Willemssen v. Conveyor Co.

• Decision Date: 18 March 2005
• Docket Number: No. C03-4081 PAZ.,C03-4081 PAZ.
• Citation: 359 F.Supp.2d 813
• Parties: Kelli Jo WILLEMSSEN, Plaintiff, v. THE CONVEYOR COMPANY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa

Page 813

359 F.Supp.2d 813

Kelli Jo WILLEMSSEN, Plaintiff, v. THE CONVEYOR COMPANY, Defendant.

No. C03-4081 PAZ.

United States District Court, N.D. Iowa, Western Division.

March 18, 2005.

Dewey P. Sloan, Jr., Dewey P. Sloan, Jr., PC, LeMars, IA, Richard H. Moeller, Berenstein, Moore, Berenstein, Heffernan & Moeller, LLP, Sioux City, IA, for Plaintiff.

Harold D. Dawson, DeKoter, Thole & Dawson, PLC, Sibley, IA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ZOSS, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

On August 28, 2003, Kelli Jo Willemssen ("Willemssen") filed a two-count Complaint against her former employer, The Conveyor Company ("Conveyor"). (Doc. No. 1) In Count I, Willemssen alleges Conveyor violated her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (the "FMLA")¹ by not providing her with leave under the Act and then firing her from her job. In Count II, she alleges she was wrongfully terminated by Conveyor in violation of Iowa common law.

On October 30, 2003, Conveyor filed an Answer, denying liability on both counts of the Complaint, and affirmatively alleging that (1) Willemssen's claims are barred by the statute of limitations; (2) her claims are barred because she failed to file this action within ninety days of the issuance of the EEOC's ruling on her claim; (3) Willemssen never notified Conveyor of a request for medical leave; (4) Willemssen was, fact, provided with the medical leave required by the FMLA; (5) Conveyor acted in good faith, and (6) Conveyor had no improper motive in terminating Willemssen, and never intended to violate the FMLA. (Doc. No. 5)

On February 2, 2004, the parties consented to jurisdiction before a magistrate judge, and on that date, Chief Judge Mark W. Bennett referred the case to the undersigned magistrate judge "for the conduct of all further proceedings and the entry of judgment in accordance with [federal law]." (Doc. No. 8)

On December 3, 2004, Conveyor filed a motion for summary judgment, statement of material facts, supporting brief, and appendix. (Doc. No. 10) On January 4, 2005, Willemssen filed a response to the motion, a cross-motion for summary judgment, and a statement of material facts. (Doc. No. 15) On January 11, 2004, Conveyor filed a reply brief and a resistance to the cross-motion for summary judgment. (Doc. No. 16)

The court has considered the submissions and arguments of the parties carefully, and turns now to discussion of the issues raised by the parties in their motions.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Willemssen was employed by Conveyor in Sibley, Iowa, as a receptionist/administrative assistant. She worked for Conveyor for more than one year, from August 29, 2000, until August 31, 2001, when her employment was terminated. Conveyor employs more than fifty individuals from an area within 75 miles of Sibley. During Willemssen's employment with Conveyor, she worked more than the 1,250 hours required by the FMLA.

Willemssen missed twenty-four days of work on unpaid leave from August 29, 2000, to June 1, 2001. Beginning on June 1, 2001, she took unpaid leave to participate in activities with her children. She was still on unpaid leave on June 11, 2001, when she was hospitalized because of complications relating to a pregnancy. She gave birth to the baby prematurely on July 6, 2001. Willemssen remained on leave until August 29, 2001, when Conveyor notified her that her employment was being terminated effective August 31, 2001.²

Willemssen's baby was sent home from the hospital in early December 2001. Because she had to stay home to take care of the baby, Willemssen would not have been able to return to work until sometime in January 2002, more than three months after the date of her termination.

Willemssen had been on unpaid leave from June 1, 2001, to August 31, 2001, when her employment was terminated, a total of thirteen consecutive weeks. According to Conveyor, it terminated Willemssen's employment because she had been on unpaid leave for more than twelve weeks but she had never informed the company of when, if ever, she would be returning to work.

