Fleenor v. Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC
| Decision Date | 28 August 2020 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 7:18-cv-817-GMB |
| Parties | JEFFREY L. FLEENOR, Plaintiff, v. WARRIOR MET COAL MINING, LLC, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama |
Pending before the court is the Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 29) filed by Defendants Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC; Warrior Met Coal Intermediate Holdco, LLC; and Warrior Met Coal, Inc. (collectively, the "defendants"). Plaintiff Jeffrey L. Fleenor has filed a response to the motion (Doc. 38), and the defendants have filed a reply brief in support. Doc. 40. Fleenor also has filed a Motion to Strike (Doc. 36) and Motion for Leave to File Sur-Reply or Alternatively Motion to Strike (Doc. 41). Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), the parties have consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge. After careful consideration of the parties' submissions and the applicable law, and for the reasons that follow, the court concludes that the Motion for Summary Judgment is due to be granted in part and denied in part, and that the other pending motions are moot.
The court has jurisdiction over the claims in this lawsuit pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The parties do not contest personal jurisdiction, nor do they contest that venue is proper in the Northern District of Alabama. The court finds adequate allegations to support the propriety of both.
Defendant Warrior Met Coal Mining, LLC ("WMC") produces and exports metallurgical coal. Doc. 30 at 4. WMC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warrior Met Coal Intermediate Holdco, LLC ("WMC Holdco"), which is a holding company wholly owned by Warrior Met Coal, Inc. ("WMC, Inc."). On March 8, 2016, WMC hired Fleenor, who was 64 at the time he filed suit, as a shift foreman at Mine No. 4 in Brookwood, Alabama. Doc. 38-2 at 2-3. Fleenor began working in underground mining in 1974 and had approximately 42 years of mining experience when WMC hired him. Doc. 38-2 at 2.
As a shift foreman, Fleenor organized and managed each day's shifts, including those for WMC's longwall section, belt crews, and locomotive crews. Doc. 31-1 at 22. The shift foreman position "is the first line of management overseeing underground operations." Doc. 30 at 4-5. If Fleenor delayed "lining up" the employees for a shift, these delays harmed production and forced WMC to pay overtime to any employees who were not relieved on time by their replacements.Doc. 31-1 at 22-23. Delays also could cause safety issues if they contributed to employees who were fatigued on the job. Doc. 31-1 at 22.
Mine Manager Brian Frederickson testified that Phillip O'Rear, who was Fleenor's direct supervisor, Doc. 31-1 at 25, counseled Fleenor for failing to start a longwall shift on time around December 2016. Doc. 31-2 at 14-15. Frederickson recalled that Fleenor did not start the shift at all. Doc. 31-2 at 15. O'Rear, who submitted a declaration, did not testify to this occurrence.1 See generally Doc. 31-13. According to Frederickson, Fleenor told O'Rear that he did not believe he had the necessary manpower to start the shift. Doc. 31-2 at 15. However, Frederickson believed that Fleenor had enough people. Doc. 31-2 at 15. Frederickson advised Fleenor that he should timely start all longwall shifts in the future. Doc. 31-2 at 16. According to Fleenor, this conversation never occurred and no one ever mentioned this shift to him, either at the time or later. Doc. 38-2 at 4. There is no contemporaneous documentation of this incident, and according to Frederickson "the only one that can attest to it is Phillip [O'Rear]." Doc. 31-2 at 17.
Frederickson testified that several weeks later, in January 2017, Fleenor again failed to start a longwall shift on time. Doc. 31-2 at 17. Frederickson explained that Keith Shalvey, the Deputy Mine Manager, counseled Fleenor on this occasion.Doc. 31-2 at 18. While he does not know what Shalvey told Fleenor "word for word," Frederickson believes that Shalvey "basically" informed Fleenor that this was his second late shift start and that he needed to follow instructions.2 Doc. 31-2 at 18. Fleenor again contends that this conversation did not occur, Doc. 38-2 at 4, and the incident was not documented in writing. Doc. 31-2 at 18.
In late February or early March of 2017, Frederickson contends that Fleenor failed to start a third longwall shift on time. Doc. 31-2 at 19. Frederickson spoke with Fleenor to advise him to start his shifts on time, and Frederickson also told him that he should not need oversight to comply. Doc. 31-2 at 19. Fleenor said that the shift was delayed because of a damaged mine chute. Doc. 31-2 at 19. Specifically, he claimed that a hole in the chute was leaking a "massive amount of coal." Doc. 38-2 at 5. Frederickson disagreed that the hole in the chute necessarily delayed the shift, maintaining that Fleenor could have proceeded safely by "station[ing] someone there to shovel what accumulations [of coal] would have spilled." Doc. 31-2 at 19. Fleenor contends that he did not have the manpower necessary to shovel the leaking coal back onto the conveyor belt. Doc. 38-2 at 5. Additionally, while Fleenor inspected the conveyor belts in advance of the shift, a worker already had begun to repaire the hole. Doc. 38-2 at 5. Fleenor stated that Frederickson, who never saw the hole, nevertheless told Fleenor that he "made the right call" by completing therepair before the shift. Doc. 38-2 at 5.
