Davis v. Valley Hospitality Services, LLC., 4:04-CV-20 (CDL).

• Decision Date: 25 April 2005
• Docket Number: No. 4:04-CV-20 (CDL).,4:04-CV-20 (CDL).
• Citation: 372 F.Supp.2d 641
• Parties: Sandra J. DAVIS, Velina B. Duncan, Rose Brown and Annette Amick, Plaintiffs, v. VALLEY HOSPITALITY SERVICES, LLC, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Georgia

372 F.Supp.2d 641

Sandra J. DAVIS, Velina B. Duncan, Rose Brown and Annette Amick, Plaintiffs, v. VALLEY HOSPITALITY SERVICES, LLC, Defendant.

No. 4:04-CV-20 (CDL).

United States District Court, M.D. Georgia, Columbus Division.

April 25, 2005.

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Gerald R. Weber, McNeill Stokes, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiff.

Elizabeth Jewelle Johnson, Mairen C. Kelly, Ruth W. Woodling, Atlanta, GA, for Defendant.

ORDER

LAND, District Judge.

This lawsuit arises from the termination of four employees-Sandra J. Davis, Velina B. Duncan, Rose Brown and Annette Amick-from the Wyndham Hotel in Columbus, Georgia. Before the Court are Defendant's motions for judgment on the pleadings as to Plaintiffs Amick and Brown; Defendant's motions for summary judgment as to the claims of all four Plaintiffs; and Defendant's Motion to Strike Exhibits A through C of Plaintiffs' Response to Defendant's Motions for Summary Judgment. For the reasons below, the Court grants Defendant's motions for summary judgment as to all of Plaintiffs' claims except Plaintiff Davis's individual disparate treatment claims, finds that Defendant's 12(c) motions are moot, and grants in part and denies in part Defendant's Motion to Strike.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs in this case are former employees of the Wyndham Hotel ("the Wyndham") in downtown Columbus, Georgia. In recent years, the hotel has undergone a series of name, ownership, and management changes. The Wyndham was formerly the Columbus Hilton Hotel. Wyndham International took ownership of the Columbus Hilton in July 1998 and changed the hotel's name to the Wyndham Hotel in September 2002. Wyndham International operated the hotel until October 2002. In October 2002, Defendant Valley Hospitality Services, LLC ("VHS"), a hotel and food service management company, began planning to take over management of the Wyndham. VHS took over management of the hotel on November 1, 2002, planning to keep most of the Wyndham's employees to operate the hotel. As part of the VHS takeover, VHS conducted an orientation for the employees, issued new employee handbooks, and required each employee to complete a new employment application and submit to a drug test and criminal background check.

Prior to the VHS takeover, the Wyndham was organized into eight departments, each with its own department manager that reported directly to the hotel's General Manager. The eight department managers were: Front Office Manager, Executive Housekeeper, Maintenance/Chief Engineer, Director of Sales, Restaurant and Bar Manager, Chef, Banquet Manager, and Accounting Manager. Immediately after the takeover, VHS began implementing a corporate reorganization, eliminating the eight separate departments and dividing the hotel into three functional areas: sales, managed by a Sales Director; finance, managed by a Vice President of Finance; and general hotel operations, managed by the Acting General Manager. The general hotel operations division consisted of two departments: the Rooms Department, led by Rooms Executive Bruce Raines, who is white and was 50 years old at the time of the VHS takeover, and the Food and Beverage Department, led by Food and Beverage Director Franco Brady, who is white and was over 40 years old at the time of the VHS takeover. After the reorganization, the Food and Beverage Department had four supervisory positions: Restaurant Manager, Executive Chef, Banquet Manager and Room Service Manager. After the reorganization, the Room Department had five supervisory positions to oversee the work of the front desk, housekeeping, bell stand, laundry, and maintenance. Brian Plemmons, who served as General Manager of the Columbus Hilton from September 1987 to October 1996, returned to the Wyndham in 2002 as President of VHS and the Acting General Manager of the Wyndham; at the time, he was 43 years old. Plemmons, who is white, was the hotel's Acting General Manager when each of the Plaintiffs was terminated from her job. In his capacity as Acting General Manager, Plemmons made the final decision to terminate each Plaintiff.

All four Plaintiffs contend that Defendant terminated older employees and African American employees because they did not have the "right look" for the hotel.¹ Plaintiffs assert claims for race and age discrimination, and all four seek reinstatement (or, in the alternative, front pay) and monetary damages.

