Deters v. Equifax Credit Infor. Serv.

Citation202 F.3d 1262
Decision Date01 February 2000
Docket NumberNo. 97-3340,97-3340
Parties(10th Cir. 2000) SHARON M. DETERS, also known as Sharon M. Anderson , Plaintiff - Appellee , v. EQUIFAX CREDIT INFORMATION SERVICES, INC. , Defendant - Appellant
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Scott A. McCreight, (and Korey A. Kaul, Sprenger & McCreight, L.C., Kansas City, Missouri, and Michael S. Ketchmark and Joseph K. Eischens, Davis, Ketchmark & Eischens, Kansas City, Missouri, with him on the brief), for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Michaela M. Warden (and Jack L. Whitacre and William C. Martucci, Spencer, Fane, Britt & Browne, L.L.P., Overland Park, Kansas, with her on the brief), for Defendant-Appellant.

Before BALDOCK , EBEL , and KELLY , Circuit Judges.

KELLY, Circuit Judge.

Defendant-Appellant, Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc. ("Equifax"), appeals from a $300,000 judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of Plaintiff-Appellee, Sharon Deters ("Ms. Deters"), on her sexual harassment claim. The jury awarded Ms. Deters $5,000 in compensatory damages, and $1,000,000 in punitive damages, later reduced by the court to $295,000 based on the cap established by 42 U.S.C. §a1981a(b)(3). The district court denied Equifax's post-trial motion for judgment as a matter of law, or alternatively for a new trial or remittitur. See Deters v. Equifax Credit Information Servs., 981 F. Supp. 1381, 1384 (D. Kan. 1997). On appeal, Equifax contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support punitive damages based upon a supervisor's alleged failure to investigate and take prompt corrective action to stop the harassment; (2) it is not responsible for the conduct of its supervisor either because it had no knowledge of that conduct or the supervisor was not a policy maker and was acting in accordance with corporate policy, (3) the district court erred in denying its post-trial motion for a new trial or remittitur, and (4) the district court erred in admitting a videotape recounting sexual harassment, thereby depriving it of a fair trial. Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. §a1291 and we affirm.

Background

Ms. Deters worked in the administration department of Equifax in the Lenexa, Kansas office. That office is engaged in the debt collection business. Debt collectors were supervised by assistant department managers (ADMs) and both were considered the "revenue producers." Ms. Deters presented evidence at trial that during her tenure at Equifax, from August 1994 to October 1995, she was repeatedly subject to sexual harassment, which she perceived as abusive, by three male co-workers, and her original male supervisor.

1.The Harassment

Ms. Deters testified that one of her daily functions was to supply numbers to the ADMs on the collection floor, on which their bonuses were based. When one ADM (first ADM) did not like the numbers he saw, he twisted her arm and made her recalculate them. If she would not recalculate them or walked away, the ADM would yell "hey you F'ing B, get back here" or "come here you C."1 Aplt. App. 397, 410. This was a daily occurrence. See id. at 398, 470. This ADM also told crude sexually-oriented jokes. According to Ms. Deters, another ADM (second ADM) began the same type of activities directed toward her after the first ADM started. See id. at 414-15; 529-33. She testified that both men leered at her as she walked through the entire office handing out numbers to the ADMs. See id. at 415.

The first ADM frequently talked about sexual acts and breasts. When he told another female employee "that she had perky tits that looked right at him," Ms. Deters stared at him in shock only to be told "'what are you looking at, you F'ing B.'" Id. at 401. This ADM also grabbed Ms. Deters' arm, telling her "'my you're a frail thing . . . if I was ever to have sex with you, I'd crush you like grapes." Id. at 406. Ms. Deters complained about the first ADM and the second ADM. See id. at 401, 407, 531. She took her complaints to Jim Taylor, the general manager of the Lenexa office. Ms. Deters also complained when she overheard these ADMs discussing having sex with her. The first ADM made a bet with her original supervisor about "who [was going] to sleep with her first." Id. at 401-04, 433. The original supervisor claimed to have won the bet. Seeid. at 404, 432.