In October 2017, after a six-month absence due to an on-the-job injury, Frederickson told Fleenor that "his shift was not starting on time." Doc. 31-2 at 20. Frederickson again counseled Fleenor, who explained that the delay was caused by his inability to recognize certain people on his shift because of employee turnover that occurred during his absence. Doc. 31-2 at 21. Fleenor vowed to become familiar with his new employees so that he could get his shifts started on time. Doc. 31-2 at 21. Fleenor testified that O'Rear had given him with an incorrect shift roster, causing "a lot of confusion." Doc. 38-2 at 6. He explained that the delay also related to an inoperable mine elevator, which "caused major issues in getting the workers underground in a timely manner." Doc. 38-2 at 6. Even so, the next day, O'Rear told Fleenor that he "did a great job starting the shift in a timely manner" and did "much better" than two other shifts that day. Doc. 38-2 at 6.
However, about a week and a half later in mid-October, Fleenor failed to start another shift on time according to Frederickson. Fleenor explained that he still was struggling to get to know his new employees. Doc. 31-2 at 22-23. Fleenor also maintains that, during this time, the primary mine elevator remained inoperable. Doc. 38-2 at 6-7. He claims that no one counseled him about this incident, which was "obviously not [his] fault." Doc. 38-2 at 7. According to Frederickson, several WMC employees, including members of the longwall crew, complained in lateOctober 2017 to management that it took significantly more time to perform routine maintenance on Fleenor's shifts than on the shifts of other foremen. Doc. 31-2 at 23-24. Frederickson said that these complaints ultimately convinced him to meet with O'Rear and Darin Arnold to discuss a demotion for Fleenor. Doc. 31-2 at 24. According to Fleenor, the incident leading to these complaints occurred because the "belt crew" did not timely replace rollers on a conveyor belt in the last week of October 2017. Doc. 38-2 at 7. As with all other maintenance, Fleenor could not start the shift until the rollers were changed. Doc. 38-2 at 7. Fleenor states that no one confronted him about this incident or "claimed that [he] did anything wrong." Doc. 38-2 at 7.
WMC maintains that Fleenor initially resisted its methods and struggled to adjust to its expectations, insisting on "doing things the way he had done them in the past for his previous employer, Jim Walter Resources." Docs. 30 at 8-9 & 31-13 at 1. O'Rear also heard that Fleenor opposed a request to complete a functional capacity examination following his leave of absence, a standard requirement for all WMC employees. Doc. 31-13 at 2. Fleenor maintains that he was not required to take an examination, only told that he might have to do so if ordered by a doctor. Doc. 38-2 at 7. According to Arnold, the Deputy Mine Manager and O'Rear's direct supervisor, other managers observed that Fleenor appeared "lost" and particularly struggled when assistant shift foreman Vince Netherly was not able to assist him.Doc. 31-14 at 3.
After a discussion with O'Rear and Arnold, Frederickson decided to demote Fleenor from mine foreman to outby foreman. Doc. 31-2 at 25. While Frederickson consulted O'Rear and Arnold, he made the decision alone. Doc. 31-2 at 27. Frederickson testified that he made this decision based on the overall performance of Fleenor's shifts and his inability to improve after various conversations and counseling sessions. Doc. 31-2 at 25-26. On October 31, 2017, Frederickson met in his office with Fleenor and Human Resources Manager Sherry Sterling. Docs. 31-1 at 42-43 & 31-2 at 28. Frederickson told Fleenor that he was being demoted to outby foreman because of performance issues. Doc. 31-1 at 43. Specifically, Frederickson says that he told Fleenor he was demoted because he had "been having issues getting [his] shift started on time, with repairs being made to the belt line not going well." Doc. 31-2 at 28.
According to Sterling, Frederickson told Fleenor that he "couldn't get his shift started on time" and that "there had been other situations where [Frederickson] specifically told [Fleenor] to do something and [Fleenor] didn't do it and [Frederickson] had gotten complaints from other employees." Doc. 31-3 at 14. Fleenor expressed concern that the demotion would result in a significant pay decrease. Doc. 31-1 at 43. Frederickson told Fleenor that he was not being fired...
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