Glass v. Bozzuto's, Inc.
| Decision Date | 12 May 2023 |
| Docket Number | 3:21-cv-1486 (VAB) |
| Parties | TRUAX WILLIAM GLASS, Plaintiff, v. BOZZUTO'S, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut |
RULING AND ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Truax William Glass (“Plaintiff”) has sued his former employer, Bozzuto's, Inc. (“Defendant”) asserting claims for age discrimination under state and federal law. Compl., ECF No. 1. In 2020, when he was sixty-two years old, Mr. Glass was terminated from his position as Security Manager, purportedly because he consumed alcohol while providing security services at a charity fundraising event sponsored by Bozzuto's. See id. ¶ 25.
Bozzuto's has filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that its stated reason for terminating Mr. Glass was not a pretext for age discrimination. See Def.'s Mot. for Summ J., ECF No. 37.
Mr Glass has not filed an opposition to the motion for summary judgment. Instead, he asks the Court to hold the motion in abeyance and reopen discovery so that he can conduct several depositions. See Pl.'s Mot. to Hold Mot. for Summ. J. in Abeyance to Conduct Disc., ECF No. 50 (“Mot. to Reopen Disc.”).
For the following reasons, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED as to Mr. Glass's federal claim, and the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over his state law claim. Mr Glass's motion to hold the summary judgment motion in abeyance and to reopen discovery is DENIED.
The Clerk of Court is respectfully requested to enter judgment accordingly and close this case.
Mr. Glass was hired by Bozzuto's as Security Manager in October 2002, and he remained in this role until his termination in October 2020. Def.'s Substituted Rule 56(a)1 Statement of Material Facts ¶ 1, ECF No. 47 (“SMF”). As Security Manager, Mr. Glass reported to Michael Bozzuto, the president, CEO, and owner of Bozzuto's. Id. ¶ 2.
On several occasions during Mr. Glass's employment, Mr. Bozzuto allegedly asked Mr. Glass when he was going to retire. First, in January 2017, Mr. Glass and Mr. Bozzuto were having a casual conversation in Mr. Glass's office when Mr. Bozzuto asked, “you're ready to retire, aren't you?” Ex. 1 to Def.'s Rule 56(a)1 Statement of Material Facts ¶ 301:6-17,[2] ECF No. 39-1 (“Glass Dep.”). Mr. Glass responded that he still had “plenty of years to go” before he retired. Id. at 301:15-17. Mr. Bozzuto pressed further, saying, to which Mr. Glass replied, “Michael, you're older than I am.” Id. at 302:17-22.
Second, during another casual conversation a year or two later at a food show at Foxwoods, Mr. Glass asked Mr. Bozzuto about the possibility of being promoted. Id. at 304:2 14. In response, Mr. Bozzuto asked Mr. Glass, “well, aren't you going to retire?” Id. at 304:1819. Mr. Glass again told Mr. Bozzuto that he did not plan to retire for “a few years.” Id. at 304:20-22.
Finally, during a conversation in Mr. Bozzuto's office in the spring of 2020, Mr. Bozzuto asked Mr. Glass “are you thinking of retiring?” Id. at 385:17-386:8. Mr. Glass described this meeting as a casual discussion focused on the security of Mr. Bozzuto's personal vehicles. Id. at 305:24-25, 306:10-15. Mr. Glass told Mr. Bozzuto that he was not thinking about retirement. Id. at 386:9.
Mr. Bozzuto denies that he made any comments to Mr. Glass about his age or his retirement plans. See Ex. 15 to Def.'s Rule 56(a)1 Statement of Material Facts ¶ 289, ¶ 21, ECF No. 39-1 (“Bozzuto Decl.”).
The Dream Ride is an annual fundraising event sponsored by Bozzuto's and the Hometown Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Mr. Bozzuto. SMF ¶¶ 4-5. In 2020, the Dream Ride event was held at the Farmington Polo Grounds from August 21 to August 23. Id. ¶ 6.
Mr. Glass and the six supervisors who reported to him in the Bozzuto's Security Department provided security services at the 2020 Dream Ride event. Id. ¶ 7. According to Mr. Bozzuto, it was part of Mr. Glass's job to perform these services at the Dream Ride event. Bozzuto Decl. ¶ 12. In the weeks leading up to the Dream Ride event, Mr. Glass performed various functions to prepare for the event during his regular workday, such as meeting and coordinating with emergency services personnel, vendors, and his own supervisors at Bozzuto's. SMF ¶ 9. Mr. Glass also submitted reimbursement requests to and received payment from Bozzuto's for expenses related to his preparation for the Dream Ride event. Id. ¶ 11. During the event itself, Mr. Glass coordinated with emergency personnel, oversaw private security guards, and monitored dispatch for security events. Id. ¶ 10.