1. Plaintiff Sandra J. Davis

In August 1988, Plemmons hired Plaintiff Davis, an African American woman, to work as a Front Desk Clerk at the Columbus Hilton. Plemmons later promoted Davis to Front Office Manager in 1990. About a year later, when Davis wanted to resign from her job as Front Office Manager because of the strain it placed upon her, Plemmons allowed Davis to step down from that position and to select another position. Davis selected the PM Supervisor position, and she held that position until she resigned from the Hilton in 1993 to take a job at another hotel. In 1994 or 1995, Plemmons rehired Davis, this time as a Reservations Agent. Plemmons promoted Davis to Reservations Manager in 1996. After Plemmons left the Hilton to start his own company, a different General Manager promoted Davis to Front Office Manager. In this position, Davis reported directly to the General Manager. Davis served as Front Office Manager from November 1998 until her termination November 4, 2002. Prior to the VHS takeover, on October 31, 2002, Davis completed a VHS employment application. She applied for the "Guest Service Manager" position. On November 4, 2002, Davis was informed by Rooms Executive Bruce Raines and Human Resources Director Vickie Menza that her position had been eliminated and that she was being terminated as a result. When she was told that her position had been eliminated, Davis asked if there was any other position in the hotel for her. She was told no. At the time of her termination, Davis was 41 years old.

In her capacity as Front Office Manager, Davis managed approximately fifteen employees and oversaw five areas, including the front desk, bell staff, reservations, communications, and security. According to Defendant, the Front Office Manager position was eliminated in the reorganization, and the Front Office Manager's duties were divided between the Rooms Executive and a newly-created Front Desk Supervisor position. The new Front Desk Supervisor supervised and was responsible only for supervising the front desk and the front desk staff. The Rooms Executive was responsible for the remaining Front Office Manager functions (bell staff, reservations, communications, and security). He also supervised the Front Desk Supervisor, as well as laundry, maintenance, and housekeeping. Davis argues that her only real function as Front Office Manager was to manage the front desk. But in her deposition, Davis stated that she oversaw the front desk, PBX (communications), and reservations. (Davis Dep. at 98.) Davis also stated that before the VHS takeover, the Bell Captain resigned and that she was asked to oversee two additional areas: security and the bell staff. (Davis Dep. at 64-65, 98.)

Davis argues that her position was not truly eliminated. She contends that the "Front Office Manager" job was renamed "Front Desk Supervisor" and that the position was filled by a white woman under the age of forty. Initially, Michael Sabbs, an African American man, was selected to fill the Front Desk Supervisor position. However, Sabbs was terminated on November 6, 2002, when his drug test results came back positive. VHS brought in Amanda Fox, a 24 year-old white woman, from another VHS hotel to be the Front Desk Supervisor.

Davis posits that she was terminated because of her race and age-because she did not have the "right look." Davis brought claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1974, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq. ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (" § 1981"), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C.A. § 621, et seq. ("ADEA").

2. Plaintiff Velina B. Duncan

Plaintiff Duncan, an African American woman, was hired as Executive Housekeeper of the Columbus Hilton in June 2002. As Executive Housekeeper, Duncan reported directly to the General Manager and supervised approximately twenty-three employees, including Room Attendants, Housemen, a Night Lobby Attendant, a Laundry Supervisor and a Room Inspector. Duncan served as Executive Housekeeper until November 4, 2002. She completed an employment application for VHS on November 1, 2002, and she applied for the "Housekeeping Manager" position. On November 4, 2002, Duncan was informed by Rooms Executive Bruce Raines and Human Resources Director Vickie Menza that her position had been eliminated and that she was being terminated as a result. At the time of her termination, Duncan was 38 years old. Veronica Williams, an African American woman over the age of 40 who had worked for the Wyndham for several years, was transferred into the new Housekeeping Manager position.²

According to Defendant, the Executive Housekeeper position was eliminated in the reorganization, and the Executive Housekeeper's duties were divided between the Rooms Executive and a newly-created Housekeeping Manager position. The new Housekeeping Manager reported to the Rooms Executive and was responsible only for supervising the housekeeping staff. The Rooms Executive was responsible for the remaining Executive Housekeeper functions, including budgeting, managing the laundry department, and managing the Housemen. Duncan maintains that her only real function as Executive Housekeeper was supervising and scheduling the housekeeping staff, though she acknowledged in her deposition that she had supervised the laundry department and that after the reorganization the laundry supervisor did not report to the Housekeeping Manager.

Duncan argues that her...