Clayton v. Meijer, Inc.

• Decision Date: 26 February 2002
• Docket Number: No. 00-1970.,00-1970.
• Citation: 281 F.3d 605
• Parties: Anthony CLAYTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MEIJER, INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

281 F.3d 605

Anthony CLAYTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MEIJER, INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 00-1970.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Submitted November 2, 2001.

Decided and Filed February 26, 2002.

John R. Runyan (briefed), Sachs Waldman Professional Corp., Detroit, MI, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Jeffrey Scott Rueble, Thomas M. Miller (briefed), Senior Labor Counsel, Meijer Legal Department, Grand Rapids, MI, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before: MARTIN, Chief Circuit Judge; BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge; SARGUS, District Judge.^*

OPINION

SARGUS, District Judge.

Anthony Clayton, plaintiff-appellant, appeals the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to the defendant-appellee, Meijer, Incorporated ("Meijer") on his Title VII claim of racial discrimination. For the reasons that follow, the decision of the district court is affirmed.

I.

In 1994, Meijer hired Clayton, an African-American, as a truck driver. As a result of an accident which occurred on May 30, 1998, Meijer discharged Clayton. Thereafter, Clayton filed an action in the district court alleging that Meijer violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq.

On August 8, 2000, the district court granted Meijer's motion for summary judgment. The court found that Clayton failed to establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination. The judge applied the familiar McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973) analysis. The district court determined that the plaintiff had established that he had met the first three prongs of the burden shifting framework by establishing that he was a member of the protected class, that he suffered an adverse employment action and that for purposes of the motion he was qualified for the position from which he was terminated. Id. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817. The district court found that Clayton did not satisfy the fourth prong of the McDonnell Douglas analysis in that he did not establish that he was either replaced by a person from outside the protected class or was treated differently from similarly situated employees outside the protected class. Id. Clayton appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment.

II.

On May 30, 1998, Clayton drove a semi-truck to Meijer's store in Bryden, Michigan, and dropped off a partially full trailer. While en route, he was advised by the store manager he was to pick up an empty trailer ready to be taken back to the Meijer Distribution Center from which Clayton had departed.

After dropping off the first trailer, Clayton backed up his truck to an empty trailer and hitched it to his rig. Insulation padding surrounded the dock door where the trailer was parked. Consequently, from his truck, Clayton could not see into the loading dock and could not see the rear trailer door. It is undisputed that Clayton was aware of the circumstances and knew that he was to make sure the rear trailer door was closed and the dock plate was raised¹ before moving the trailer.

Clayton acknowledged in his deposition that it was his responsibility to check that the rear door of the trailer was closed and that the dock plate had been raised before he could safely drive away. Clayton also admits that before he drove the rig away from the dock, he did not go to the rear of the truck and determine for himself that the door was closed and the dock plate raised. He also did not use a telephone on the outside of the dock doors to determine the status of the trailer door and dock plate.

As Clayton drove the truck and trailer away from the dock, a serious accident ensued. The door of the trailer was not closed. Further, the dock plate was still in place. A 66 year-old female coworker was actually standing on the dock plate as the vehicle pulled away from the dock. As a result, the dock plate fell and the coworker fell four feet to the ground. In the course of the fall, she broke her right knee and has been unable to return to work as a result of her injuries.

Following Clayton's discharge, his former supervisor hired an additional ten truck drivers to perform the same kind of work previously done by Clayton. While the record below is not precise, at least three and perhaps five of the new hires were African-American. No single new hire filled the position formerly performed by Clayton.

Clayton also submitted evidence in support of his claim that other white employees who engaged in essentially the same conduct for which he was fired were not themselves discharged. All three of the employees identified by Clayton were truck drivers for Meijer and were involved in incidents which were similar with respect to the conduct of the employee but dissimilar with respect to the resultant injuries to coworkers.

In the case of David Albain, the employee pulled a trailer away from a warehouse dock without verifying that the rear door was closed and the dock plate was raised. A coworker was actually in the trailer operating a type of forklift. Albain drove the trailer to a staging area where it was parked without injury to the coworker who remained, without Albain's knowledge, in the trailer. Albain was given a three day disciplinary suspension as a result of the safety violation.

Clayton also produced testimony that Michael Pruitt, a Meijer truck driver working out of the distribution center in Lansing, Michigan, also pulled a trailer from a dock without checking the rear door and dock plate. The conveyor extending from the trailer to the dock fell to the ground as the trailer pulled away. As in the case of Albain, Pruitt also received a three day disciplinary suspension.

Finally, Clayton points to the case of Scott Fraley, also employed by Meijer as a truck driver. The incident involving Fraley occurred in October, 1999, over one year after Clayton was discharged. Fraley also pulled his vehicle away with the dock plate still in place and the trailer doors open. A conveyor system was still on the trailer and one employee was actually standing on the dock plate. The employee had to jump away from the dock to escape injury. The conveyor system and product were damaged as they crashed to the ground. Fraley was discharged based upon his conduct. Although Fraley's conduct did not result in injury to a co-worker, Fraley had been involved in four accidents, which Meijer deemed preventable, in the two years prior to his discharge.

The circumstances involving Albain, Pruitt, and Fraley share a number of similarities, including the fact that all three were truck drivers for Meijer and committed the same conduct for which Clayton was discharged. Of the three, only Fraley was discharged. His prior work record included a number of preventable accidents which was not the case with Clayton. The district court found that the primary difference between the circumstances involving the basis for Clayton's discharge and the treatment afforded Albain, Pruitt, and Fraley was the fact that Clayton caused serious physical harm to a coworker while the conduct of the other three did not.

The district court concluded that Clayton failed to establish a prima facie case under McDonnell Douglas. The court found that Clayton had not established that he was replaced by a person outside of the class or that he had been treated differently from similarly situated non-minority employees.

III.

This Court reviews the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. See Gribcheck v. Runyon, 245 F.3d 547, 549 (6th Cir.2001). The standards applicable to such review are well established:

Summary judgment is appropriate where no genuine issue of material fact exists so that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). The court determines whether "there are any genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Of course, "inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motions." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The movant meets its initial burden "by `showing' — that is, pointing out to the district court — that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). At that point, the non-movant "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202.

Dixon v. Anderson, 928 F.2d 212, 216 n. 5 (6th Cir.1991) (parallel citations omitted).

In challenging the granting of summary judgment, Clayton first asserts that the district court incorrectly applied the McDonnell Douglas test. Specifically, Clayton asserts that the district court erred in requiring him to produce evidence to support a finding that plaintiff was replaced by someone outside the protected class.

To the contrary, the district court quite specifically stated that once the plaintiff established that he was a member of a protected class, that he suffered from an adverse employment action, and that he was qualified for the position from which he was terminated, that the prima facie case under McDonnell Douglas is established if the plaintiff then establishes one or both of two alternative theories. According to the district court, the plaintiff could either establish that he was replaced by someone outside the protected class or that he was treated differently from similarly situated non-minority employees. (Opinion and Order, p. 3).

Clayton urges this Court to adopt the standard articulated by the First Circuit in Conward v. Cambridge Sch. Comm., 171 F.3d 12, 19 (1st Cir.1999). The Court held that a plaintiff can establish...