Courie v. Alcoa

• Decision Date: 07 July 2005
• Docket Number: No. 85285.,85285.
• Citation: 162 Ohio App.3d 133,832 N.E.2d 1230,2005 Ohio 3483
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court
• Parties: COURIE, Appellant, v. ALCOA et al., Appellees.

832 N.E.2d 1230

162 Ohio App.3d 133

2005-Ohio-3483

COURIE, Appellant, v. ALCOA et al., Appellees.

No. 85285.

Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth District, Cuyahoga County.

Decided July 7, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Howard V. Mishler, Westlake, for appellant.

Frantz Ward, L.L.P., Cleveland, and Brian J. Kelly, for appellees.

ANN DYKE, Presiding Judge.

{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant, Charles Courie, appeals from the order of the trial court that entered summary judgment for defendants-appellees ALCOA, ALCOA Wheel & Forged Products, and Sean Mee. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

{¶ 2} On August 21, 2003, plaintiff filed a complaint against defendants in which he asserted that defendants "reversely discriminated" against him and created a hostile work environment. Additionally, plaintiff alleged that defendant Sean Mee intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon him and intentionally interfered with his employment. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss all of plaintiff's claims which the trial court converted into a motion for summary judgment.

{¶ 3} The undisputed facts are that on May 16, 2003, defendant Sean Mee, human resource supervisor for the ALCOA Cleveland Works facility, questioned plaintiff, a current employee of ALCOA who works as a die storage attendant in the Works Engineering Department, regarding a written racial epithet that was found on a cafeteria table where African-American employees ate their lunch. During this interview, plaintiff was unable to recall a Jewish co-worker's last name and instead stated that for years all employees referred to that co-worker, Dennis Lebowitz, as "Jew boy." On May 30, 2003, Mee issued a written warning to plaintiff that he was being disciplined based on his use of the racially offensive nickname. Plaintiff alleges that Mee did not discipline any of the other employees who regularly used the racially offensive nickname and that because of this warning, his co-workers now wrongly accuse him of being a racist.

{¶ 4} On August 21, 2003, plaintiff filed this action against defendants. The case was removed to federal court, where defendants filed a motion to dismiss. Plaintiff moved for remand and later moved for leave to file an amended complaint. On December 23, 2003, the district court remanded the case to state court. On March 10, 2004, plaintiff filed an amended complaint in state court.

{¶ 5} On April 6, 2004, defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which the trial court later converted into a motion for summary judgment. On August 17, 2004, the trial court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment as to all of plaintiff's claims. It is from this decision that plaintiff now appeals and raises six assignments of error for our review. We will address Assignments of Error I through VI together as they all address the trial court's grant of summary judgment.

{¶ 6} "I. The trial court erred in not finding that Defendants-Appellees ALCOA and/or ALCOA Wheel & Forged Products reversely discriminated against the Plaintiff-Appellant in conditions and privileges of employment, including but not limited to discipline.

{¶ 7} "II. The trial court erred in not finding Defendant Sean Mee personally liable as a Supervisor for discriminating and harassing the Plaintiff-Appellant in violation of Ohio Revised Code 4112.02.

{¶ 8} "III. The trial court erred in not finding that Defendants-Appellees ALCOA and/or ALCOA Wheel & Forged Products by permitting Defendant Sean Mee to single him out for discipline for antecedent behavior created a hostile work environment for the Plaintiff-Appellant.

{¶ 9} "IV. The trial court erred in not giving sufficient weight to the affidavits of Plaintiff-Appellant to contradict several assertions of the Defendants-Appellees which should have precluded the granting of summary judgment to Defendants-Appellees.

{¶ 10} "V. The trial court erred in granting Defendant-Appellee Sean Mee summary judgment as to intentional infliction of mental distress as his acts and/or conduct towards Plaintiff-Appellant were egregious taking all facts and circumstances into consideration, including but not limited to the fact that the environment at Defendants-Appellees ALCOA and/or ALCOA Wheel & Forged Products was poly-ethnic populated, which resulted in a hostile work environment as Plaintiff-Appellant was stigmatized as a racist and bigot.

{¶ 11} "VI. The trial court erred in granting Defendant-Appellee Sean Mee's Motion for Summary Judgment as to intentional interference with employment due to the fact that he acted without the scope of authority and with a specific animus towards the Plaintiff-Appellant as other white employees, including Union personnel, admitted that Dennis Lebowitz's nickname for over twenty (20) years was `Jew Boy.'"

