Gaujacq v. EDF, Inc.

• Decision Date: 09 April 2010
• Docket Number: No. 08-7097.,08-7097.
• Citation: 601 F.3d 565
• Parties: Catherine GAUJACQ, Appellant v. EDF, INC., et al., Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

601 F.3d 565

Catherine GAUJACQ, Appellant v. EDF, INC., et al., Appellees.

No. 08-7097.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued September 21, 2009.

Decided April 9, 2010.

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Carla D. Brown argued the cause for appellant. With her on the briefs were Elaine Charlson Bredehoft and Kathleen Z. Quill.

Laura B. Hoguet argued the cause for appellees EDF, Inc., et al. With her on the brief was Dorothea W. Regal.

Morgan D. Hodgson was on the brief for appellee Christian Nadal.

Before: HENDERSON, Circuit Judge, and EDWARDS and WILLIAMS, Senior Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the Court filed by Senior Circuit Judge EDWARDS.

EDWARDS, Senior Circuit Judge:

Appellant Catherine Gaujacq filed a complaint in District Court against her former employers, Electricité de France, S.A. ("EDF") and Electricité de France International North America, Inc. ("EDFINA"), claiming violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., the District of Columbia Human Rights Act ("DCHRA"), D.C. CODE § 2-1401.01 et seq., and the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d), and asserting several common law claims. Gaujacq also filed a complaint against Christian Nadal, who succeeded her in the positions that she had held in EDF and EDFINA, alleging that Nadal aided and abetted EDF's discrimination and retaliation in violation of the DCHRA, tortiously interfered with her contractual and business relations, and defamed her. The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of appellees on all counts. See Gaujacq v. Electricite de France Int'l N. Am., Inc., 572 F.Supp.2d 79, 84 (D.D.C. Aug.21, 2008).

Appellant does not contest the District Court's awards of summary judgment for the appellees on the tortious interference claim against EDF and the defamation claims against EDF and Nadal. She does, however, seek review of the District Court's summary judgment against her on her remaining Title VII, DCHRA, Equal Pay Act, and common law claims.

We affirm the District Court's summary judgment in favor of EDF on appellant's Title VII and DCHRA gender-based employment discrimination claims, and its summary judgment in favor of Nadal on the related aiding and abetting discrimination claims. The District Court correctly concluded that no reasonable jury could find that the nondiscriminatory business reasons given by EDF to explain company actions relating to appellant's employment were a pretext for gender-based discrimination. We also affirm the District Court's summary judgment in favor of EDF on appellant's Equal Pay Act claim. The District Court correctly found that any differential in pay between appellant and Nadal was based on factors other than sex. We further affirm the District Court's summary judgment in favor of EDF on appellant's retaliation claim and summary judgment in favor of Nadal on the related aiding and abetting claims. A reasonable jury could not infer from all the evidence that EDF's legitimate, nondiscriminatory business decisions were retaliation against appellant; nor has appellant shown that a disputed negative comment made to her by an EDF official was "harmful to the point that it could well dissuade a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination." Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53, 57, 126 S.Ct. 2405, 165 L.Ed.2d 345 (2006). Finally, we affirm the District Court's judgments against appellant on all but one of her remaining common law claims. Appellant's complaint asserts a breach of contract claim against EDF due to the employer's alleged failure to reimburse her for certain business expenses. Because the District Court never addressed this issue, we remand the case to allow the trial court to consider the matter in the first instance. Appellant's remaining claims were properly dismissed.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The facts in this case are amply drawn in the District Court's opinion. See Gaujacq, 572 F.Supp.2d at 83-86. Therefore, we will focus on the salient undisputed, material facts, see FED.R.CIV.P. 56(c), to amplify our judgment.

Appellee EDF is a French corporation that generates and supplies electricity in France and other countries. Previously a state-owned company, EDF became a private corporation in November 2004 and first sold shares to the public in 2005. EDF's wholly owned subsidiary, EDFINA, functions as EDF's representative in Washington, D.C. After oral argument in this case, EDFINA merged into EDF Development—now known as EDF Inc.— which remains wholly owned by EDF.

Appellant Catherine Gaujacq was hired by EDF in 1980 after she graduated from engineering school. She continued to work for EDF until she was terminated on January 6, 2005. Gaujacq earned a number of promotions during her tenure with EDF. Her first management position came in 1994, when she became head of operations at a French nuclear plant. Gaujacq was the first woman in France to achieve such a position.

