Dirks v. J.C. Robinson Seed Co.

• Citation: 980 F.Supp. 1303
• Decision Date: 18 October 1997
• Docket Number: No. 97-3017-MWB.,97-3017-MWB.
• Parties: Bonnie J. DIRKS, Plaintiff, v. The J.C. ROBINSON SEED CO., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa

Page 1303

980 F.Supp. 1303

Bonnie J. DIRKS, Plaintiff, v. The J.C. ROBINSON SEED CO., Defendant.

No. 97-3017-MWB.

United States District Court, N.D. Iowa, Central Division.

October 18, 1997.

Jean M. Baker, West Des Moines, IA, for Plaintiff.

Sandra L. Dougherty, Lieben, Dahlk, Whitted, Houghton, Slowiaczek & Jahn, P.C., Omaha, NE, Thomas M. Cunningham, Shearer, Templer & Pingel, P.C., West Des Moines, IA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

BENNETT, District Judge.

                TABLE OF CONTENTS
                  I.  INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND .............   1304
                 II.  STANDARDS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ..........   1305
                III.  FINDINGS OF FACT ........................   1307
                 IV.  LEGAL ANALYSIS ..........................   1309
                      A. Exhaustion Of Administrative
                           Remedies ...........................   1309
                      B. Claims Raised In Dirks' Administrative
                           Complaint ..........................   1310
                      C. Consideration Of Claims Not
                           Raised In Administrative Complaint .   1312
                  V.  CONCLUSION ..............................   1314
                

In this employment discrimination litigation, defendant has moved for partial summary judgment on the ground that plaintiff has not exhausted administrative remedies on her claim that defendant violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., by engaging in sex discrimination in the form of wage disparity. Plaintiff contends that she did, although inartfully, submit a claim of sex discrimination to the investigating state agency and that, even if she did not, the court may nonetheless consider her sex discrimination claim in this litigation because her claim of sex discrimination is reasonably within the scope of her claim before the state agency.

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Bonnie J. Dirks filed this age and sex discrimination lawsuit on February 26, 1997, against her former employer, the J.C. Robinson Seed Co. ("J.C. Robinson"). Dirks had been employed at J.C. Robinson from July, 1989 to August 19, 1993, when her employment was terminated. At the time of her termination, Dirks was employed as a secretary for J.C. Robinson's plant in Belmond, Iowa.

Dirks, who was sixty years of age at the time of the filing of the complaint in this case, alleges in her complaint that she was terminated because of her age. She also asserts that male secretaries at J.C. Robinson were paid a higher wage for performing the same job within the company. Specifically, in Count I, Dirks alleges that J.C. Robinson engaged in sex based wage discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. Count II of Dirks' complaint alleges that age was a determining factor in her termination, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq.

J.C. Robinson has moved for summary judgment on Dirks' sex discrimination claim. In its motion, J.C. Robinson asserts that there are no genuine issues of material fact and argues that Dirks failed to exhaust her administrative remedies as to her claim of sex discrimination because no claim of sex discrimination was raised in her administrative claim before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Dirks filed a timely resistance to J.C. Robinson's motion. In her resistance, Dirks contends that while her initial charge with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the EEOC raised only the issue of age discrimination, she raised the issue of sex discrimination in a letter to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. In the alternative, Dirks contends that even if she did not directly assert a charge of sex discrimination before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the court may nonetheless consider her sex discrimination claim here because her sex discrimination claim is reasonably within the scope of her charge before the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.

The court heard telephonic oral arguments on J.C. Robinson's Motion For Partial Summary Judgment on October 8, 1997. At the oral arguments, plaintiff Dirks was represented by counsel Jean M. Baker, West Des Moines, Iowa. Defendant J.C. Robinson was represented by counsel Sandra L. Dougherty of Lieben, Dahlk, Whitted, Houghton, Slowiaczek & Jahn, P.C., Omaha, Nebraska, and Thomas M. Cunningham of Shearer, Templer & Pingel, P.C., West Des Moines, Iowa.

The court turns first to the standards applicable to motions for summary judgment, then to a discussion of the undisputed facts as shown by the record and the parties' submissions, and finally to the legal analysis of whether J.C. Robinson is entitled to summary judgment on Dirks' sex discrimination claim.