Ms. Deters also testified that her original supervisor frequently called her at home "at any hour of the night and he'd want to talk," making it very clear that he wanted to go out with her, even though she told him she was engaged and not interested. Id. at 425-27. Ms. Deters complained to Mr. Taylor. Seeid. at 431. According to Ms. Deters, when she unexpectedly needed two days off, her original supervisor told her job was at risk and that she needed to meet him at a restaurant to discuss it. See id. at 428. No business was discussed, Ms. Deters testified that she drove him home because he was intoxicated; when she was leaving, he grabbed her and kissed her. See id. at 430. Ms. Deters complained to Mr. Taylor again, but to no avail. Her original supervisor later stared at her chest and asked if she wanted to take off her jacket. See id. at 432.

Ms. Deters also testified that that she also had problems with a male collector because he would touch her or grab her hand and tell her "I love redheads." Id. at 433. She viewed his conduct as "very aggressive," despite her saying "no," or "I'm busy" or walking away, the collector followed her or approached her again. Id. at 434. The collector frequently asked Ms. Deters' to see him play in a band; squeezing her arm or hands in a suggestive manner; she would pull away and refuse. See id. at 435. She complained to Mr. Taylor telling him that the collector's actions made her "very uncomfortable and that he (the collector) wouldn't let it be. That he was just being persistent and persistent and persistent." Id. at 435. She also complained when the collector came into her office, sat next to her, pushed her skirt up and begin rubbing her leg before she fought him off. Id. at 493.

II. The Response

Just as the record is replete with testimony of co-workers corroborating Ms. Deters version of the harassment, so too is it with testimony that she routinely complained to Mr. Taylor, who indicated that he would take care of it. Mr. Taylor was the highest managerial officer in the Kansas City office, overseeing the entire staff, with the power to hire, fire, approve salaries, and discipline individuals in the office. He was designated specifically by Equifax to implement its human resources policies, which included the sexual harassment policy. Ms. Deters presented evidence at trial that entitled the jury to believe that (1) Mr. Taylor had personal knowledge of the harassment occurring including the epithets, see id. at 471, and (2) Mr. Taylor's responses to her persistent complaints were seriously deficient. Ms. Deters testified that Mr. Taylor:

told me . . . that these were revenue producers. These were people producing revenue for the company. That I needed to remember that I was a non-revenue person or that I was in a non-revenue producing department.

Id. at 412. She further testified that the harassing conduct was explained to her as a by-product of the "hard core" and "rough around the edges" personality type necessary to be a collector, and that she had to tolerate the name calling and the language. Id. at 413, 473-74. In response to the groping incident, she was told "that [the collector] was friendly, that [she was] reading too much into it." Id. at 494.

Evidence was also presented that Equifax's home office in Atlanta was aware that Ms. Deter's co-worker, Angel Pernice, was subject to sexual harassment in the same time period, by the second ADM who persistently harassed Ms. Deters. The human resources officers in Atlanta delayed investigation of Pernice's allegations for six months, and only commenced their investigation after Ms. Deters severed her employment with Equifax.

Discussion

We review the district court's denial Equifax's motion for judgment as a matter of law de novo, applying the same legal standard as the district court. See Baty v. Willamette Industries, Inc., 172 F.3d 1232, 1241 (10th Cir. 1999). Equifax is only entitled to judgment as a matter of law if the "'evidence points but one way and is susceptible to no reasonable inferences supporting the party opposing the motion.'" Id. (quoting Mason v. Oklahoma Turnpike Auth., 115 F.3d 1442, 1450 (10th Cir. 1997). In our review of the record, we will not weigh evidence, judge witness credibility, or challenge the factual conclusions of the jury. Id. Judgment as a matter of law in favor of Equifax is appropriate only if "'there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis ... with respect to a claim or defense ... under the controlling law.'" Id. (quoting Harolds Stores, Inc. v. Dillard Dep't Stores, 82 F.3d 1533, 1546-47 (10th Cir. 1996) (internal quotes and citation omitted). We consider the evidence, and any inferences drawn therefrom in favor of Ms. Deters, the non-moving party. Id.

We review the district court's denial of a motion for a new trial for abuse of discretion, reversing only if it clearly erred, or ventured beyond the limits of permissible choice. Id. We review the district court's denial of remittitur for "'manifest abuse of discretion'". Id. (quoting Vining v. Enterprise Fin. Group, Inc., 148 F.3d 1206, 1216 (10th Cir. 1998).

Equifax does not argue, nor could it, that the conduct of the ADMs, the collector and the original supervisor as portrayed by Ms. Deters is insufficient to constitute hostile work environment sexual harassment. See Harris v. Forklift, Systems, Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 21 (1993) (requiring that the conduct be severe or pervasive enough to create...

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