Christian Nadal was hired by EDF as a high-level executive in 1988. Before coming to EDF, Nadal had served for four years as the General Secretary for the French National Coal Board. In addition to holding a number of top management positions at EDF, Nadal served on the company's Executive Committee from 1995 to 1999. From 1999 to 2001, he served as the CEO of EDENOR, an Argentinian energy company in which EDF held an equity interest.

During the time when Gaujacq worked at EDF, the salaries of high-level executives were determined pursuant to a pay grade system. In 2000, EDF adopted the designations R-1 through R-4 (with R-1 as the highest rank) to classify executives under the pay grade system. A number of elements—including "the level of experience of a person within the company and outside of the company"—were taken into account to determine whether an executive was classified R-1 under the pay grade system. Dep. of Patrick de Botherel, EDF's Director of Executive Compensation and Benefits, at 45 (Mar. 23, 2006), reprinted in 3 Joint Appendix ("J.A.") 1073. Only 50 people out of EDF's more than 160,000 employees held the R-1 rank. Nadal, who was already a senior executive when the R-1 to R-4 ranking system was established, was classified R-1.

Gaujacq was promoted to the senior executive level in 2000 and classified R-3 under the pay grade system. She was appointed to serve as Délégué Général (General Delegate) for the United States and Canada, the company's top North American position, and President and Treasurer of EDFINA. Gaujacq's "substantial experience" in the area of "nuclear energy" made her "well-suited for EDF's goals" in the United States at the time: "to study the U.S. energy developments, reinforce EDF's reputation for nuclear expertise within the U.S. energy industry community and position the company for possible business involvement in the nuclear area in the United States." Decl. of Yann Laroche, EDF's General Manager of Human Resources in 2003 and 2004 and a member of its Executive Committee, ¶¶ 7-8 (Oct. 12, 2006), reprinted in 4 J.A. 1687-88. Gaujacq signed a three-year contract with EDF (the "2000 Expatriate Contract"), with an option to extend for an additional year by mutual consent. As part of her new job assignment, Gaujacq served as EDFINA's representative to NuStart Energy Development, LLC ("NuStart"), a consortium of energy companies working toward developing a nuclear energy plant that could be built within U.S. regulatory constraints.

When Gaujacq assumed her new positions in 2000, it was standard practice for EDF to rotate executives through its top positions in Washington, D.C. In the decade preceding Gaujacq's 2000 promotions, four executives had served as both the head of EDF's delegation in Washington, D.C. and President of EDFINA. Typically, these executives served for a term of two to four years, before moving on to new positions. Gaujacq sought to break this practice when she requested a new three-year contract in January 2003. However, EDF officials declined and merely extended her 2000 Expatriate Contract for one additional year, with a contract expiration of July 31, 2004.

In December 2003, EDF's President, Chairman, and CEO, Francois Roussely, offered Nadal the position of General Delegate for North America. By the end of 2003, EDF's strategic goals and business plans with respect to the United States had changed. The company "wanted to increase its profile in the United States" and, to that end, it sought to "send a top-level executive to Washington as its `ambassador'... to deal with the strategic, financial, and political issues" associated with its goal of entering into commercial ventures with energy partners in the United States. Laroche Decl. ¶ 12, 4 J.A. 1688-89. Company officials considered Nadal to be well qualified to assume these responsibilities. After accepting Roussely's offer, Nadal was appointed EDF's General Delegate for North America on January 1, 2004.

Gaujacq knew by January 28, 2004 that Nadal had been appointed to the General Delegate position and she had reason to know that the person in that position typically was appointed President of EDFINA. Gaujacq claims that EDF's Chief Operating Officer ("COO"), Gerard Creuzet, told her in January 2004 that she would remain President of EDFINA until at least 2005. In truth, however, Gaujacq had no such agreement with EDF to extend her term as President of EDFINA. Gaujacq nonetheless acted on her own accord and sent emails to the head of EDF's Americas Branch (to whom she reported) expressing her understanding that Nadal would come on board to develop EDFINA's knowledge of the gas industry, while she would remain in charge of EDFINA and NuStart.

During the first half of 2004, there was mounting tension between Gaujacq and Nadal. Gaujacq continued to demand her own way even though she knew that she had no agreement...