Bradford v. Rent-a-Center East, Inc.

Decision Date23 November 2004
Docket NumberCivil Action No. 3:03cv0697-T.
PartiesWillie BRADFORD, Plaintiff, v. RENT-A-CENTER EAST, INC., Defendant.
CourtU.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

Eric James Artrip, Watson Jimmerson, Rebekah Keith McKinney, Watson Jimmerson Givhan Martin & McKinney, Huntsville, AL, for Plaintiff.

Hugh C. Nickson, III, Miller, Hamilton, Snider & Odom, Montgomery, AL, Kirkland E. Reid, Miller Hamilton Snider &amp Odom, Michael Morris Shipper, Miller Hamilton Snider & Odom, Mobile, AL, Richard Larry Collins, Collins & Associates, Cullman, AL, for Defendant.

ORDER

MYRON H. THOMPSON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Willie Bradford brings this lawsuit claiming that his former employer, defendant Rent-A-Center East, Inc., terminated his employment because of his race, in violation of two federal statutes: the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C.A. § 1981; and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 1981a, 2000e through 2000e-17. Bradford also claims that Rent-A-Center failed to promote him because of his race and retaliated against him because of his complaints of racial discrimination, in violation of § 1981. Finally, Bradford asserts that Rent-A-Center wrongfully terminated him as a result of a work-related accident, in violation of the following state statute: 1975 Ala.Code § 25-5-11.1. The court's jurisdiction is proper under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1331 (federal question), 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e-5(f) (Title VII), 28 U.S.C.A. § 1343 (civil rights), and 28 U.S.C.A. § 1367 (supplemental).

This case is now before the court on Rent-A-Center's motion for summary judgment. The motion will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. SUMMARY-JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is proper where "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact" and "the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). "[T]he mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Only factual disputes that are material under the substantive law governing the case will preclude entry of summary judgment. Id.

Where, as here, the non-moving party bears the burden of proof at trial, "the moving party, in order to prevail, must do one of two things: show that the non-moving party has no evidence to support ... [his] case, or present `affirmative evidence demonstrating that the non-moving party will be unable to prove ... [his] case at trial.'" Hammer v. Slater, 20 F.3d 1137, 1141 (11th Cir.1994) (quoting U.S. v. Four Parcels of Real Property, 941 F.2d 1428, 1437-38 (11th Cir.1991) (en banc)). Once the party seeking summary judgment has informed the court of the basis for its motion, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to show that a genuine issue of material fact exists. Id. In making its determination, the court must view all evidence and any factual inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Rent-A-Center is a company engaged nationwide in the rent-to-own business. In April of 2000, Rent-A-Center hired Bradford for the entry-level position of account manager in the company's Alexander City store. During Bradford's initial interview, the store's manager, Tim Jones, suggested to Bradford that he would either be in training to be a manager or be a manager within six months. The management hierarchy at Rent-A-Center stores, from least senior to most senior, is account manager, insider/out (I/O) manager, executive assistant (E/A) manager, store manager, and district manager.

Around May 2001, an I/O manager position became available in the Alexander City store. Although Jones told Bradford that he would be promoted to an I/O manager position, the district manager, Edward Rich, transferred Dan Dean (a white I/O manager from another Rent-A-Center store) to the available position in the Alexander City store. Bradford complained to Jones about the missed promotion.1

In September 2001, Bradford was promoted to I/O manager. At the time of the promotion, Jones told Bradford that either he or Dean would be promoted to E/A manager. Dean received the promotion, which became effective on November 17, 2001. When Bradford learned of Dean's promotion, he complained to Jones that the decision was racially motivated, and Jones responded that Rich had simply preferred Dean.

As a result of the Alexander City store's poor performance during the last quarter of 2001, Rich replaced Jones with Bill Flournoy as the store's manager. Rich instructed Flournoy to improve the performance at the store. Both Jones and Flournoy reported to Rich that Bradford had received non-emergency, personal phone calls at work, in violation of Rent-A-Center's policy, as stated in its employee handbook.2 Flournoy verbally reprimanded Bradford twice for this conduct. In addition, Flournoy reported to Rich that Bradford was sometimes absent for four to five hours, while making delivery-and-collection runs, without regularly checking back with the store. Flournoy learned that Bradford, on at least one occasion, had visited a female friend for several hours during his absence. Flournoy orally reprimanded Bradford for his conduct.

