Sheets v. Scott & White Hospital

── Sheets v. Scott & White Hospital ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: April 16, 2026 Category: Civil Rights Case: 25-50671 Document: 46-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/16/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 25-50671 Summary Calendar FILED ____________ April 16, 2026 Lyle W. Cayce Lisa Sheets, Clerk Plaintiff—Appellant, versus Scott & White Hospital of Marble Falls, doing business as Baylor Scott & White Medical Center of Marble Falls, doing business as Baylor Scott & White Health, Defendant—Appellee. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 1:23-CV-28 ______________________________ Before Smith, Higginson, and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Lisa Sheets, a white former registered nurse and charge nurse at Baylor Scott & White Hospital (“Baylor”), challenges the district court’s (1) summary judgment and (2) striking of two declarations in a retaliation suit under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Although there is a genuine dispute of _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. 1  Case: 25-50671 Document: 46-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/16/2026 No. 25-50671 material fact as to whether Sheets engaged in a protected activity, she fails to establish a prima facie causal link between her report of racial discrimination and months-later adverse employment action. The district court did not abuse its discretion by sustaining objections to factually duplicative declara- tions. We affirm. I. Factual Background Sheets alleges that technician Carrie Bauer referred to her colleague Dawn Hartfield as a “N-[word] lover” when Sheets and Bauer were alone in a hospital room sometime in October 2021. Sheets claims that she re- sponded, “You can’t say that.” Four months later, Sheets first reported the N-word incident. Around the same time, Human Resources (“HR”) em- ployee Whitney Wilson met with Bauer and Hartsfield “to discuss their be- havior toward each other.” After that meeting, HR “continued to monitor Bauer and Hartsfield’s behavior.” While at Baylor, Sheets received several complaints for “inadequate communication skills.” Her direct supervisor, registered nurse Tava Fogle, issued Sheets a written warning. 1 Even though Sheets claimed that she did not remember, she agreed that she would “try not to intimidate anyone in the future.” But in April 2022, colleagues accused Sheets of being “intimi- dating,” “antagonistic,” and “controlling.” Fogle issued Sheets a final warning. 2 About three months later, Sheets contacted Baylor’s Corporate _____________________ 1 The warning detailed “a pattern of . . . bullying or intimidating behaviors,” “aggression toward[] others that [wa]s perceived as intimidating and controlling,” and “hostility and distrust within the department.” 2 This final warning noted that “failure to exhibit immediate or sustained improvement could lead to separation from employme