Cox v. Indian Head Industries., Inc.

Decision Date05 June 2000
Docket NumberNo. 2:98CV175-T.,2:98CV175-T.
Citation123 F.Supp.2d 892
PartiesYolanda COX, Janine Dalrymple, Marie Hogsed, Ora Mae Ledford, and Phyllis Stalcup, for themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. INDIAN HEAD INDUSTRIES, INC., a Delaware corporation; MGM Brakes, a division of Indian Head Industries, Inc.; and Franklin Barnett, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina

David C. Pishko, Elliot, Pishko, Gelbin & Morgan, P.A., Winston-Salem, NC, J. Griffin Morgan, Elliott, Pishko, Gelbin & Morgan, Winston-Salem, NC, for plaintiffs.

Philip M. Van Hoy, Stephen J. Dunn, Van Hoy, Reutlinger, & Taylor, Charlotte, NC, for Indian Head Industries, Inc., MGM Brakes, defendants.

Robert B. Long, Jr., Kimberly A. Lyda, Hartsell & White, Concord, NC, for Franklin Barnett, defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

THORNBURG, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Plaintiffs' and Defendants' timely filed objections to the Memorandum and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. Pursuant to standing orders of designation and 28 U.S.C. § 636, the undersigned referred the Defendants' motions for summary judgment to the Magistrate Judge for a recommendation as to disposition. Having conducted a de novo review to those portions of the recommendation to which specific objections were filed, the recommendation is adopted, 28 U.S.C. § 636(b); Fed. R.Civ.P. 72, subject to the following exception: with respect to the fourth cause of action, a common law claim for wrongful discharge, the Court disagrees with the Magistrate Judge and finds that claim survives summary judgment as well.

I. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine issue of material fact and judgment for the moving party is warranted as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A genuine issue exists if a reasonable jury considering the evidence could return a verdict for the nonmoving parties, here the Plaintiffs. Shaw v. Stroud, 13 F.3d 791, 798 (4th Cir.1994) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). Thus, the Defendants as the moving parties have the initial burden to show a lack of evidence to support Plaintiffs' case. Id. (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). If this showing is made, the burden then shifts to the Plaintiffs who must convince the Court that a triable issue does exist. Id. Such an issue will be shown "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the [Plaintiffs]." Id. A "mere scintilla of evidence" is not sufficient to defeat summary judgment. Id. Moreover, in considering the facts for the purposes of this motion, the Court will view the pleadings and material presented in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs, as the nonmoving parties. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiffs, who are all past or current employees of Defendant MGM Brakes (MGM), brought suit alleging violations of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et. seq. Their complaint alleges seven claims: hostile work environment, retaliation, constructive discharge, wrongful discharge in violation of public policy, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring and retention. Defendants MGM and Indian Head Industries, Inc. (Indian Head), which owns MGM, moved for summary judgment, attacking each cause of action. Defendant Barnett also moved for summary judgment, claiming Plaintiffs could not establish causes of action against him individually for infliction of emotional distress and negligent hiring.

III. FINDINGS OF FACT

Defendants MGM and Indian Head contend the Plaintiffs are limited to allegations of conduct which occurred during the 180-day period prior to their filing of complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Plaintiffs Cox and Ledford filed charges on January 10, 1996, on behalf of themselves and the other female employees of MGM; Plaintiff Stalcup filed charges on March 19, 1996; Plaintiffs Hogsed and Dalrymple followed suit on August 21, 1996; and, on May 21, 1997, Plaintiffs Hogsed and Dalrymple filed additional charges. If a Plaintiff is able to show an alleged discriminatory event during that 180-day period, then she may argue that events occurring prior to that time were part of a continuing violation; and, thus may be considered. Hawkins v. PepsiCo, Inc., 203 F.3d 274, 281 n. 2 (4th Cir.2000). Thus, in considering the facts, these time periods will be considered.