{¶ 12} In these assignments of error, plaintiff claims that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of defendants because genuine issues of material fact existed concerning his claims for reverse race discrimination, hostile work environment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and intentional interference with employment. Additionally, plaintiff alleges that the trial court failed to give sufficient weight to affidavits submitted by plaintiff.

{¶ 13} With regard to procedure, we note that we employ a de novo review in determining whether summary judgment was properly granted. Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co. (1996), 77 Ohio St.3d 102, 105, 671 N.E.2d 241; Zemcik v. La Pine Truck Sales & Equip. Co. (1998), 124 Ohio App.3d 581, 585, 706 N.E.2d 860.

{¶ 14} Before summary judgment may be granted, a court must determine that "(1) no genuine issue as to any material fact remains to be litigated, (2) the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and (3) it appears from the evidence that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion, and viewing the evidence most strongly in favor of the nonmoving party, that conclusion is adverse to the nonmoving party." State ex rel. Dussell v. Lakewood Police Dept., 99 Ohio St.3d 299, 2003-Ohio-3652, 791 N.E.2d 456, ¶ 6, citing State ex rel. Duganitz v. Ohio Adult Parole Auth. (1996), 77 Ohio St.3d 190, 191, 672 N.E.2d 654; See, also, Civ.R. 56(C).

{¶ 15} The party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Zivich v. Mentor Soccer Club (1998), 82 Ohio St.3d 367, 369-370, 696 N.E.2d 201. Once the moving party satisfies its burden, the nonmoving party "may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the party's pleadings, but the party's response, by affidavit or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Civ.R. 56(E); Mootispaw v. Eckstein (1996), 76 Ohio St.3d 383, 385, 667 N.E.2d 1197. Doubts must be resolved in favor of the nonmoving party. Murphy v. Reynoldsburg (1992), 65 Ohio St.3d 356, 358-359, 604 N.E.2d 138.

{¶ 16} With these principles in mind, we proceed to consider whether the trial court's grant of summary judgment in defendants' favor was appropriate.

{¶ 17} Pursuant to App.R. 12(A)(2) and 16(A)(7), we may disregard an assignment of error "if the party raising it fails to identify in the record the error on which the assignment of error is based or fails to argue the assignment separately in the brief, as required under App.R. 16(A)." App.R. 12(B)(2). In this instance, plaintiff failed to make the necessary identifications and arguments in his first, second, and third assignments of error. Therefore, we are not required to address them. Nevertheless, in the interests in fulfilling our appellate function, we find all three assignments of error to be without merit.

{¶ 18} In plaintiff's first and second assignments of error, he asserts that the trial court erred in not finding that defendants ALCOA and/or ALCOA Wheel & Forged Products and defendant Sean Mee, in his personal capacity, engaged in reverse discrimination against him.

{¶ 19} R.C. 4112.02(A) provides, "It shall be unlawful discriminatory practice for any employer, because of race, color religion, sex, national origin, handicap, age, or ancestry of any person to discharge without just cause, to refuse to hire, or otherwise to discriminate against that person with respect to hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or any matter directly or indirectly related to employment." R.C. Chapter 4112 is Ohio's counterpart to Section 2000e, Title 42, U.S.Code. Therefore, federal authority is applicable to cases alleging violations of R.C. Chapter 4112. See Genaro v. Cent. Transport, Inc. (1999), 84 Ohio St.3d 293, 295, 703 N.E.2d 782; Plumbers & Steamfitters Joint Apprenticeship Commt. v. Ohio Civil Rights Comm. (1981), 66 Ohio St.2d 192, 196, 20 O.O.3d 200, 421 N.E.2d 128.

{¶ 20} To establish a prima facie case of reverse race discrimination, the plaintiff must show (1) background circumstances supporting the inference that plaintiff's employer was the unusual employer who discriminated against nonminority employees, (2) that plaintiff was discharged (or that the employer took an action adverse to the plaintiff's employment), (3) that plaintiff was qualified for the position, and (4) that plaintiff was treated disparately from similarly situated minority employees. Grooms v. Supporting Council of Preventative Effort, 157 Ohio App.3d 55, 2004-Ohio-2034, 809 N.E.2d 42, ¶ 20. Once the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case of discrimination, the employer may rebut the presumption by showing a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the discharge. Kohmescher v. Kroger Co. (1991), 61 Ohio St.3d 501, 575 N.E.2d 439. Finally, the plaintiff must have the opportunity to establish that the employer's proffered reason was a mere pretext for unlawful discrimination. Manofsky v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (1990), 69 Ohio App.3d 663, 668, 591 N.E.2d 752....