After the Dream Ride event ended, the Director of Surveillance at Bozzuto's, Carlos Landrau, learned that Mr. Glass, several security supervisors, and other Security Department employees had been consuming alcohol in the conference room that served as their command center at the Farmington Polo Grounds. Id. ¶ 12-13. Mr. Landrau also discovered that they had covered up a security camera in the conference room in order to conceal their drinking. Id. Mr. Landrau reported the drinking and obstruction of the security camera to Mr. Bozzuto. Id. ¶ 16.
Mr. Bozzuto then decided to terminate Mr. Glass and the six security supervisors, who together comprised the entire management team for the Bozzuto's Security Department. Id. ¶ 16. In consultation with Vice President of Human Resources Scott Grove, Mr. Bozzuto concluded that Mr. Glass and the other security personnel had “violated company policy, engaged in unprofessional/inappropriate behavior and exercised poor judgment as leaders.” Id.; Bozzuto Decl. ¶ 13. The Bozzuto's Associate Work Rules, which applied to Mr. Glass at the time, prohibited the “possession of . . . alcohol . . . while on Company time (including breaks, company functions).” SMF ¶ 17; Ex. 10 to Def.'s Rule 56(a)1 Statement of Material Facts ¶ 265, ECF No. 39-1 (“Associate Work Rules”). At the time, Mr. Glass was an at-will employee who could be terminated at any time if he did not meet his manager's expectations, exhibited poor judgment, or violated company policy. SMF ¶ 3.
As noted above, Mr. Glass was sixty-two years old at the time of his termination. Glass Dep. at 313:8-11. The six security supervisors who were also terminated were twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-nine, fifty-nine, and sixty-six years old, respectively. SMF ¶ 23.
After Mr. Bozzuto terminated Mr. Glass and the remainder of the Security Department's management team, he assigned the duties of Security Manager to Mr. Landrau, while Mr. Landrau maintained his position as Director of Surveillance. Bozzuto Decl. ¶ 18. Mr. Landrau was forty-two years old at the time. Ex. 14 to Def.'s Rule 56(a)1 Statement of Material Facts ¶ 284 ¶ 15, ECF No. 39-1 (“Landrau Decl.”).
On November 5, 2021, Mr. Glass filed his Complaint against Bozzuto's. Compl.
On January 6, 2022, Bozzuto's filed its Answer to the Complaint. Answer, ECF No. 11.
On January 11, 2022, the parties filed a Rule 26(f) Report. Report of Rule 26(f) Planning Meeting, ECF No. 12. On January 14, 2022, the Court issued a scheduling order, which provided that all discovery must be completed by September 1, 2022. Scheduling Order, ECF No. 13.
On March 14, 2022, Mr. Glass filed a motion for extension of time to serve his responses to Defendant's discovery requests. Pl.'s Mot. for Extension of Time, ECF No. 14. The Court noted that the motion was filed eight days after the deadline to respond to the discovery requests had passed and that the motion failed to comply with Local Rule 7. See Order, ECF No. 17. The Court nonetheless granted the motion nunc pro tunc, but it indicated that future motions for extensions of time that failed to comply with Local Rule 7 may be summarily denied. See id.
On August 29, 2022, Mr. Glass filed a motion to extend the discovery deadline for sixty days in order to depose three Bozzuto's employees. Pl.'s Mot. for Extension, ECF No. 21. Bozzuto's opposed the motion. Def.'s Obj. to Pl.'s Mot. for Extension, ECF No. 23.
The same day, the Court denied the motion without prejudice on the ground that Mr. Glass had not provided good cause for failing to have conducted these depositions within a timely fashion. See Order, ECF No. 24.
On October 31, 2022, Mr. Glass filed another motion seeking an extension of the discovery deadline for the purpose of conducting depositions. Pl.'s Am. Mot. for Extension, ECF No. 26. Bozzuto's once again opposed the motion. Def.'s Obj. to Pl.'s Am. Mot. for Extension, ECF No. 30.
On September 2, 2022, one day after the deadline for the close of discovery, the Court denied Mr. Glass's renewed motion, concluding that Mr. Glass had failed to show that the discovery deadline could not reasonably be met despite his diligent efforts to conduct discovery in this case. See Order, ECF No. 31. The Court noted that the parties had a settlement conference scheduled with Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti on October 3, 2022, and indicated that Mr. Glass could file a motion to reopen discovery if, after that conference, he continued to believe that some or all of the depositions sought were necessary to the prosecution of the case. See id.
On October 5, 2022, the case was reassigned from District Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam to District Judge Victor A. Bolden. Order of Transfer, ECF No. 35.
On November 1, 2022, the deadline set by the Court for filing dispositive motions, Bozzuto's filed a motion for summary judgment. Mot. for Summ. J., ECF No. 37; Mem. of L. in Supp of Def.'s Mot....
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