Plaintiff Cox testified that a co-worker, Tommy Byers, told her he had an erection and grabbed her to force her hand on his penis. Exhibit 14, Deposition of Yolanda Cox, contained in Plaintiffs' Appendix of Deposition Excerpts Submitted in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, filed April 24, 2000, at 24 ["Plaintiffs' Appendix of Excerpts"]. The Plaintiffs also served answers to the Defendants' interrogatories in which this event is alleged to have occurred in July 1995. Exhibit B, attached to Defendants' Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, filed April 4, 2000. During that same month, Byers asked Cox to meet him outside during their break in order to have sex, although the language allegedly used was more explicit. Id.; Cox Deposition, at 29. On July 17, 1995, Cox's birthday, Cox asked her supervisor, Gerald Chastain, to escort her to her car because in the past, female co-workers had been "hosed down" on their birthdays by male co-workers. Cox Deposition, at 65-66. When she got to her car, co-worker Darrell Sudderth picked her up, threw her over his shoulder and took her over next to a building where he laid her down on the road. Id. She was held down by two co-workers while a third sprayed her with water from a hose. Id., at 67. Chastain witnessed the incident but laughed as it was happening. Id. Cox's clothing was soaked, making her undergarments visible. Id., at 124. Also during July 1995, co-worker Ralph Carter grabbed under the Plaintiff's buttocks when she was reaching for equipment from a shelf. Id., at 68. In October 1995, Cox and Plaintiff Ora Mae Ledford were walking down an aisle at the end of their work shift when co-worker John Horton yelled, "Ora Mae, Yolanda, go home and dream about big foot." Id., at 72. Horton had taken the wrapper off of a pizza box which he then rolled up and placed at his penis to simulate a large penis. Id., at 72-73.

Ora Mae Ledford also testified to incidents of sexual harassment during the time period at issue. On November 10, 1995, Ledford was leaving work around midnight when Darryl Sudderth, who had been hiding and waiting for her, grabbed her from behind and threw her onto his shoulder. Exhibit 13, Deposition of Ora Mae Ledford, contained in Plaintiffs' Appendix of Excerpts, at 9. Eddie Hayes tied up her feet and about that time John Horton drove up in a truck and yelled, "Throw her in here, we'll get her whether she's willing or not." Id. When Ledford threatened the men, Sudderth carried her across the parking lot and threw her on the top of her car. Id. She untied her feet, got in her car and left. Id. Ledford resigned the next day. Id. In the late summer of 1995, Defendant Barnett told Ledford that she had a phone call in his office. Id., at 137-41. After Ledford completed the telephone call, Barnett began unzipping his pants and asked her to look at his penis, saying, "Just look at it one time." Id. In the fall of 1995, John Horton, who was a supervisor in quality control, saw Ledford coming back from lunch with a male co-worker. Id., at 143. He yelled loudly that he wanted to smell the man's finger. Id. Later, Horton accused Ledford of having sex with Barnett, although again the language used was sexually explicit. Id., at 145. On another occasion that fall, Defendant Barnett locked Ledford in his office and asked to have sex with her. Id., at 148-52. In November 1995, Ledford was using the pay phone in the cafeteria when Brian White came up behind her, grabbed her hand and put it on his erect penis. Id., at 159.

In the fall of 1995, Larry Dockery repeatedly asked Plaintiff Phyllis Stalcup, who was married, to date him. Exhibit 15, Deposition of Phyllis Stalcup, contained in Plaintiffs' Appendix of Excerpts, at 103. He made other lewd comments about her body and her husband's inability to please her. Id. On another occasion that fall, a co-worker set a cup of coffee at Ledford's work station and said that Joe Barnett wanted to see her breasts in exchange for the coffee. Id., at 107. In November 1995, someone posted a sexually explicit cartoon at the time clock and wrote Stalcup's name on it. Id., at 112-13.

In July or August of 1995, Cecil Lunsford, who was a supervisor, tried to hug Plaintiff Janine Dalrymple. Exhibit B, Answers to Interrogatories, attached to Defendants' Brief. In the spring of 1996, Larry Dockery repeatedly tried to hug Dalrymple. Exhibit 17, Deposition of Janine Dalrymple, contained in Plaintiffs' Appendix of Excerpts, at 167. Around that same time, another co-worker grabbed her leg. Id., at 178. Other incidents occurred throughout 1996 and 1997.

In the summer of 1995, a co-worker reported to Plaintiff Marie Hogsed that someone had drawn a sexually explicit cartoon of her with a man on the wall of the men's room. Exhibit 19, Deposition of Marie Hogsed, contained in Plaintiffs' Appendix of Excerpts, at 43. Also in 1995, Howard Johnson pinned Hogsed to a table with his forklift for about 3 or 4 minutes, laughing at her when she screamed for him to back up the forklift. Id., at 81-82. Male co-workers frequently "howled" at Hogsed when she walked through an area. Id., at 94. As with the other Plaintiffs, such incidents continued in 1996 and 1997.

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