Duffy testifies, Septimus
trial nears finish
By Ken Fountain
Senior Staff Writer
UH General Counsel Dennis Duffy on Friday
emphatically denied discriminating against former Assistant General Counsel
Susan Septimus or retaliating against
her for filing complaints.
Duffy was one of the last witnesses called
by Septimus' attorneys in the federal trial of her charges that the University
retaliated
against her and forced her to resign.
Both sides wrapped up their cases Friday.
The lawyers will give closing arguments today before the case goes to the
jury.
In March 1998, Septimus filed an internal
affirmative action charge that Duffy discriminated against her on the basis
of her age
and gender when he hired Brian Nelson
for the position of associate general counsel two months before.
Duffy testified that when Septimus asked
him why he had not considered her for the position, "I made it clear to
her that she had
not stepped up to the plate in terms of
management responsibilities."
Duffy was hired in October 1997 by UH System
Chancellor/UH President Arthur K. Smith with the mandate to turn around
the
Office of General Counsel, which for years
had a poor reputation in the UH community.
Duffy testified he set out to "fundamentally
change the way the office was organized and change the perceived, and in
my view,
actual lack of responsiveness (of the
OGC)."
The increasingly strained relationship
between Duffy and Septimus culminated in a March 1998 incident beginning
with a
meeting about some legal matters in which,
Duffy testified, he lectured her (not for the first time) on the need to
determine who
the "appropriate client" in the matter
was.
Duffy said he didn't yell at her during
the meeting, but that he was "frustrated." At some point, Septimus walked
out, he said. (In
her own testimony, Septimus said she left
because she felt Duffy was not paying attention to her.)
Duffy testified that, after asking Nelson
to accompany him, he went to Septimus' office and "communicated to her
that I did not
appreciate her walking out."
In his opening statement, Septimus' lead
attorney, Andrew Golub, said the exchange between Duffy, Nelson and Septimus
lasted two hours, with Duffy screaming
at her and pounding her desk with his fist while she sobbed uncontrollably.
Duffy testified that, while he did not
recall how long the exchange lasted, "I was stern with her, because this
was a serious issue,
but there was no yelling or screaming."
Septimus was one of three white female
OGC staffers older than 40 who filed complaints of gender, age and race
discrimination
against Duffy (who is black) with the
UH Affirmative Action Office. Because that office is supervised by the
OGC, the University
hired outside attorney Deborah McElvaney
to conduct an investigation. In a 20-page report to Smith, McElvaney concluded,
in
part, that Duffy had discriminated against
Septimus in not promoting her, as well as created a "hostile and abusive
work
environment" toward women.
Asked by Golub if he was "angry" about
the report, Duffy said he was "disappointed."
"I thought she was dead wrong," he said.
Duffy testified about preparing a performance
evaluation for Septimus, in which he wrote she "exceeds expectations" but
"needs
to be more of a team player" and accept
his authority. He said he was not aware then that she had filed a complaint
against him.
The evaluation is one the critical points
of Septimus' claim of retaliation.
Golub grilled Duffy on whether he and Nelson
had had "strategy sessions" on what to do about Septimus. Duffy said that,
responding to an e-mail in which Nelson
said "we need to do something" about office rumors that Septimus was fostering
dissent, Duffy wrote back saying he "would
need tangible evidence" before making a decision to discipline her.
"I'm a believer in documentation, not say-so,"
Duffy said. He was not trying "to paper up the files" in order to justify
a later decision
to fire her, Septimus said.