III. STANDARDS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure governs motions for summary judgment and provides that either party to a lawsuit may move for summary judgment without the need for supporting affidavits. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a), (b). Rule 56 further states that summary judgment:

shall be rendered forthwith 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). A court considering a motion for summary judgment "must view all of the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the facts." Webster Indus., Inc. v. Northwood Doors, Inc., 320 F.Supp.2d 821, 828 (N.D.Iowa 2004) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); and Quick v. Donaldson Co., 90 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (8th Cir.1996)).

The party seeking summary judgment must "`inform[ ] the district court of the basis for [the] motion and identify[ ] those portions of the record which show lack of a genuine issue.'" Webster Indus., 320 F.Supp.2d at 829 (quoting Hartnagel v. Norman, 953 F.2d 394, 395 (8th Cir.1992), in turn citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). A genuine issue of material fact is one with a real basis in the record. Id. (citing Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 394, in turn citing Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1356). Once the moving party meets its initial burden under Rule 56 of showing there is no genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party, "by affidavits or as otherwise provided in [Rule 56], must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); see Webster Indus., 320 F.Supp.2d at 829 (citing, inter alia, Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; and Rabushka ex rel. United States v. Crane Co., 122 F.3d 559, 562 (8th Cir.1997)).

Addressing the quantum of proof necessary to successfully oppose a motion for summary judgment, the Supreme Court has explained that the nonmoving party must produce sufficient evidence to permit "a reasonable jury [to] return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Furthermore, the Supreme Court has held the trial court must dispose of claims unsupported by fact and determine whether a genuine issue exists for trial, rather than weighing the evidence and determining the truth of the matter. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2510; Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323-24, 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53; Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1356.

The Eighth Circuit recognizes that "summary judgment is a drastic remedy and must be exercised with extreme care to prevent taking genuine issues of fact away from juries." Wabun-Inini v. Sessions, 900 F.2d 1234, 1238 (8th Cir.1990) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)). The Eighth Circuit, however, also follows the principle that "summary judgment procedure is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed `to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.'" Id. (quoting Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555); see also Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 396.

Thus, the trial court must assess whether a nonmovant's response would be sufficient to carry the burden of proof at trial. Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 396 (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552). If the nonmoving party fails to make a sufficient showing of an essential element of a claim with respect to which it has the burden of proof, then the moving party is "entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2552; Woodsmith Pub. Co. v. Meredith Corp., 904 F.2d 1244, 1247 (8th Cir.1990). However, if the court can conclude that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmovant, then summary judgment should not be granted. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510; Burk v. Beene, 948 F.2d 489, 492 (8th Cir.1991); Woodsmith, 904 F.2d at 1247.

Special care must be given to summary judgment motions in employment discrimination cases. As the Honorable Mark W. Bennett explained in Bauer v. Metz Baking Co., 59 F.Supp.2d 896 (N.D.Iowa 1999):

Because this is an employment discrimination case, it is well to remember that the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has cautioned that "summary judgment should seldom be used in employment-discrimination cases." Crawford v. Runyon, 37 F.3d 1338, 1341 (8th Cir.1994) (citing Johnson v. Minnesota Historical Soc'y, 931 F.2d 1239, 1244 (8th Cir.1991); Hillebrand v. M-Tron Indus., Inc., 827 F.2d 363, 364 (8th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1004, 109 S.Ct. 782, 102 L.Ed.2d 774 (1989)); see also Snow v. Ridgeview Medical Ctr., 128 F.3d 1201, 1204 (8th Cir.1997) (citing Crawford); Helfter v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 115 F.3d 613, 615 (8th Cir.1997) (quoting Crawford); Chock v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 113 F.3d 861 862 (8th Cir.1997) ("We must also keep in mind, as our court has previously cautioned, that summary judgment should be used sparingly in employment discrimination cases," citing Crawford); Smith v. St. Louis Univ., 109 F.3d 1261, 1264 (8th Cir.1997) (quoting Crawford); Hardin v. Hussmann Corp., 45 F.3d 262 (8th Cir.1995) ("summary judgments should only be used sparingly in employment discrimination cases," citing Haglof v. Northwest Rehabilitation, Inc., 910 F.2d 492, 495 (8th Cir.1990); Hillebrand, 827 F.2d at 364).

Bauer, 59 F.Supp.2d at...