Fite v. Comtide Nashville, LLC

• Decision Date: 19 February 2010
• Docket Number: Case No. 3:09-0020.
• Citation: 686 F. Supp.2d 735
• Parties: Lewis FITE, Dwayne Coleman, Charles Kirk, DeAngelis Ashford, Gil Pearsall and Cedric Hemphill, Plaintiffs, v. COMTIDE NASHVILLE, LLC, Comtide S, LLC, Comtide Car Universe, LLC, Nissan of Cool Springs, LLC, Vincent Robert Caccese and Michael McLean, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee

686 F.Supp.2d 735

Lewis FITE, Dwayne Coleman, Charles Kirk, DeAngelis Ashford, Gil Pearsall and Cedric Hemphill, Plaintiffs, v. COMTIDE NASHVILLE, LLC, Comtide S, LLC, Comtide Car Universe, LLC, Nissan of Cool Springs, LLC, Vincent Robert Caccese and Michael McLean, Defendants.

Case No. 3:09-0020.

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville Division.

February 19, 2010.

Douglas B. Janney, III, Stephen W. Grace, Nashville, TN, for Plaintiffs.

Lauren L. Holloway, Law Office of Lauren L. Holloway, Memphis, TN, Samuel L. Jackson, Lewis, King, Krieg & Waldrop, P.C., Nashville, TN, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

ALETA A. TRAUGER, District Judge.

Pending before the court are the following motions filed by the defendants: (1) Motion to Dismiss Complaint Against Michael McLean; (2) Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) and (3) Motion for Summary Judgment. (Docket Nos. 22-24.) For the reasons discussed herein, the court will grant the Motion to Dismiss as to Mr. McLean and will dismiss him from the case, without prejudice. While the Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss is untimely, in the interests of justice, the court will interpret that motion as a supplement to the Motion for Summary Judgment. In large part, the court will deny the defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The plaintiffs are African-Americans who worked at Nissan of Cool Springs (NOCS), a defendant in this case and a car dealership that was located in Franklin, Tennessee.¹ Plaintiffs Lewis Fite, Charles Kirk, DeAngelis Ashford, Dwayne Coleman, and Cedric Hemphill were hired to work as salespeople at NOCS, and plaintiff Gil Pearsall was initially hired to sell used cars at Comtide Car Universe before being transferred to a salesperson position at NOCS. The plaintiffs all worked for NOCS for a relatively brief period, all starting in September 2007 and leaving no later than January 29, 2008.

During their employment, each plaintiff had some degree of contact with defendant Vincent Caccese, who was hired as the General Manager of NOCS in November 2007. NOCS was one dealership of several in a Franklin, Tennessee "Complex," where various car dealerships selling different (but associated) brands of cars were located. During the relevant time period, the General Manager of that Complex was defendant Michael McLean, and he supervised Caccese, amongst others.

The precise association between the specific "Comtide" entities sued by the plaintiffs and NOCS remains unclear. "Comtide" was, to some extent, responsible for NOCS. As the defendants recognize, an individual named Dan Schmidt owned NOCS and the Comtide companies, and Schmidt was one of Caccese's supervisors. (Docket No. 31 at 3, 13.) Additionally, the "Controller" at NOCS, Lisa Ruffner, submitted an affidavit in which she stated that her immediate supervisor during the relevant time period was located in the "Comtide Corporate Office." (Docket No. 24 Ex. B at 2.)

The defendants, however, assert that the Comtide entities sued were not all responsible for the plaintiffs' employment. The defendants have submitted the affidavit of Michael Feyes, a "corporate officer" at Martin Management Services, Inc. (MMSI). (Docket No. 24 Ex. D at 1-2.) Mr. Feyes states that, on January 14, 2009, the Comtide entities and NOCS went into Receivership and that MMSI was appointed as the Receiver. (Id.) Mr. Feyes further states that the Comtide entities and NOCS constitute four "separate legal entities ... andeach had its own separate management team that included, but was not limited to, General Manager, Sales Manager, Controller, and Sales." (Id. at 2.) Further, Feyes claims that the four entities were sold to R.C. Alexander Group on August 31, 2009, and each "required a separate closing." (Id.)

Further factual background on each plaintiff is appropriate.

A. Lewis Fite

Plaintiff Fite was hired by NOCS on September 3, 2007 and left NOCS by walking off of the job on January 18, 2008. (Docket No. 29 Ex. 1 at 29.) While Fite was hired as a salesperson, on October 1, 2007, he was promoted to Floor Manager, which gave him additional responsibilities, including overseeing the work of some of his co-plaintiffs. About a month before the end of his brief employment, Caccese also gave Fite the role of Finance Manager, after significant problems were discovered with the performance of the previous Finance Manager. While at NOCS, Fite reported directly to Sales Manager Dan Demar. Demar's immediate supervisor was Caccese.

