Goldman v. First Nat. Bank of Boston

• Citation: 985 F.2d 1113
• Decision Date: 04 November 1992
• Docket Number: No. 92-1773,92-1773
• Parties: 61 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 109, 61 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 439, 60 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,050, 125 Lab.Cas. P 57,375 Robert GOLDMAN, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF BOSTON, Defendant, Appellee. . Heard
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)

Page 1113

985 F.2d 1113

61 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 109,

61 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 439,

60 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 42,050,

125 Lab.Cas. P 57,375

Robert GOLDMAN, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF BOSTON, Defendant, Appellee.

No. 92-1773.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard Nov. 4, 1992.

Decided Feb. 18, 1993.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied March 12, 1993.

Denise M. Leydon with whom Weston, Patrick, Willard & Redding, Boston, MA, was on brief, for plaintiff, appellant.

Richard P. Ward with whom Robert B. Gordon and Ropes & Gray, Boston, MA, were on brief, for defendant, appellee.

Before SELYA, Circuit Judge, HIGGINBOTHAM, ^* Senior Circuit Judge, and CYR, Circuit Judge.

CYR, Circuit Judge.

The First National Bank of Boston terminated the employment of appellant Robert Goldman pursuant to a reduction in force in 1989. Goldman sued the Bank, asserting, inter alia, age discrimination in violation of 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634 ("ADEA") and Mass.Gen.L. ch. 151B, and breach of a lifetime employment contract. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Bank. We affirm.

I

BACKGROUND

In 1957 the Bank hired Robert Goldman as a clerk in its Settlement Department. Goldman recalls that Lee Beaulieu, the personnel officer who interviewed him for the job, told him at the time he was hired that he would not become wealthy working for the Bank, but would have a job for life unless he committed a criminal act against the Bank. Goldman also recalls that Beaulieu said the Bank had never laid off an employee. ¹

Over the ensuing thirty-two years, Goldman held various positions with the Bank. During the final four years, he worked as a Custody Administrator in the Custody Administration Unit of Capital Asset Services, a division of the Treasury and Banking Services Department, providing administrative services relating to the Bank's custodial security accounts. ²

In 1989, the Bank launched a large-scale reduction in its work force due to mounting losses in its Treasury and Banking Services operation. The Bank completely reorganized the Treasury and Banking Services Department, reconfiguring approximately 252 operational functions into approximately 135 functions. As a result, 119 positions were eliminated. Thomas Keane, Senior Operations Manager of the Capital Asset Services Department, determined that it was necessary to eliminate three of the fifteen positions in the Custody Administration Unit.

After reviewing recent employee performance evaluations and consulting with unit supervisors, Keane selected three employees for dismissal: a twenty-four year old, a thirty-seven year old, and Goldman, then fifty-two. Keane explained that the twenty-four year old was suspected of misusing a corporate credit card; the thirty-seven year old and Goldman were considered the weakest performers in the unit. Keane represents that Goldman was responsible for the fewest customer accounts, with the lowest aggregate market value, and that Goldman's low volume resulted in large measure from the reassignment of some of Goldman's accounts due to client complaints. All three positions were permanently eliminated and Goldman's duties were absorbed by the remaining employees in the Custody Administration Unit.

II

DISCUSSION

A. Summary Judgment Standard

We review a grant of summary judgment de novo, employing the same criteria incumbent upon the district court in the first instance. Pedraza v. Shell Oil Co., 942 F.2d 48, 50 (1st Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 993, 117 L.Ed.2d 154 (1992). Summary judgment is appropriate where the record, including the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and affidavits, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, reveals no genuine issue as to any material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Canal Ins. Co. v. Benner, 980 F.2d 23, 25 (1st Cir.1992); see also Mesnick v. General Elec. Co., 950 F.2d 816, 822 (1st Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 2965, 119 L.Ed.2d 586 (1992). The nonmoving party "may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the ... pleadings, but ... must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1985). There is no trialworthy issue unless there is enough competent evidence to enable a finding favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2510 (citing First Nat'l Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 1592, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)). Moreover, "[e]ven in cases where elusive concepts such as motive or intent are at issue, summary judgment may be appropriate if the nonmoving party rests merely upon conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation." Medina-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir.1990).

