Bernard v. St. Jude Med. S.C., Inc., Case No. 17-cv-3853 (SRN/SER)

• Decision Date: 10 July 2019
• Docket Number: Case No. 17-cv-3853 (SRN/SER)
• Citation: 398 F.Supp.3d 439
• Parties: Craig BERNARD, Plaintiff, v. ST. JUDE MEDICAL S.C., INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

398 F.Supp.3d 439

Craig BERNARD, Plaintiff,

v.ST. JUDE MEDICAL S.C., INC., Defendant.

Case No. 17-cv-3853 (SRN/SER)

United States District Court, D. Minnesota.

Signed July 10, 2019

James H. Kaster and Laura Farley, Nichols Kaster PLLP, 80 South Eighth Street, Suite 4600, Minneapolis, MN 55402 for Plaintiff.

JoLynn M. Markison, Briana Al Taqatqa, and Trevor C. Brown, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, 50 South Sixth Street, Suite 1500, Minneapolis, MN 55402 for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SUSAN RICHARD NELSON, United States District Judge

Defendant St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc., a medical device manufacturer, fired its most senior sales representative in the Birmingham, Alabama region, Plaintiff Craig Bernard, on September 6, 2016. Bernard claims that St. Jude did this because of his age and his ongoing health problems, or, at the least, because, prior to his termination, he accused St. Jude of discriminating against him on such grounds (which would then make his firing impermissible "retaliation"). Bernard subsequently filed a lawsuit against St. Jude in federal court, and alleged violations of (1) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; (2) the Americans with Disabilities Act; and (3) the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

St. Jude now moves for summary judgment, arguing that, even when the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to Bernard, a reasonable juror could only conclude that St. Jude fired Bernard for legitimate business reasons, namely, because Bernard (an at-will employee) failed to adequately perform as either a sales person or a team leader in his final year of employment, and then failed to adhere to the "performance improvement plan" St. Jude gave him as a means to remedy those performance problems. Bernard vigorously opposes the motion, and contends that the facts underlying his claims raise genuine issues of material fact such that a jury, rather than this Court, must be the one to determine if St. Jude violated the law.

The Court agrees with St. Jude, and will accordingly enter judgment in its favor. The Court explains its reasoning below.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Parties

Plaintiff Craig Bernard (hereinafter "Bernard") is a 62-year-old man who worked at St. Jude from August 20, 2003 (when he was 46 years old) to September 6, 2016 (when he was 59 years old). (See Bernard Dep. [Doc. No. 38-2] at 24, 113; see also Defs.' An. [Doc. No. 8] ¶ 6 (providing birth date).) Bernard primarily worked in Birmingham, Alabama, and continues to reside there to this day. (See Bernard Dep. at 11-12.) Notably, in March 2005, during his time working for St. Jude, Bernard was diagnosed with "Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia." (See Pl.'s Responses to Def.'s Interrogatories [Doc. No. 58-1] at 10.) Although the cancer has been in "remission" for years (because of chemotherapy Bernard received in 2008), Bernard still feels the effect of this diagnosis, particularly in his (weakened) immune system. (See generally id. at 9-12.)

Defendant St. Jude Medical S.C., Inc. (hereinafter "St. Jude") is a Minnesota-based medical device company. (See An. ¶ 2.) More specifically, St. Jude "develops, manufactures, sells, and provides clinical support for ... medical devices," which in turn assist "cardiac, neurological, and chronic pain patients." (Kieck Dec. [Doc. No. 36] ¶ 2.)

B. Factual Background

1. Bernard Works as a Sales Representative at St. Jude from August 2003 through January 2015, When He Is Promoted to Territory Manager

In broad strokes, Bernard's employment history with St. Jude went as follows. On August 20, 2003, St. Jude hired Bernard as a "direct sales representative," based in Gulfport, Mississippi. (See August 20, 2003 Offer of Employment [Doc. No. 38-1].) In April 2005, St. Jude transferred Bernard to Birmingham, Alabama, where he continued to work as a direct sales representative. (See Bernard Dep. at 26; accord Def.'s Answers to Pl.'s Interrogatories [Doc. No. 58-4] at 5.) In July 2007, St. Jude promoted Bernard to "senior sales consultant." (See Bernard Dep. at 62; accord Def.'s Answers to Pl.'s Interrogatories at 5.) And, as will be explored in more detail below, in January 2015, St. Jude again promoted Bernard, this time to be one of two "territory managers" for the Birmingham region. (See Bernard Dep. at 61; accord Def.'s Answers to Pl.'s Interrogatories at 5; Bernard Territory Manager Contract [Doc. No. 38-5].) Bernard was a "territory manager" until his termination on September 6, 2016.