At his deposition, Fite testified that, from the time Caccese arrived in the "middle of November to the time Fite left in January," Caccese (joined by Demar) subjected him to daily racial harassment, including repeatedly referring to Fite as a "good Muslim," making racist jokes in Fite's presence, and making racist comments about customers, including the comment that African-Americans are "always trying to get something for nothing." (Docket No. 29 Ex. 1 at 34-37.) At his deposition, Fite testified that Caccese and Demar were biased against other minorities as well, consistently referring to Eastern Indian people as "darts" and expressing a strong dislike of Jewish people. (Id. at 102.)

Most notably, Fite testified that, on one occasion shortly after Caccese started working at NOCS, Caccese told Fite that he planned to "lighten up the place." (Id. at 40-41.) Fite testified that he interpreted that comment to mean that Caccese was going to fire dark-skinned people and hire light-skinned people. (Id.) According to Fite, this interpretation was confirmed when a "few hours later you've got Caucasian applicants coming in interviewing for jobs and Caccese said `this is what I'm talking about.'" (Id.) That is, Fite claimed that Caccese made the "lighten up" comment to him and, then, in short order, Fite observed Caucasian individuals interviewing for jobs at NOCS, and Caccese then indicated to Fite that the prospective employees would "lighten up the place."

Fite testified that, after repeatedly telling Caccese that his jokes and comments were "not cool" and asking him to stop, he brought his concerns to defendant Michael McLean just before Christmas 2007. (Id. at 38-39.) While Fite testified that McLean listened intently to Fite's concerns about Caccese and Demar, ultimately, McLean made himself unavailable to Fite following the meeting and did not take any substantive steps to address Fite's concerns. (Id.)

Fite also testified that, shortly after Caccese's arrival, Caccese changed the pay scale for the two African-American floor managers, that is, Fite and plaintiff Coleman. Specifically, Fite testified that, while nothing substantive happened to the pay of white managers, his pay (along with Coleman's) was reduced from about $7,000 per month (paid in weekly checks) to about $1,000 per month (paid in a single "bonus check"), on the justification that Fite's and Coleman's pay was now tied to the profitability of NOCS, which was not profitable at the time.² (Id. at 54-55, 58-66.) Fite also testified that Caccese did other things to drive him away from NOCS, including, in December 2007, switching Fite's dealership-provided vehicle from a high-end model to a low-end base model. (Id. at 100.) Fite testified that, in light of the comments, the drastic reduction in pay and other slights connected to his race, he walked off of the job on January 18, 2008. (Id. at 30.)

As discussed below, many of the plaintiffs make similar allegations of racism at NOCS. The defendants submitted affidavits and other evidence to counter the plaintiffs' claims. For instance, as noted above, the defendants submitted the affidavit of Lisa Ruffner, the Controller at NOCS during the relevant time period, who stated that she had never heard "racial comments, racial slurs or statements with racial overtones" while she was at NOCS. (Docket No. 24 Ex. B at 2.) Dan Demar submitted a similar affidavit, claiming to have never made such comments and claiming that he had never heard Caccese make such comments either. (Docket No. 24 Ex. C.) Former NOCS salesman Mark Harmon, who worked with Caccese, Demar and the plaintiffs throughout the relevant time period, made similar representations. (Docket No. 24 Ex. E.)

In his deposition, Caccese testified that Fite was an "adequate" floor manager who did a "rough" job as Finance Manager. (Docket No. 29 Ex. 7 at 56-59.) As to the circumstances of Fite's departure, Caccese stated that "Mr. Fite walked out and left" his job at NOCS, that is, he "didn't say anything to anybody. And I never heard from him again." (Id. at 93.) Caccese repeatedly testified that he never used racist language at NOCS and never implied that he would drive out dark-skinned people from NOCS. (Id. at 65, 96-97, 101-105.)

B. Dwayne Coleman

Plaintiff Coleman was hired on September 17, 2007 and left NOCS on January 28, 2008. Like plaintiff Fite, Coleman was promoted to Floor Manager on October 1, 2007, and he reported directly to Demar. Coleman makes allegations that are very similar to Fite's. Coleman testified that, a few days after Caccese began working at NOCS, Caccese began repeatedly referring to him and other African-American employees as "good Muslims" and that this conduct continued, despite Coleman's objecting to it and telling Caccese to stop. (Docket No. 29 Ex. 2 at 51-53.) Coleman testified that Caccese also repeatedly referred to the African-American salespeople as "thugs," "drug dealers" and "rappers." (Id. at 54.) Coleman also confirmed Fite's recollections of Caccese and Demar making extremely negative comments about other ethnic groups, including Jews. (Id. at 56.)

Coleman also stated that, under Caccese's pay restructuring, his pay was drastically reduced and largely consisted of a monthly $1,000 "bonus" check.³ (Id. at 66.) Like Fite, Coleman also testified that Caccese took away his high-end "demo" vehicle and replaced it with a low-end model. (Id. at 77-78....