United States Court of Appeals,
Eleventh Circuit.
No. 96-7034.
Patricia DAVID, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
SMITHKLINE BEECHAM CLINICAL LABORATORIES, INC., William Thomas, National
Assistance Bureau, Inc., a.k.a. Gardendale Nursing Home, Defendants-Appellees.
Aug. 29, 1997.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (No. CV-95-B-6-
S), Sharon Lovelace Blackburn, Judge.
Before ANDERSON and COX, Circuit Judges, and ALARCON*, Senior Circuit Judge.
PER CURIAM:
With respect to the summary judgment in favor of SmithKline, we assume arguendo, but
need not decide, that an employer may be liable under some circumstances in a case involving
harassment of an employee, not by the employer or its employees, but by a third person. However,
we conclude on this record that SmithKline's response to plaintiff's reports of harassment was
reasonable in light of the options available to SmithKline.1
The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
ANDERSON, Circuit Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I concur in the judgment affirming the grant of summary judgment in favor of all defendants
except SmithKline. Although I recognize that SmithKline's options were limited because the
harasser was a customer and not an employee, and although I acknowledge this is a close question,
I would conclude that the record discloses a genuine issue of fact as to whether SmithKline's
response to the harassment was reasonable.
*
Honorable Arthur L. Alarcon, Senior U.S. Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, sitting by
designation.
1
Plaintiff's other arguments on appeal are without merit and warrant no discussion.