II. STANDARDS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recognizes "that summary judgment is a drastic remedy and must be exercised with extreme care to prevent taking genuine issues of fact away from juries." Wabun-Inini v. Sessions, 900 F.2d 1234, 1238 (8th Cir.1990). On the other hand, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have authorized for nearly 60 years "motions for summary judgment upon proper showings of the lack of a genuine, triable issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2555, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Thus, "summary judgment procedure is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed `to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.'" Wabun-Inini, 900 F.2d at 1238 (quoting Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555); Hartnagel v. Norman, 953 F.2d 394, 396 (8th Cir.1992).

The standard for granting summary judgment is well established. Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states in pertinent part:

Rule 56. Summary Judgment

(a) For Claimant. A party seeking to recover upon a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim or to obtain a declaratory judgment may, at any time after the expiration of 20 days from the commencement of the action or after service of a motion for summary judgment by the adverse party, move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in the party's favor upon all or any part thereof.

(b) For Defending Party. A party against whom a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim is asserted or a declaratory judgment is sought may, at any time, move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in the party's favor as to all or any part thereof.

(c) Motions and Proceedings Thereon.... The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

FED.R.CIV.P. 56(a)-(c) (emphasis added); see also Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. at 2552-53; Reliance Ins. Co. v. Shenandoah S., Inc., 81 F.3d 789, 791 (8th Cir.1996); Beyerbach v. Sears, 49 F.3d 1324, 1325 (8th Cir.1995); Munz v. Michael, 28 F.3d 795, 798 (8th Cir.1994); Roth v. U.S.S. Great Lakes Fleet, Inc., 25 F.3d 707, 708 (8th Cir.1994); Cole v. Bone, 993 F.2d 1328, 1331 (8th Cir. 1993); Woodsmith Publ'g Co. v. Meredith Corp., 904 F.2d 1244, 1247 (8th Cir.1990); Wabun-Inini, 900 F.2d at 1238 (citing FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c)).¹ A court considering a motion for summary judgment must view all the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, here Dirks, and give her the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the facts. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 994, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962)); Quick v. Donaldson Co., 90 F.3d 1372, 1377 (8th Cir.1996); Rifkin v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 78 F.3d 1277, 1280 (8th Cir.1996); Marts v. Xerox, Inc., 77 F.3d 1109, 1112 (8th Cir.1996); Munz, 28 F.3d at 796; Allison v. Flexway Trucking, Inc., 28 F.3d 64, 66 (8th Cir.1994); Johnson v. Group Health Plan, Inc., 994 F.2d 543, 545 (8th Cir.1993); Burk v. Beene, 948 F.2d 489, 492 (8th Cir.1991); Coday v. City of Springfield, 939 F.2d 666, 667 (8th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1094, 112 S.Ct. 1170, 117 L.Ed.2d 416 (1992).

Procedurally, the moving party, J.C. Robinson, bears "the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for their motion and identifying those portions of the record which show lack of a genuine issue." Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 395 (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2553); see also Reed v. Woodruff County, Ark., 7 F.3d 808, 810 (8th Cir.1993). J.C. Robinson is not required by Rule 56 to support its motion with affidavits or other similar materials negating the opponent's claim. Id.

"When a moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56(c), its opponent must do more than simply show there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. Dirks is required under Rule 56(e) to go beyond the pleadings, and by affidavits, or by the "depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file," designate "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." FED.R.CIV.P. 56(e); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; Rabushka ex rel. United States v. Crane Co., 122 F.3d 559, 562 (8th Cir.1997); McLaughlin v. Esselte Pendaflex Corp., 50 F.3d 507, 511 (8th Cir.1995); Beyerbach, 49 F.3d at 1325. Although "direct proof is not required to create a jury question, ... to avoid summary judgment, `the facts and circumstances relied upon must attain the dignity of substantial evidence and must not be such as merely to create a suspicion.'" Metge v. Baehler, 762 F.2d 621, 625 (8th Cir.1985) (quoting Impro Prods., Inc. v. Herrick, 715 F.2d 1267, 1272 (8th Cir.198...