Fowler v. Sunrise Carpet Industries, Inc., Civ. A. No. 4:94-cv-236-HLM.

• Decision Date: 03 January 1996
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 4:94-cv-236-HLM.
• Citation: 911 F. Supp. 1560
• Parties: Mary FOWLER, Angela Mills and Amanda Kerr, Plaintiffs, v. SUNRISE CARPET INDUSTRIES, INC. and Larry Hankins, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

911 F. Supp. 1560

Mary FOWLER, Angela Mills and Amanda Kerr, Plaintiffs, v. SUNRISE CARPET INDUSTRIES, INC. and Larry Hankins, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 4:94-cv-236-HLM.

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Rome Division.

January 3, 1996.

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Alexander McArthur Irvin, Sandra Kaye, Stuart, Irvin, Stanford & Kessler, Atlanta, GA, for plaintiffs.

Genevieve L. Frazier, Sandra Gail Kirk, Chambers, Mabry, McClelland & Brooks, Atlanta, GA, Robert Harris Smalley, III, McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle & Fordham, Dalton, GA, for defendants.

ORDER

HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on Defendant Sunrise Carpet's ("Defendant Sunrise's") Motion For Waiver Of Page Limitation 23 and Defendant Sunrise's Motion For Summary Judgment 24.

I. Waiver Of Page Limitation

Local Rule 220-1(d) provides that "absent prior permission of the Court, briefs filed in support of a motion or in response to a motion are limited in length to twenty-five (25) double-spaced pages." LR 220-1(d) NDGa (emphasis added). Defendant Sunrise's brief in support of its Motion For Summary Judgment is eighty-nine pages in length. Defendant Sunrise did not obtain the Court's permission to exceed twenty-five pages, before Defendant Sunrise submitted the brief. Nonetheless, in the interest of judicial efficiency, the Court will consider Defendant Sunrise's brief.¹ In the future, however, counsel would be wise to get the Court's permission before drafting a brief that exceeds twenty-five (25) pages.

II. Defendant Sunrise's Motion For Summary Judgment

A. Summary Judgment Standard

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) authorizes summary judgment when all "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 ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." A district court "can only grant summary judgment `if everything in the record ... demonstrates that no genuine issue of material fact exists.'" Tippens v. Celotex Corp., 805 F.2d 949, 952 (11th Cir. 1986) (quoting Keiser v. Coliseum Properties, Inc., 614 F.2d 406, 410 (5th Cir.1980)).

It has long been established that the party seeking summary judgment bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine dispute as to any material fact. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Bingham, Ltd. v. United States, 724 F.2d 921, 924 (11th Cir.1984). The moving party's burden is discharged by "`showing' — that is, pointing out to the district court — that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In assessing whether the movant has met this burden, the district court must view the evidence and all factual inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Reynolds v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 989 F.2d 465, 469 (11th Cir.1993). Once the moving party has supported its motion adequately, the nonmovant has the burden of showing summary judgment is improper by coming forward with specific facts that demonstrate there is a genuine issue for trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

When considering motions for summary judgment, the court does not make decisions as to the merits of disputed factual issues. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510-11, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Ryder Int'l Corp. v. First American Nat'l Bank, 943 F.2d 1521, 1523 (11th Cir.1991). Rather, the court only determines whether there are genuine issues of material fact to be tried. Applicable substantive law identifies those facts that are material. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510 ("It is the substantive law's identification of which facts are critical and which facts are irrelevant that governs."). Disputed facts which do not resolve or affect the outcome of a suit will not properly preclude the entry of summary judgment because such facts are not material. Id.

In addition to materiality, courts also must consider the genuineness of the alleged dispute. "Summary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is `genuine.'" Id. A dispute is genuine "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. Moreover, for factual issues to be genuine, they must have a real basis in the record. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. The nonmovant "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Id. at 586, 106 S.Ct. at 1356. "Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no `genuine issue for trial.'" Id. at 587, 106 S.Ct. at 1356 (quoting First Nat'l Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co., 391 U.S. 253, 289, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1592-93, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)). "This standard mirrors the standard for a directed verdict." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511. "The inquiry under each is the same: whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." Id. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.

