Aucutt v. Six Flags Over Mid-America, Inc.

Citation85 F.3d 1311
Decision Date05 June 1996
Docket NumberMID-AMERIC,INC,No. 95-1255,95-1255
Parties68 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,108, 5 A.D. Cases 902, 16 A.D.D. 502, 8 NDLR P 110 Michael AUCUTT, Appellant, v. SIX FLAGS OVER, a Missouri corporation in good standing, Appellee. Equal Employment Advisory Council, Amicus Curiae.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

Paul Ground, Manchester, MO, argued, for appellant.

Thomas Walsh, St. Louis, MO, argued (Paula Finlay Luepke, on the brief), for appellee.

Before McMILLIAN, FLOYD R. GIBSON, and LOKEN, Circuit Judges.

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Michael Aucutt appeals from a final judgment entered in the United States District Court 1 for the Eastern District of Missouri granting summary judgment in favor of Six Flags over Mid-America, Inc. (Six Flags). Aucutt v. Six Flags Over Mid-America, Inc., 869 F.Supp. 736, 744 (E.D.Mo.1994). For reversal, plaintiff argues the district court erred in holding that (1) plaintiff had failed to establish a prima facie case on his Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) claim or, in the alternative, had failed to rebut the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for his termination proffered by defendant and (2) plaintiff had failed to establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. Background

After a career in the United States Army, Aucutt was hired by Six Flags in April 1990 as a seasonal security guard at its amusement park in Eureka, Missouri. At the time he was hired, Aucutt was 41 years old. In May 1990, Six Flags made Aucutt a full-time security guard. His duties in this position included patrolling the amusement park and its parking lot. Aucutt held this position until October 1992, when he was discharged, at the age of 44.

During his employment at Six Flags, Aucutt was diagnosed with high blood pressure, angina, and coronary artery disease. He informed his supervisors at Six Flags of these medical conditions. In July 1991, Aucutt became ill while at work. He was transported to a hospital, treated for high blood pressure and released after several days. He returned to work approximately three weeks later with a doctor's statement releasing him for work and stating that he should not lift more than twenty-five pounds. Aucutt alleges that when he returned to work, Tom Robertson, the vice-president of Six Flags, initially told him that he would be discharged but later informed him that he would not be discharged after all. Aucutt also alleges that on the same day, Keith Hendricks, the Admissions Supervisor, told him that the "insurance people did not want him back [at] ... work." Joint App. 45-46. Six Flags denies these allegations. It is undisputed, however, that Six Flags refused Aucutt's repeated requests to be allowed to drive air-conditioned vehicles on warm days. Six Flags was also aware that Aucutt could not perform a "streams course," a mandatory employee obstacle course, without experiencing severe pain.

At the end of the 1992 season, William Haviluk, the General Manager of the Six Flags in Eureka reviewed the park's operating results and decided to engage in a reduction-in-force (RIF) at the park. Haviluk implemented layoffs which affected several of the park's departments. He directed Mike Chilovich, the Manager of Security, to reorganize the Security Department. It was decided that three security positions (two sergeants and one officer) would be eliminated as part of the RIF. In October 1992, after evaluating the officers and sergeants under his supervision, Chilovich concluded that Aucutt would be terminated. Chilovich Aff. p 12. According to Chilovich, Aucutt was selected because of his low productivity and abrasive, "militaristic" attitude towards park patrons. For example, on one occasion Aucutt had made patrons perform push-ups in the parking lot; he had also conducted several unauthorized searches of patrons' vehicles for liquor. Chilovich Aff. p 7-8. Although Chilovich had not personally observed these incidents, he did counsel Aucutt about his negative attitude at work. In February 1992, Chilovich specifically informed Aucutt that a failure to improve his work attitude would result in termination. Chilovich Aff. p 11. However, according to Six Flags, Aucutt continued to demonstrate an abrasive demeanor while on duty.

