Cordova v. State Farm Ins. Companies, 96-15867

• Decision Date: 08 September 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-15867,96-15867
• Citation: 124 F.3d 1145
• Parties: 74 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1377, 71 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,991, 97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7195, 97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11,671 Denise CORDOVA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANIES; State Farm International Services, Inc.; State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company; State Farm Life Insurance Company; State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 1145

124 F.3d 1145

74 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1377,

71 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,991,

97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7195,

97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 11,671

Denise CORDOVA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANIES; State Farm International

Services, Inc.; State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance

Company; State Farm Life Insurance Company; State Farm

Fire and Casualty Company, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 96-15867.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted May 8, 1997.

Decided Sept. 8, 1997.

Richard Segerblom, Las Vegas, NV, for the plaintiff-appellant.

Carrie McCrea Hanlon, Thorndal, Backus, Armstrong & Balkenbush, Las Vegas, NV, for the defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada; David Warner Hagen, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-94-00972-DWH-RJJ.

Before HUG, Jr., Chief Judge, GOODWIN and HAWKINS, Circuit Judges.

MICHAEL DALY HAWKINS, Circuit Judge.

Denise Cordova ("Cordova"), a former claims representative for State Farm Insurance Company ("State Farm"), appeals the district court's summary judgment disposition of her Title VII action alleging she was denied a position as a State Farm trainee agent on account of her national origin and sex. We reverse.

I. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Bagdadi v. Nazar, 84 F.3d 1194, 1197 (9th Cir.1996). We must determine, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, whether any genuine issues of material fact exist and whether the district court correctly applied the relevant substantive law. Id.

II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Denise Cordova, a Mexican-American woman, was employed as a claims representative off and on by State Farm for five years. After five years, she applied to become a State Farm trainee agent, a position in a two-year training program required to become a State Farm agent. ¹

Agency Manager John Raker ("Raker") was responsible for selecting the trainee agent. After accepting numerous applications, he narrowed the field to four individuals--Brian LaBuff ("LaBuff"), a Native American male; Terry Carmona ("Carmona"), a white female; Art Davis, an Asian male, and Cordova. That the final four candidates were minorities or women was "by design," because State Farm required Raker to recruit "either a protected class, meaning females, or a minority."

Raker first offered the job to LaBuff, who turned it down, and then to Carmona, who accepted. Neither had worked for State Farm or had any specific experience in insurance. Raker told Cordova that he had selected LaBuff for the position because he had real estate sales experience. He admits telling Cordova at that time that she was the number two candidate in the selection pool, but claims he only said it to make her feel better, having previously decided that she was the third most qualified candidate.

Subsequently, Cordova met with Vice President Gallagher to inquire why she was not hired. He informed her that State Farm had ultimately filled the position with a female who was a single mother and had worked her way through college.

Cordova then filed a Title VII ² action against State Farm, claiming she was discriminated against on the basis of her sex and national origin. She contends that her insurance background should have made her the number one candidate. As support, she points to another agent who had no prior sales experience when he was hired and State Farm's policy since 1994 (after the hiring decision was made here) that "all State Farm agent trainees have to come from within State Farm."

Cordova also offers more direct evidence of discriminatory motive. She claims that during her first interview, Raker told her, "We can't even look at a white male." ³ Furthermore, she points to a statement in an affidavit by Carmona, the woman who ultimately accepted the job, that after she was hired by Raker, she heard him refer to a Hispanic agent, George Maldonado, as a "dumb Mexican." Raker denies ever making such a statement. Carmona also recalls Raker stating that he had been required to hire Maldonado because he was a member of a minority class. Raker neither confirms nor denies this statement.

State Farm explains that it offered the job first to LaBuff because of his educational background (B.A. in Economics from Stanford) and his prior success in real estate sales, which demonstrated strong marketing skills. State Farm further asserts that Carmona, a single mother who put herself through school, impressed Raker with her determination, intelligence and commitment, making her his second choice. Raker also indicated in his affidavit that Carmona had assured him she had sufficient financial resources to support herself during the start-up phase of running her own office, and that such support would come from her personal financial resources, her fiance, and her father.