B. Facts

Keeping in mind that, when deciding a motion for summary judgment, the Court "must view the evidence and all factual inferences in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion," the Court now will give a general statement of facts. Reynolds v. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., 989 F.2d 465, 469 (11th Cir.1993). This statement does not represent actual findings of fact and it is given simply to place the Court's legal analysis within the context of a specific case or controversy.

Defendant Hankins was hired by Defendant Sunrise in April of 1992. Before being terminated on August 11, 1994, Defendant Hankins was the Manager of Research and Development ("R & D") for Defendant Sunrise.

1. Facts Relevant To Plaintiff Kerr

In June of 1992, Plaintiff Kerr was transferred into R & D, where Defendant Hankins was her supervisor. During 1992, Defendant Hankins asked Plaintiff Kerr questions about Plaintiff Kerr's sex life. Defendant Hankins asked Plaintiff Kerr, for example, whether Plaintiff Kerr had tried oral sex, whether she masturbated and which "positions" she preferred during sexual intercourse. Affidavit of Plaintiff Kerr at ¶ 3. Defendant Hankins also asked Plaintiff Kerr what Plaintiff Kerr's bra size was, whether Plaintiff Kerr had lost her virginity² and whether Plaintiff Kerr's boyfriend satisfied her sexually. Deposition of Plaintiff Kerr at 16, 50, 75.

In addition to asking Plaintiff Kerr about her sex life, Defendant Hankins shared intimate details of his sex life with Plaintiff Kerr. Defendant Hankins told Plaintiff Kerr about Defendant Hankins's wife having oral sex with him and about his sexual activity with a business acquaintance in California. Defendant Hankins also shared his views on other female employees' bodies with Plaintiff Kerr. In November of 1992, Defendant Hankins tried to get Plaintiff Kerr to make a wager with him regarding the Atlanta Braves. Under Defendant Hankins's wager, Plaintiff Kerr would have been required to have sex with Defendant Hankins, if Plaintiff Kerr lost the wager. Id. at 68-69.

At some point, before Plaintiff Kerr reported Defendant Hankins's offensive conduct, Defendant Hankins told Plaintiff Kerr that, if Plaintiff Kerr stayed in R & D, Defendant Hankins would make sure Plaintiff Kerr got raises. Affidavit of Plaintiff Kerr at ¶ 8. Defendant Hankins, for example, told Plaintiff Kerr she could be making up to $9 per hour within a year. Deposition of Plaintiff Kerr at 30. Defendant Hankins also told Plaintiff Kerr that, if Plaintiff Kerr reported Defendant Hankins's offensive conduct, "who did Plaintiff Kerr think that they would fire, Plaintiff Kerr being just an employee that made $5 an hour or Defendant Hankins." Id. at 43.

On November 17, 1992, Plaintiff Kerr talked with Jennifer Hackney, a personnel assistant ("Personnel Assistant Hackney"), about Defendant Hankins's harassing conduct. Plaintiff Kerr told Personnel Assistant Hackney that Defendant Hankins "was saying things inappropriate to her" and that "she wanted to be moved." Deposition of Personnel Assistant Hackney at 18-19. After Personnel Assistant Hackney told James Hammontree, Defendant Sunrise's Personnel Director ("Personnel Director Hammontree" or "Hammontree"), about her conversation with Plaintiff Kerr, Personnel Director Hammontree interviewed Plaintiff Kerr. Id. at 20.

Without discussing the specific content of Defendant Hankins's harassing comments, Plaintiff Kerr told Personnel Director Hammontree that Defendant Hankins was saying things that made Plaintiff Kerr "uncomfortable" and that Plaintiff Kerr "wanted out of Defendant Hankins's department." Deposition of Personnel Director Hammontree at 9. Personnel Director Hammontree did not ask Plaintiff Kerr about the specific content of Defendant Hankins's harassing comments. Id. at 9, 10.

After talking with Plaintiff Kerr, Personnel Director Hammontree interviewed Defendant Hankins. Hammontree asked Defendant Hankins whether Defendant Hankins had made "offensive" comments to Plaintiff Kerr. Id. at 11. Personnel Director Hammontree did not ask Defendant Hankins about the specific content of Defendant Hankins's comments. Defendant Hankins told Hammontree that he had only been "kidding" with Plaintiff Kerr. Personnel Director Hammontree told Defendant Hankins "you know, we need to be careful." Deposition of Defendant...