ferguson stated, among other things,
"We do this all the time." Id. Thinking
that it was an honor to be asked to meet
the Governor and that it might lead to an
enhanced employment opportunity,
plaintiff states that she agreed to the
meeting and that Ferguson escorted her to
the floor of the hotel upon which the
Governor's suite was located. Am. Compl.
paragraphs 11-13.
Plaintiff states that upon arriving
at the suite and announcing herself, the
Governor shook her hand, invited her in,
and closed the door. Pl.'s Statement of
Mat. Facts, paragraphs 7-8. She states
that a few minutes of small talk ensued,
which included the Governor asking her
about her job and him mentioning that
Dave Harrington, plaintiff's ultimate
superior within the AIDC and a Clinton
appointee, was his "good friend." Id.
paragraph 8; Am. Compl. paragraph 17.
Plaintiff states that the Governor then
"unexpectedly reached over to [her], took
her hand, and pulled her toward him, so
that their bodies were close to each
other." Pl.'s Statement of Mat. Facts,
paragraph 9. She states she removed her
hand from his and retreated several feet,
but that the Governor approached her
again and, while saying, "I love the way
your hair flows down your back," and "I
love your curves," put his hand on her
leg, started sliding it toward her pelvic
area, and bent down to attempt to kiss
her on the neck, all without her consent.
Id. paragraphs 9-10; Pl.'s Depo. at
237-38. 5 Plaintiff states that she
exclaimed, "What are you doing?," told
the Governor that she was "not that kind
of girl," and "escaped" from the
Governor's reach "by walking away from
him." Pl.'s Statement of Mat. Facts,
paragraph 11; Pl.'s Depo. at 237. She
states she was extremely upset and
confused and, not knowing what to do,
attempted to distract the Governor by
chatting about his wife. Pl.'s Statement
of Mat. Facts, paragraph 11. Plaintiff
states that she sat down at the end of
the sofa nearest the door, but that the
Governor approached the sofa where she
had taken a seat and, as he sat down,
"lowered his trousers and underwear,
exposed his penis (which was erect) and
told [her] to 'kiss it.' " Id. She
states that she was "horrified" by this
and that she "jumped up from the couch"
and told the Governor that she had to go,
saying something to the effect that she
had to get back to the registration desk.
Id. paragraph 12. Plaintiff states that
the Governor, "while fondling his penis,"
said, "Well, I don't want to make you do
anything you don't want to do," and then
pulled up his pants and said, "If you get
in trouble for leaving work, have Dave
call me immediately and I'll take care of
it." Id. She states that as she left the
room (the door of which was not locked),
the Governor "detained" her momentarily,
"looked sternly" at her, and said, "You
are smart. Let's keep this between
ourselves." Id.; Pl.'s Depo. at 94,
96-97. 7
Plaintiff states that the Governor's
advances to her were unwelcome, that she
never said or did anything to suggest to
the Governor that she was willing to have
sex with him, and that during the time
they were together in the hotel suite,
she resisted his advances although she
was "stunned by them and intimidated by
who he was." Pl.'s Statement of Mat.
Facts, paragraph 14. She states that when
the Governor referred to Dave Harrington,
she "understood that he was telling her
that he had control over Mr. Harrington
and over her job, and that he was willing
to use that power." Id. paragraph 13.
She states that form that point on, she
was "very fearful" that her refusal to
submit to the Governor's advances could
damage her career and even jeopardize her
employment. Id.
Plaintiff states that when she left
the hotel suite, she was in shock and
upset but tried to maintain her
composure. Id. paragraph 15. She states
she saw Ferguson waiting outside the
suite but that he did not escort her back
to the registration desk and nothing was
said between them. Id. Ferguson states
that five or ten minutes after plaintiff
exited the suite he joined the Governor
for their return to the Governor's
Mansion and that the Governor, who was
working on some papers that he had spread
out on the desk, said, "She came up here,
and nothing happened."
1. Among other things, the Court allowed
plaintiff to drop her remaining
defamation claim against Ferguson and
allowed her to drop her remaining claims.
The Court also allowed plaintiff to
clarify her constitutional and civil
rights claims and conform them more fully
to the facts previously pled, but only to
the extent that plaintiff was not thereby
asserting new causes of action or
attempting to add Ferguson as a defendant
on any cause of action where he was not
previously considered a defendant.
2. All other pending motions in this
case, including the motion filed on
Saturday, March 28, 1998, in Pine Bluff,
Arkansas, have no bearing on the issues
raised by the President's and Ferguson's
motions for summary judgment and are
therefore not addressed.
3. In addressing the issues in this case,
the Court has viewed the record in the
light most favorable to the plaintiff and
given her the benefit of all reasonable
factual inferences, which is required at
this stage of the proceedings. See
Christopher v. Adams Mark Hotel,
--F3d--, 1998 WL 92202, #1 (8th Cir.
March 5, 1998). The Court has, however,
deemed admitted those facts set forth by
the President in his statement of
material facts that plaintiff has not
specifically controverted in her
statement of material facts. See Rule
56.1 (c) of the Rules of the United
States District Court for the Eastern
and Western Districts of Arkansas, which
provides that "all material facts set
forth in the statement filed by the
moving party...shall be deemed admitted
unless controverted by the statement
filed by the non-moving party..."
4. Ferguson states that plaintiff
informed him that she would like to meet
the Governor, remarking that she thought
the Governor "was good-looking [and] had
sexy hair," Ferguson Depo. at 50, while
plaintiff states that Ferguson asked her
if she would like to meet the Governor
and that she was "excited" by the
possibility, Pl.'s Depo. at 101.
5. In her amended complaint, plaintiff
states that the Governor "put his hand
on [her] leg and started sliding it
toward the hem of [her] culottes,
apparently attempting to reach [her]
pelvic area." Am. Compl. paragraph 20.
In her original complaint, plaintiff
states that the Governor "put his hand
on [her] leg and started sliding it
toward the hem of [her] culottes," with
no reference to her "pelvic area."
Compl., paragraph 20.
6. Plaintiff states in her amended
complaint that the Governor "asked" her
to "kiss it" rather than telling her to
do so. Am. Compl. paragraph 21. She
states in her deposition that the
Governor's specific words to her were,
"Would you kiss it for me?" Pl.'s Depo.
at 108.
--
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