Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc.

Decision Date17 May 1993
Docket NumberNo. 92-8024,92-8024
Citation990 F.2d 1217
Parties61 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1301, 62 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,381 Bill CLARK; Herbert Futch; Austin Hurst; Louis Sliker and William Barrineau, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COATS & CLARK, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Kent Spriggs, Mary O'Rourke, Spriggs & Johnson, Tallahassee, FL, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Rosemary C. Lumpkins, William K. Principe, Constangy, Brooks & Smith, Atlanta, GA, for defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Before COX and DUBINA, Circuit Judges, and GODBOLD, Senior Circuit Judge.

GODBOLD, Senior Circuit Judge:

This is an employment discrimination case between Coats & Clark, Inc. and five of its former employees. Each of the five employees, Hurst, Futch, Barrineau, Sliker, and Clark contends that Coats & Clark discharged him in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1140. Clark also asserts that he was forced to retire in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 626(b), and that, under Georgia law, his involuntary retirement constituted intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court granted summary judgment to Coats & Clark on all claims. We affirm the grant of summary judgment on appellants' ERISA claims and Clark's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. As to Clark's ADEA claim, we reverse the grant of summary judgment and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

Appellants were all employed at Coats & Clark's Thomasville, Georgia thread mill and left that employment between December 1983 and October 1985. During that time period the total number of people working at the mill was in flux. Between January 1983 and May 1985 it decreased from 278 to 205, but then it began to increase, reaching 225 by October 1985 and eventually peaking at 292 in July 1988. The reductions between 1983 and early 1985 were not limited to hourly workers. In late 1983 Coats & Clark conducted an evaluation of all its salaried personnel and positions, resulting in a proposal by plant manager Richard Bradner to eliminate several salaried workers and/or their positions. Because the appellants held different positions and were terminated at different times during this period the circumstances surrounding each termination must be examined individually.

A. Thomas Austin Hurst

On December 30, 1983 Coats & Clark terminated Hurst after 26 years of service. Hurst had served in his final position as twisting supervisor for roughly 13 years. He had heart surgery in 1979 but had continued to work. Coats & Clark told him that, as part of the 1983 proposal to eliminate some of the plant's salaried positions, his job was being eliminated and combined with that of another supervisor to create one salaried position. His pension had vested, thus his termination deprived him only of the ability to accrue additional benefits.

B. Herbert Futch

Futch worked for Coats & Clark for 21 years, the last nine as a supervisor. Futch was also terminated December 30, 1983 as part of the 1983 proposal to reduce salaried personnel. His duties were split between a salaried employee and an hourly employee. Futch's benefits had vested so his discharge only prevented him from accruing additional benefits.

C. William Barrineau

Barrineau was terminated in March 1985 during a general reduction in the workforce. He worked at Coats & Clark as an hourly employee for 25 years, thus his pension benefits had vested. Barrineau has not provided any other details concerning his termination except his assertion that he was not given a reason for his discharge.

D. Lewis Sliker

Sliker was terminated as supply room clerk March 27, 1985 during a general reduction in the workforce. At the time of termination he had been employed at Coats & Clark nine years and three months, so his benefits were nine months shy of vesting. After 10 years of employment, Sliker would have been entitled to receive a lump sum of $939.75 or monthly payments of $14.10. Because Sliker's pension had not yet vested, however, Coats & Clark did not pay him any benefits upon termination. Sliker's assertion that he was replaced by another worker is unsupported. Instead, the record convincingly demonstrates that his job was eliminated and his duties divided between two maintenance mechanics.

E. Bill Clark

Clark contends that he was forced to accept early retirement in violation of both ERISA and ADEA. Also he has asserted a pendent state law claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Clark worked for Coats & Clark for 38 years, the last 25 at the supervisor level and above. His last position was department manager of preparation and spinning. Coats & Clark transferred Clark into that position in January 1984 after his former position as assistant plant manager was eliminated. The parties do not agree why Clark left Coats & Clark's employment. Coats & Clark contends that Clark voluntarily chose to accept early retirement. Clark asserts that, just as he was going home on October 31, 1985, he was called into the plant manager's office and told by plant manager Bradner and personnel administrator Jess Ferrell that Coats & Clark wanted him to accept early retirement effective immediately. He refused and Bradner told him that he had to accept early retirement. Clark was then 58 years old.

It is agreed that after the meeting Clark collected his personal belongings, left the plant, and is now receiving early retirement benefits. Clark contends that he, unlike other retirees, did not receive a going away party, retirement gift, or service plaque. He further contends that since October 31, 1985 he has suffered from severe depression.

Although Coats & Clark says that Clark lost his job as part of a workforce reduction, the number of employees at the Thomasville plant increased by 18 during October 1985 and by two more in November 1985. In addition, Bradner stated that Jim Cauthen, age 27 at the time, took over Clark's position as department manager of preparation and spinning, Bradner Dep., at 83, and further stated that Cauthen actually had fewer responsibilities than Clark. See id. at 86.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This is the third time we have addressed this case. In the first appeal we reviewed the district court's order dismissing all claims except Clark's ERISA claim. Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc. (Clark I), 865 F.2d 1237, 1239 (11th Cir.1989). We concluded that Clark had filed a timely charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission concerning his ADEA claim and therefore reversed the dismissal of the ADEA claim. Id. at 1245. Based on the statute of limitations, we affirmed the dismissal of the claims of Hurst, Futch, Barrineau, and Sliker under ERISA for recovery of wages but held that their ERISA claims for reinstatement of employment and pension rights were not barred. Id. We also held that ERISA did not preempt Clark's emotional distress claim. Id.

On remand from Clark I the district court granted summary judgment to Coats & Clark on all claims. It held that all of the employees had failed to establish a prima facie case that their terminations violated ERISA, and that Hurst, Futch, Barrineau, and Sliker had no cause of action under ERISA because, as vested employees, they only lost the right to accrue additional benefits. The court held that Clark also had not established a prima facie case that he was forced to retire in violation of ADEA, and, even if he had, would not be able to demonstrate pretext. It further held that the exclusive remedies provision of the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act, O.C.G.A. § 34-9-11 (Michie 1992), precluded consideration of Clark's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim, and, if it could be considered, summary judgment was proper because Coats & Clark's conduct was not extreme and outrageous.

In Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc. (Clark II), 929 F.2d 604 (11th Cir.1991), we reviewed the grant of summary judgment and reversed without addressing the merits because it appeared that the district court had not found that Coats & Clark met its initial burden of demonstrating the absence of any genuine issue of material fact under Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). See Clark II, 929 F.2d at 608-09. On remand the district court held that Coats & Clark had met its initial burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, that the employees had not shown the existence of a material issue of fact, and reaffirmed its earlier grant of summary judgment. It also denied the employees' motion requesting the judge to recuse himself pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 455.

All five employees appeal from the grant of summary judgment on their ERISA claims, and request that, in the event of a remand, the case be reassigned to another judge. Clark also appeals from the grant of summary judgment on his ADEA and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same legal standards as the district court. Owens v. Storehouse, Inc., 984 F.2d 394, 397 (11th Cir.1993).

IV. DISCUSSION
A. ERISA Claims

All five appellants contend that their terminations violated § 510 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1140. Section 510 makes it unlawful

to discharge ... a participant or beneficiary for exercising any right to which he is entitled under the provisions of an employee benefit plan ... or for the purpose of interfering with the attainment of any right to which such participant may become entitled.

Id. Coats & Clark first asserts that because the pensions of Barrineau, Futch, Hurst, and Clark were vested, their only loss was the ability to accrue additional benefits, which...

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