According to Cordova, however, these reasons are pretextual. She reiterates that Raker's alleged derogatory comments about Mexicans and his dislike of the minority focus in hiring provide evidence of discriminatory motive. Moreover, she notes that Carmona denies ever being asked if her father would provide support; Carmona makes no statement as to whether she discussed with Raker her own financial resources or support from her fiance. Cordova also argues that 18 months after this hiring decision was made, State Farm adopted a policy to hire only State Farm employees as agent trainees, a standard Cordova alone, among these candidates, met.

The district court granted summary judgment for State Farm, concluding that Cordova failed to establish a prima facie case because she did not raise a rebuttable presumption of discrimination under the first prong of the analysis set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Furthermore, the district court held that the only evidence of discriminatory animus--Raker's alleged reference to Maldonado as a "dumb Mexican"--was not sufficient to raise an inference of unlawful discrimination.

III. ANALYSIS

A plaintiff in a Title VII case must establish a prima facie case of discrimination. If the plaintiff succeeds in doing so, then the burden shifts to the defendant to articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its employment decision. If the defendant provides such a reason, then in order to prevail, the plaintiff must demonstrate that this reason is pretextual. Wallis v. J.R. Simplot Co., 26 F.3d 885, 889 (9th Cir.1994).

A. The Prima Facie Case

To establish a prima facie case, a plaintiff must offer evidence that "give[s] rise to an inference of unlawful discrimination." Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 253, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1093, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981). One way to do this is through the McDonnell Douglas framework, under which Cordova must show that (1) she belongs to a protected class; (2) she applied for and was qualified for a job for which the employer was seeking applicants; (3) she was rejected despite her qualifications; and (4) after her rejection, the position remained open and the employer continued to seek applications from persons with comparable qualifications. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. "The requisite degree of proof necessary to establish a prima facie case for Title VII ... on summary judgment is minimal and does not even need to rise to the level of a preponderance of the evidence." Wallis, 26 F.3d at 889; see also Sischo-Nownejad v. Merced Community College Dist., 934 F.2d 1104, 1111 (9th Cir.1991) ("[T]he amount [of evidence] that must be produced in order to create a prima facie case is 'very little.' "). "The prima facie case may be based either on a presumption arising from the factors such as those set forth in McDonnell Douglas ..., or by more direct evidence of discriminatory intent." Wallis, 26 F.3d at 889 (citation omitted).

Cordova satisfied her initial burden of establishing a prima facie case. She belongs to a protected class; she was rejected for a position for which she was qualified; and the employer continued to seek applications from persons with comparable qualifications. ⁴ Accordingly, Cordova has produced the minimum evidence necessary to raise a McDonnell Douglas presumption of discrimination.

The district court's reliance on Hagans v. Clark, 752 F.2d 477, 481 (9th Cir.1985), to support its holding that Cordova failed to raise an inference of discrimination, is misplaced. We noted in Lowe v. City of Monrovia, 775 F.2d 998, 1006 n. 5 (9th Cir.1985), that Hagans should not be read to suggest that a plaintiff who satisfies the four-part McDonnell Douglas test nevertheless may fail to establish a prima facie case. We clarified that Hagans ' use of the term "prima facie case" did not refer to "the rebuttable presumption that a plaintiff must establish, as the first step in a Title VII case," but rather to "the plaintiff's burden of putting on a case-in-chief that is sufficient to defeat a motion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b) and thus to require the defendant to put on its case in opposition." Id. Therefore, Hagans is inapplicable here.

A plaintiff can also establish a prima facie case of disparate treatment without satisfying the McDonnell Douglas test, if she provides evidence suggesting that the "employment decision was based on a discriminatory criterion illegal under the [Civil Rights] Act." International Brotherhood of Teamsters v United States, 431 U.S. 324, 358, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1866, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977). Cordova has offered direct evidence of such discriminatory animus: Raker's alleged comments that Maldonado was a "dumb Mexican" and that he was hired because he was a minority. Such derogatory comments can create an inference of discriminatory motive. See, e.g., Warren v. City of Carlsbad, 58 F.3d 439, 443 (9th Cir.1995) (fire chief's derogatory comments about Hispanics...