DISCLAIMER: The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
063936P.pdf 11/09/2007 DeDe Engel v. Rapid City Schools
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 06-3936
U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
[PUBLISHED] [Colloton. Author, with Loken, Chief Judge, and
Arnold, Circuit Judge]
Civil case - Employment discrimination. District court erred in
granting school district summary judgment on plaintiff's claim that she
was sexually harassed by a co-worker, as plaintiff created a genuine issue
of material fact as to whether the harassment continued after the district
took remedial action; the court also erred in finding that summary
judgment was warranted because plaintiff failed to report the continuing
harassment as plaintiff produced evidence that she alerted school officials
that the harassment continued after the first remedial action; while the
district might be liable for actions occurring after the first remedial
action, the district was not liable for the hostile work environment that
occurred prior to the first remedial action since it had a written policy on
sexual harassment and took prompt, reasonably comprehensive action
against the conduct; plaintiff created a genuine issue of material fact as to
whether the school district's actions after the first remedial action were
negligent, and that claim should be remanded for further proceedings; no
error in dismissing plaintiff's constructive discharge claim, as a plaintiff
must prove either deliberate sexual harassment or a deliberate effort to
force her resign, and an employer's negligence in dealing with claims of
continuing sexual harassment does not rise to the level of deliberate
behavior need to impose liability