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Smith v. Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
Citation: 71 F. App'x 589Docket: No. 02-1962
Court: Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; July 24, 2003; Federal Appellate Court
Antoinette Smith, a medical transcriptionist at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center from 1991 to 1998, was terminated following a conflict with colleague Dorothy Malecki regarding the office thermostat. During the disagreement, Smith used the term "racist bitch" to describe Malecki, leading to a report to hospital security. An investigation determined that Smith violated the hospital's Employee Code of Conduct, resulting in her termination on February 27, 1998. Smith filed a grievance with Rush, which was denied, and subsequently a charge with the EEOC, which was dismissed. She then sued Rush in district court, claiming violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for disparate treatment and hostile work environment, as well as a breach of 42 U.S.C. 1981 concerning race-based contract impairment and a breach of an alleged oral promise of lifetime employment made in 1996. The district court ruled that her breach-of-promise claim was barred by Illinois’ statute of frauds, and her 1981 claim was subject to Illinois' two-year statute of limitations. The court granted summary judgment against her Title VII claims, finding insufficient evidence to show that the hospital's reasons for her termination were pretextual or that the work environment was pervasively hostile. On appeal, Smith did not present a developed argument to counter the district court's findings, and her claims regarding race discrimination and the statute of limitations were deemed undeveloped and unsupported. The district court's dismissal and summary judgment were affirmed.