Price v. Federal Exp. Corp.

• Decision Date: 12 March 2002
• Docket Number: No. 01-40151.,01-40151.
• Citation: 283 F.3d 715
• Parties: Derosher E. PRICE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FEDERAL EXPRESS CORP., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 715

283 F.3d 715

Derosher E. PRICE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. FEDERAL EXPRESS CORP., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 01-40151.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

March 12, 2002.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Stanley Byron Broussard (argued), Houston, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Carl Knox Morrison (argued), Fed. Exp. Corp., Memphis, TN, Mark Douglas Temple, Littler Mendelson, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before BALDOCK,^* SMITH and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.

EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant Derosher Price ("Price") appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant-Appellee Federal Express Corporation ("FedEx"). Price filed suit against FedEx alleging racial discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., after he applied for a promotion to "Zone Manager," and was rejected in favor of a white applicant. On appeal, we must decide whether the district court correctly determined that Price had failed to establish a genuine issue as to any material fact showing that he was the victim of intentional discrimination.

I

Price, a black male, began his employment with FedEx in December 1984. In the intervening sixteen years, he has held a variety of positions, including Courier, Security Officer, Operations Manager, and most recently, Senior Security Specialist III. In June of 1997, two months after starting his position as a Security Specialist, Price applied for the position of Zone Manager of FedEx's Southern Region, located in Atlanta. Mark Hogan ("Hogan"), a senior manager, conducted the hiring process for the Zone Manager position. At the time the position was posted, Atlanta was one of the company's worst sites for theft and pilferage of customers' packages. According to Hogan, FedEx was looking for someone with significant experience, leadership ability, and ties to Atlanta to help correct this situation. Hogan posted the job position, seeking internal applicants from within the company, four times starting in December 1996. Each time, the posting included the following language:

REQUIRES: BACHELOR'S DEGREE/EQUIVALENT. FIVE (5) YEARS PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT OR CORPORATE SECURITY. KNOWLEDGE OF FAA SECURITY REGULATIONS AND LAWS, INVESTIGATIONS, INTERROGATIONS AND DETECTION/ALARM SYSTEMS. REQUIRED TRAVEL 30-40%. MUST HOLD OR BE ABLE TO HOLD A SECRET SECURITY CLEARANCE. STRONG BASIC MANAGEMENT, HUMAN RELATIONS, COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS.

Four white candidates, all of whom had been with FedEx longer than the candidate who was eventually selected, were rejected after responding to the first three postings.

Price applied for the position after the fourth posting in June, 1997. To assist in the application process, Price's manager wrote an interoffice memorandum on his behalf, stating that he would waive any length of service requirement for Price, given his short tenure in his present position as a Security Specialist III. Hogan selected three candidates to interview, including Price. An interview panel, comprised of two senior managers in addition to Hogan, including one black manager, interviewed the three applicants.

Price unquestionably met the requirements for the position as posted. First, Price had a Bachelor of Science degree and an Associate of Science degree, and had worked in a management position with FedEx for four years, and in its security department for six years. Price had also completed several management training courses offered by FedEx. The panel also interviewed John Paone, a white male. Paone had served over fifteen years in the military, during which time he worked in positions requiring management, security, and intelligence skills. Paone also had eighteen months of local law enforcement experience as a detective in Peachtree City, Georgia. Paone had been employed with FedEx as a Courier only six months at the time he applied for the position. While he did not have a bachelor's degree, Paone had 102 hours of college credit. The final applicant was Gary Faulkner, a white male, who had been employed by FedEx since 1992.

As part of the interview, each candidate was required to give a presentation on management interpersonal skills to the panel. Although Price stated that he felt the presentation went well, Hogan noted that Price's overhead slides contained several spelling and typographical errors, and that he exceeded the presentation time limit. After the interviews were completed, the panel members individually completed review forms and unanimously selected Paone as the top candidate. Price was ranked second by the panel members, after Paone but before Faulkner. Hogan then offered Paone the Zone Manager position.

After being informed of the panel's decision, Price filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC. One of Price's principal contentions was that Paone was expedited through FedEx's Leadership Evaluation and Awareness Process ("LEAP"), a prerequisite to management positions with the company, in only one week, when the time period for completion is normally six to twelve months. Price had successfully completed the program prior to applying for the position, and alleged that Paone's special treatment raised an inference of discrimination. Although the EEOC initially issued a no-cause finding, it then reversed itself and issued a determination letter to Price, supporting his claims of discrimination.

Price subsequently filed suit against FedEx alleging racial discrimination in violation of Title VII. Price argued that he was clearly better qualified for the position than Paone, and also presented independent evidence of racial discrimination by Hogan. The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of FedEx, holding that Price had failed to present evidence showing that he was better qualified for the position, and rejecting Price's evidence of independent racial discrimination.

II

We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. See Evans v. City of Houston, 246 F.3d 344, 347 (5th Cir.2001). Summary judgment is appropriate if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). On a motion for summary judgment, a court must review the facts in the light most favorable to the non-movant. Walker v. Thompson, 214 F.3d 615, 624 (5th Cir.2000).

In this case, we must decide whether the district court correctly determined that Price had failed to present evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact sufficient to defeat FedEx's motion for summary judgment.

Claims of racial discrimination based only on circumstantial evidence are evaluated under the burden-shifting framework set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-805, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Under this three-part scheme, a plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case of discrimination by showing: (1) he belongs to a protected group; (2) he was qualified for the position sought; (3) he suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) he was replaced by someone outside the protected class. St. Mary's Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 506, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993).

If a plaintiff is successful in establishing his prima facie case, a presumption of discrimination arises and in the second step of the analysis, the burden shifts to the defendant to produce a legitimate, nondiscriminatory justification for its actions. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817. The defendant's burden during this second step is satisfied by producing evidence, which, "taken as true, would permit the conclusion that there was a nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse action." Hicks, 509 U.S. at 509, 113 S.Ct. 2742 (emphasis in original). If the defendant articulates a reason that can support a finding that its actions were nondiscriminatory, the mandatory inference of discrimination created by the plaintiff's prima facie case drops out. Hicks, 509 U.S. at 510-11, 113 S.Ct. 2742.

Finally, in the third stage of the burden-shifting framework, the plaintiff is given a "full and fair opportunity to demonstrate" that the defendant's proffered reason is not true, but instead is a pretext for intentional discrimination. Hicks, 509 U.S. at 507-8, 113 S.Ct. 2742. On summary judgment, in this third step, the plaintiff must substantiate his claim of pretext through evidence demonstrating that discrimination lay at the heart of the employer's decision. See Rubinstein v. Adm'rs. of the Tulane Educ. Fund, 218 F.3d 392, 400 (5th Cir.2000), cert. denied, 532 U.S. 937, 121 S.Ct. 1393, 149 L.Ed.2d 316 (2001); Evans, 246 F.3d at 351 (defining relevant inquiry as whether the plaintiff has presented evidence that the "justification was a pretext" for racial discrimination). If the plaintiff can show the employer's asserted justification is false, this showing, coupled with a prima facie case, may permit the trier of fact to conclude that the employer discriminated against the plaintiff without additional evidence. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 148, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000).¹ However, such a showing will not always be enough to prevent summary judgment, because there will be cases where a plaintiff has both established a prima facie case and set forth sufficient evidence to reject the defendant's explanation, yet "no rational factfinder could conclude that the action was discriminatory." Id. Whether summary judgment is appropriate depends on numerous factors, including "the strength of the plaintiff's prima facie case,...