Mosby-Grant v. City of Hagerstown, 09-2161

Former police academy recruit's civil rights suit against a city for race and sex discrimination

Mosby-Grant v. City of Hagerstown, 09-2161, concerned a challenge to the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a city, in an African-American female's suit against a city alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and a separate race and sex claims alleging that her instructors and classmates at a police academy created a hostile work environment.


In reversing in part and remanding, the court held that, because there is a legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find that plaintiff was the victim of sex-based employment discrimination, the district court erred in granting the city's motion for summary judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff's Title VII claim, as the conduct plaintiff was exposed to was unwelcomed, based on her sex, severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of her employment, and directly imputable to her employer.  However, the court affirmed in part as, based on the evidence, a jury could not reasonably find that plaintiff was subject to race-gender based harassment.

Related Link:

• Read the Fourth Circuit's Full Decision in Mosby-Grant v. City of Hagerstown, 09-2161