When Chilovich recommended Aucutt for layoff in October 1992 as part of the RIF, Haviluk concurred. At the time of his layoff, Aucutt was 44 years old and the oldest uniformed security officer at the park. Eight months later, following the termination of another uniformed security officer, a long-term Six Flags employee below the age of 40 was transferred into the Security Department as a uniformed security officer.

After exhausting his administrative remedies, Aucutt instituted the present action on September 24, 1993, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging his layoff was discriminatorily based upon his age and his medical conditions, in violation of the ADEA and ADA, respectively. On December 6, 1994, upon motion by Six Flags, the district court entered summary judgment in favor of Six Flags, holding that Aucutt had failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under either the ADEA or the ADA. Further, the district court found that even if Aucutt had established a prima facie case of age discrimination, he had failed to rebut the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for his layoff articulated by Six Flags. Op. at 1318, 1320. This timely appeal followed.

II. Discussion
A. Standard of Review

We review a grant of summary judgment de novo. The question before the district court, and this court on appeal, is whether the record, when viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see, e.g., Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510-11, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Get Away Club, Inc. v. Coleman, 969 F.2d 664, 666 (8th Cir.1992); St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. v. FDIC, 968 F.2d 695, 699 (8th Cir.1992). Where the unresolved issues are primarily legal rather than factual, summary judgment is particularly appropriate. Crain v. Board of Police Comm'rs, 920 F.2d 1402, 1405-06 (8th Cir.1990).

B. ADEA Claim

On appeal, Aucutt contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Six Flags on his ADEA claim for three reasons. First, he argues the district court failed to apply the proper standard for determining whether a motion for summary judgment should be granted. According to Aucutt, the district court neither viewed the facts in the light most favorable to him as the non-movant, nor resolved evidentiary conflicts in his favor. Second, Aucutt argues the district court erroneously concluded that he had failed to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination in violation of the ADEA or, alternatively, that he had failed to rebut the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for his layoff articulated by Six Flags. Finally, Aucutt maintains that statements in Chilovich's affidavit describing Six Flags' nondiscriminatory reason for its selection of Aucutt for discharge were improperly credited by the district court, because these statements were not based on Chilovich's personal knowledge, as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). We consider each argument in turn.

1. Standard of Review Employed by District Court

Aucutt first argues that the district court, in considering Six Flags' motion for summary judgment, failed to review the facts in a light most favorable to him, the party opposing the motion, and give him the benefit of all reasonable inferences supported by the facts. See Didier v. J.C. Penney Co., 868 F.2d 276, 279-80 (8th Cir.1989). More particularly, Aucutt contends that the district court, in considering his performance evaluations, gave undue weight to the portions describing his "negative, militaristic" attitude but failed to give sufficient weight to the portions stating that he had "made progress as a security officer." Appellant's Add. 11; Joint App. 65. He also maintains that the district court improperly disregarded the statements allegedly made by Robertson and Hendricks in July 1991 as evidence of age-based discriminatory animus.

Plaintiff's arguments are without merit. Although the district court was required to consider all facts in the light most favorable to Aucutt, it was not required to ignore undisputed evidence in the record indicating that Aucutt had repeatedly demonstrated a hostile attitude towards park patrons.

Similarly, the district court properly disregarded the statements allegedly made by Robertson and Hendricks, in light of the principles set forth in Beshears v. Asbill, 930 F.2d 1348, 1354 (8th Cir.1991) (Beshears ). In Beshears, we distinguished between "[c]omments which demonstrate a 'discriminatory animus in the decisional process' " from " 'stray remarks in the workplace,' 'statements by nondecisionmakers,' or 'statements by decisionmakers unrelated to the decisional process.' " Id. (quoting Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 277, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 1804-05, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989) (O'Connor, J., concurring)); Radabaugh v. Zip Feed Mills, Inc., 997 F.2d 444, 449 (8th Cir.1993) (Radabaugh ) (documents authored by company president emphasizing young age of managers as one of company's strengths constituted evidence of age-based discriminatory animus). In the present case, the alleged remarks of Robertson and Hendricks were made fourteen months before Aucutt's termination, and neither Robertson nor Hendricks was...

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