Benton Byrnes v. City of Hattiesburg, MS, 662 F. App'x 288

Alex Byrnes, a white employee with cerebral palsy, worked at Hattiesburg Recreation where most coworkers were African American; he alleged harassment by coworker Michael Means beginning March 2013.
Alleged conduct included threats about Byrnes’s car, sitting in Byrnes’s office blocking the door, and a single physical push to Byrnes’s chest in April 2013; Means did not reference Byrnes’s race or disability during incidents.
Byrnes complained to supervisors; after the April push he filed an internal complaint and the harassment stopped, though he took a six-month leave due to anxiety caused by continued presence of Means in the building two hours daily.
Byrnes sued the City of Hattiesburg in February 2015 asserting hostile work environment claims under Title VII, § 1981, the Rehabilitation Act, and the ADA; the district court granted summary judgment for the City.
On appeal Byrnes argued the harassment was race- and disability-based and that the City failed to remedy it; the Fifth Circuit reviewed summary judgment de novo and affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Byrnes suffered a hostile work environment based on race	Byrnes: Means’s conduct and his being white in a majority-Black workplace show race-based harassment	City: Incidents lack any race-based comments or evidence tying conduct to race	Held: No genuine issue that harassment was race-based; summary judgment affirmed
Whether Byrnes suffered a hostile work environment based on disability	Byrnes: Cerebral palsy made him a target; incidents caused severe anxiety and leave	City: No evidence linking harassment to disability; Means never referenced disability	Held: No genuine issue that harassment was disability-based; summary judgment affirmed
Whether plaintiff raised additional discrimination theories (e.g., disparate treatment, failure to accommodate)	Byrnes: Attempted to assert other claims in response to summary judgment	City: Such claims were not pled in the complaint and cannot be introduced at summary judgment	Held: Court refused to consider unpled claims on appeal
Sufficiency of evidence to survive summary judgment	Byrnes: Conduct was severe/pervasive and employer failed to remedy	City: Evidence is speculative/conclusory and does not establish protected-motive harassment	Held: Nonmovant failed to identify record evidence creating genuine disputes; summary judgment appropriate

Cooley v. Hous. Auth. of City of Slidell, 747 F.3d 295 (5th Cir.) (standard of review for summary judgment)
Murray v. Earle, 405 F.3d 278 (5th Cir.) (construing facts and inferences for nonmoving party)
Ramsey v. Henderson, 286 F.3d 264 (5th Cir.) (conclusory allegations inadequate to defeat summary judgment)
Harvill v. Westward Commc’ns, L.L.C., 433 F.3d 428 (5th Cir.) (no genuine issue if record cannot lead rational trier to find for non-moving party)
Flowers v. S. Reg’l Physician Servs. Inc., 247 F.3d 229 (5th Cir.) (hostile work environment framework extends to disability claims)
Jones v. Robinson Prop. Grp., L.P., 427 F.3d 987 (5th Cir.) (same discrimination analysis under Title VII and § 1981)
Soledad v. U.S. Dep’t of Treasury, 304 F.3d 500 (5th Cir.) (Rehabilitation Act harassment requires showing harassment based solely on disability)
Vance v. Ball State Univ., 133 S. Ct. 2434 (Sup. Ct.) (distinction between coworker and supervisor harassment)
Hernandez v. Yellow Transp., Inc., 670 F.3d 644 (5th Cir.) (threats by one race against another do not alone prove racial motivation)
Malacara v. Garber, 353 F.3d 393 (5th Cir.) (nonmovant must identify record evidence creating genuine issue)
Cutrera v. Bd. of Supervisors of La. State Univ., 429 F.3d 108 (5th Cir.) (claims not raised in complaint cannot be asserted for first time at summary judgment)