B. Age Discrimination Claims ³

1. The Burden-Shifting Paradigm

A plaintiff alleging age discrimination "bears the ultimate 'burden of proving "Establishment of the prima facie case ... creates a presumption that the employer unlawfully discriminated against the employee," Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 254, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1094, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981), and the burden of production shifts to the defendant-employer to "articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason" for the termination. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824; Lawrence, 980 F.2d at 69; Biggins, 953 F.2d at 1409; Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 823. The burden of persuasion remains with the plaintiff-employee at all times. Lawrence, 980 F.2d at 69; Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 823 (citing Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253, 101 S.Ct. at 1093); Medina-Munoz, 896 F.2d at 9.

                that his years were the determinative factor in his discharge, that is, that he would not have been fired but for his age.' "  Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 823 (quoting Freeman v. Package Machinery Co., 865 F.2d 1331, 1335 (1st Cir.1988)).   Absent direct evidence of age discrimination, the familiar burden-shifting framework established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-805, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824-1825, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), comes into play.  Lawrence v. Northrop Corp., 980 F.2d 66, 68 (1st Cir.1992);  Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 823;  Medina-Munoz, 896 F.2d at 8.   First, the plaintiff must make a prima facie showing of discrimination, McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824;  Lawrence, 980 F.2d at 68;  Biggins v. Hazen Paper Co., 953 F.2d 1405, 1409 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 3035, 120 L.Ed.2d 904 (1992) and cert. granted, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 2990, 120 L.Ed.2d 868 (1992);  Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 823;  that is, Goldman must demonstrate that he (1) was at least forty years of age, (2) met the employer's legitimate job performance expectations, (3) experienced adverse employment action, and (4) was replaced by a person with roughly equivalent job qualifications.  Id.; Medina-Munoz, 896 F.2d at 8.   A plaintiff whose employment was terminated in the course of a reduction in force need not demonstrate that he was replaced, but may show that "the employer did not treat age neutrally or that younger persons were retained in the same position."  Hebert v. Mohawk Rubber Co., 872 F.2d 1104, 1111 (1st Cir.1989);  see Lawrence, 980 F.2d at 69;  Connell v. Bank of Boston, 924 F.2d 1169, 1173 n. 5 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 2828, 115 L.Ed.2d 997 (1991)
                

The presumption of unlawful age discrimination generated by the plaintiff-employee's prima facie showing dissipates, however, provided the employer sustains its burden of production; the plaintiff-employee must then demonstrate that the proffered reason for the adverse employment action was simply a pretext for age discrimination. Lawrence, 980 F.2d at 69; Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 823; Connell, 924 F.2d at 1172. The plaintiff must do more than cast doubt on the employer's justification for the challenged action; there must be a sufficient showing that discriminatory animus motivated the action. Lawrence, 980 F.2d at 69-70; Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 824; Villanueva v. Wellesley College, 930 F.2d 124, 127-28 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 181, 116 L.Ed.2d 143 (1991); Connell, 924 F.2d at 1172. Direct or indirect evidence of discriminatory motive may do, but "the evidence as a whole ... must be sufficient for a reasonable factfinder to infer that the employer's decision was motivated by age animus." Connell, 924 F.2d at 1172 n. 3; see also Lawrence, 980 F.2d at 69-70, Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 825; Villanueva, 930 F.2d at 128.

Under First Circuit caselaw, the plaintiff-employee must adduce minimally sufficient evidence of pretext and discriminatory animus. Lawrence, 980 F.2d at 69-70 (citing Mesnick, 950 F.2d at 825; Villanueva, 930 F.2d at 127; Connell, 924 F.2d The Bank does not challenge the district court ruling that Goldman made out a prima facie age discrimination claim. Nor does Goldman challenge the finding that the Bank met its burden at the second stage of the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting analysis by articulating a nondiscriminatory motive for Goldman's dismissal; namely, that economic considerations necessitated a reduction in force and Goldman was selected for termination because he was "the weakest performer and least qualified employee" in his unit. At the third and final stage of the McDonnell Douglas analysis, the district court ruled that Goldman had failed to present sufficient evidence either to rebut the Bank's proffered justification for Goldman's dismissal or to support an inference of discriminatory animus. The Bank accordingly won summary judgment on the state and federal age discrimination claims. Contending that the district court weighed the competing evidence, rather than...