On December 24, 2001, Bradford pulled a tendon and chipped a bone in his left ankle while on the job. Bradford informed Flournoy of the incident, and Flournoy contacted Rent-A-Center's workers' compensation administrator and instructed Bradford to visit the company's approved workers' compensation physician. Although Bradford never received any worker's compensation for his accident, he lost two days of work, one of which was a full-paid vacation day. When he returned to work, he was assigned a less physically demanding set of responsibilities.

In January 2002, Bradford said, in the presence of Flournoy, Dean, and other Rent-A-Center employees, that the reason he was not promoted was because of his race. Around January 27, 2002, Rent-A-Center terminated Bradford's employment on the ground that he had received too many personal phone calls at work.3 Bradford was replaced with a white employee. Other mid-level managers whose employment was terminated around this time period included Morgan Israel (a white male),4 Melvin Buchner (an African-American male),5 and Dean.6 None of these employees was terminated for making personal phone calls.

On May 24, 2002, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received an unverified letter from Bradford, alleging racial discrimination by Rent-A-Center. The commission subsequently sent a completed charge of discrimination to Bradford for his signature and verification. Bradford filed the verified charge on August 4, 2002. On April 3, 2003, the commission sent Bradford a "Notice of Right to Sue," and, on July 2, 2003, he filed this lawsuit.

III. DISCUSSION
A. Title VII Claim

Bradford claims that Rent-A-Center terminated his employment because of his race, in violation of Title VII.

The shifting of burdens in a Title VII case is determined according to the McDonnell Douglas framework. See, e.g., Herawi v. State of Alabama Dep't of Forensic Scis., 311 F.Supp.2d 1335, 1344 (M.D.Ala.2004) (Thompson, J.) (citing McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973)). According to this framework, a plaintiff has the initial burden of establishing a prima-facie case of unlawful discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence; this prima-facie case requires "`evidence adequate to create an inference that an employment decision was based on a[n] [illegal] discriminatory criterion.'" Id. (quoting Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters v. U.S., 431 U.S. 324, 358, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1866, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977)). If the plaintiff successfully raises a presumption of illegal discrimination by establishing a prima-facie case, the burden then shifts to the defendant to articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for its employment action. Once the defendant satisfies this burden of production, the plaintiff must set forth evidence that would be sufficient to convince a reasonable fact finder that the reason given by the employer was pretextual. Id.

One way Bradford may establish a prima-facie case is to show that: (1) he is a member of a protected class; (2) he was qualified for the position; (3) he suffered an adverse-employment action; and (4) he was replaced by a person outside his protected class or was treated less favorably than a similarly situated individual outside of his protected class. Maynard v. Bd. of Regents of Div. of Univs. of Florida Dep't of Educ., 342 F.3d 1281, 1289 (11th Cir.2003); see also McDonnell Douglas Corp., 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. As an African-American, Bradford is a member of a protected class. Alexander v. Chattahoochee Valley Cmty. Coll., 325 F.Supp.2d 1274, 1281 (M.D.Ala.2004) (Thompson, J.). Moreover, neither party disputes that Bradford possessed the necessary qualifications for the position of I/O manager that he had held prior to being fired; that the termination of his employment constituted an adverse-employment action; and that a white employee replaced him. Bradford has thus met his "light" burden of establishing a prima-facie case. Turlington v. Atlanta Gas Light Co., 135 F.3d 1428, 1432 (11th Cir.1998).

Because Bradford has established a prima-facie case, Rent-A-Center, as stated, must articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for Bradford's termination. "`This intermediate burden is exceedingly light.' ... The defendant has a burden of production, not persuasion, and does not have to persuade a court that it was actually motivated by the reason advanced." Herawi, ...

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