Bennett K. MacIntyre v. Carroll College

Missoula, Montana civil litigation lawyer represented Plaintiff, who sued Defendant on a civil rights violation theory.



Golf is a game of frustration and suffering. That could

also be said about Bennett MacIntyre's experience as a golf

coach at Carroll College, at least according to his lawsuit. He

sued the school for Title IX retaliation, claiming that it

refused to renew his contract after he complained about

gender inequity at the college's athletic department. Carroll

College, however, insists that a bleak budget forecast

required cuts at the school.



The district court granted summary judgment for Carroll

College, ruling that MacIntyre failed to make the prima facie

case that the nonrenewal of the contract was an adverse

employment action. We reverse and hold that the refusal to

renew a contract may be an adverse employment action for

a Title IX retaliation claim. We remand for the district court

to consider the remaining issues, including whether Carroll

College's proffered legitimate and nondiscriminatory reason

for the nonrenewal was pretextual.



Carroll College is a Catholic liberal arts college in

Helena, Montana. Between 2006 and 2016, Carroll College

employed Bennett K. MacIntyre as a Community Living

Director and then later as Associate Athletics Director.

Besides these roles, MacIntyre received a stipend for serving

as the head coach for the school's golf team.



In September 2015, MacIntyre provided his employee

self-evaluation in which he stated that he aimed to "[a]ssist

Carroll Athletics in becoming Title IX compliant.” Title IX

of the Education Amendments of 1972 generally bars sex-

based discrimination in schools receiving federal funding.

20 U.S.C. §§ 1681–88. Then in January 2016, MacIntyre

informed Renee McMahon—the Title IX Coordinator and

the Director of Human Resources at Carroll College—about

potential Title IX violations. MacIntyre also alleged

workplace harassment, hostile work environment, and

discrimination involving Kyle Baker, the Interim Director of

Athletics, and Dr. Tom Evans, the President of Carroll

College.



The next month, Baker submitted a performance review

of MacIntyre, giving him the lowest possible score in each

category. MacIntyre then filed a formal grievance, alleging

(among other things) discrimination and hostile work

environment.



To resolve MacIntyre's complaints informally, Carroll

College and MacIntyre signed a settlement agreement in

which the school agreed to (1) remove Baker's negative

review from MacIntyre's file, (2) pay MacIntyre $15,000 in

back pay, (3) and hire MacIntyre as a full-time golf coach

under a two-year employment contract ("Contract”).



In the meantime, Charlie Gross, the new Athletic

Director, learned of MacIntyre's grievances and Title IX

complaints from various memos and from MacIntyre

directly.1 MacIntyre also said that he discussed his concerns

about gender equity with Bill War, a member of Carroll's

Board of Trustees, in November 2017.2



MacIntyre's Contract was ultimately signed and was

effective from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2018. It stated

that employment would expire at the end of the term and

lacked any renewal provisions. The parties dispute the

proper characterization of the Contract: while Carroll

College calls it a "one-time” contract, MacIntyre emphasizes

that it was not expressly described as a "one-time” contract

and that he expected it to be renewed.



Around this time, Carroll College started experiencing

budget problems because of declining enrollment. In June

2017, Lori Peterson—Vice President of Finance,

Administration & Facilities—emailed Gross about the need

for budget cuts in the athletic department and asked, "[d]o

we need a head [golf] coach for the position or is this a

stipend position[?]” Two months later, Gross proposed

nearly $200,000 in reductions to the athletic department

budget, including the recommendation to make the golf

coach a stipend-only position. The Budget Committee of the

Board of Trustees adopted those recommendations. Because

his Contract was not renewed, MacIntyre's pay plummeted

from $38,000 to $14,000 and he lost some of his

employment benefits.



Gross testified that MacIntyre's Contract was not

renewed as part of the budget cuts. MacIntyre disputes that,

pointing out that Carroll College raised the salary for Harry

Clark, the track and field coach, who was being courted by

another school.



After learning that the Contract would not be renewed,

MacIntyre filed another grievance in June 2018, alleging

retaliation for complaining about Title IX violations. After

investigating the claim, a consultant retained by Carroll

College could not determine by a preponderance of the

evidence that the alleged violations occurred.



After discovery, Carroll College moved for summary

judgment on various grounds. The district court granted

summary judgment for Carroll College after determining

that MacIntyre failed to allege a prima facie case of

retaliation under Title IX. Specifically, the district court held

that the nonrenewal of the Contract was not an adverse

action.



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See: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2022/09/08/21-35642.pdf

Revered and remanded.