During his years at St. Jude, Bernard's primary responsibility was to manage certain hospital "accounts" in his region, and then sell "cardiac rhythm management" ("CRM") devices, i.e. , pacemakers and defibrillators, to physician "clients" working at those accounts. (See Bernard Dep. at 159-61.) While working in Birmingham, for instance, Bernard focused almost exclusively on generating CRM sales (and, in turn, earning commissions) at the following four "accounts": (1) University of Alabama in Birmingham Medical Center ("UAB"); (2) Brookwood Medical Center; (3) Grandview Medical Center (called Trinity Medical Center until July 2015); and (4) the VA Medical Center. (See Pl.'s Responses to Def.'s Interrogatories at 16; Bernard Dep. at 162; see also Bernard Employment Contracts [Doc. Nos. 38-3 to 38-4] (stating that Bernard's income was to be based on "commissions" and "bonuses," in addition to a base salary).)

Importantly, however, Bernard did not work as an independent salesperson. Rather, he, like many employees of large corporations, worked within a larger "team" structure, with co-workers situated both "below" and "above" him. On the one end of this spectrum, Bernard was responsible for supervising two to three "technical support specialists," or "TSSs." (See Bernard Dep. at 126.) Although TSSs differ somewhat from sales representatives, in that they focus on installing and maintaining CRM devices, rather than on "building and maintaining and managing" accounts and client relationships (see id. at 105), at least in Bernard's case, the line between sales representative and TSS sometimes blurred, which meant that Bernard had to work closely with his TSSs to ensure that everyone functioned well together. (See, e.g. , Mouron Dep. [Doc. No. 38-12] at 18-19, 35 (describing the "daily" communications Bernard's TSSs had with each other, as well as with Bernard himself).) On the other end of the spectrum, Bernard also worked under various managers, to ensure that he was meeting his sales goals and fulfilling the company's mission. Specifically, Bernard worked under a "regional sales director," who in turn worked under an "area vice president," who in turn worked under a "divisional vice president." (See Bernard Dep. at 29-40.)

With that general background in mind, the Court will now turn to the specific facts underlying this litigation. With respect to the "August 2003 to January 2015" time period, the following three facts are most worth noting.

First , during this time period, Bernard was a highly successful salesperson. For instance, Bernard's "regional sales director" from 2006 to 2015, James Brennan, testified that Bernard's "sales performance was always at a high level or consistently at a high level." (Brennan Dep. [Doc. No. 38-37] at 87.) Brennan also testified that, as a general matter, he had a "a high level of respect" "for the way [Bernard] built a business" in Birmingham. (Id. at 91.) Indeed, in late 2014, St. Jude commended Bernard for being one of the company's highest-performing CRM salespersons in the entire southern United States. (See generally CRM November 2014 Sales Excellence Awards Program [Doc. No. 60].)

Second , despite Bernard's sales success during this time period, some of Bernard's colleagues were dissatisfied with Bernard's approach to leadership and communication. For instance, Brennan testified, as early as "2007/2008," Bernard began to develop "a pattern of challenging relationships with his support staff," i.e. , his TSSs, in large part because of Bernard's "very direct, demanding, and sometimes ... abrasive[ ]" "communication style." (Brennan Dep. at 37-40.) In particular, Brennan recalled, two TSSs made comments about "interpersonal challenges" with Bernard when they left their positions. (Id. at 39, 67-68; but cf. Bernard Dep. at 125 (stating that he "did not know" if either of those individuals left because "they wanted to be off [his] team").)

Third , although St. Jude did promote Bernard to "territory manager" in January 2015, this promotion proved somewhat controversial. This was so because, only a month prior to Bernard's promotion, Bernard's direct supervisors (Brennan and John Caldwell, the "area vice president" at the time) promoted St. Jude's other Birmingham "sales representative," Brian Faulknier, to the position of Birmingham "territory manager." (See Brennan Dep. at 78.)¹ Moreover, Brennan and Caldwell promoted Faulknier after considering (and then rejecting) Bernard's candidacy for that same position, which "greatly disappointed" Bernard. (See id. at 77-79.) However, due to pressure from Brennan and Caldwell's boss, the then-"divisional vice president," Jeff Powell, Brennan and Caldwell quickly promoted Bernard to "territory manager" as well. (See id. at 77.) In other words, although Brennan personally believed that St. Jude needed just "one territory manager in Birmingham," i.e. , Faulknier, he nonetheless promoted Bernard "because [he] was directed to do so" by Powell. (Id. )

This decision resulted in a somewhat awkward preservation of the status quo. That is, although Bernard and Faulknier were both now "territory managers" (and hence earning larger salaries and holding somewhat greater leadership responsibilities), they essentially continued doing what they had been doing previously: acting as sales representatives for their specific accounts in Birmingham, and then managing a team of TSSs beneath them. (See, e.g. , Mouron Dep. at 68 (describing the new "territory managers" in Birmingham as "more...