Gonzalez-Bermudez v. Abbott Labs. PR Inc., CIV. NO. 14-1620(PG)

• Citation: 214 F.Supp.3d 130
• Decision Date: 09 October 2016
• Docket Number: CIV. NO. 14-1620(PG)
• Parties: Luz GONZALEZ-BERMUDEZ, Plaintiff, v. ABBOTT LABORATORIES PR INC., et. al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

214 F.Supp.3d 130

Luz GONZALEZ-BERMUDEZ, Plaintiff,

v.ABBOTT LABORATORIES PR INC., et. al., Defendants.

CIV. NO. 14-1620(PG)

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

Signed October 9, 2016.

Carlos M. Vergne-Vargas, Juan C. Nieves-Gonzalez, Juan R. Gonzalez-Munoz, Gonzalez Munoz Law Offices, P.S.C., San Juan, PR, for Plaintiff.

Alberto Jose Bayouth-Montes, Jose F. Benitez-Mier, O'Neill & Borges, Ricardo F. Casellas, Casellas, Alcover & Burgos PSC, San Juan, PR, Carla S. Loubriel, Hato Rey, PR, for Defendants.

AMENDED OPINION AND ORDER NUNC PRO TUNC

JUAN M. PEREZ-GIMENEZ, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

Plaintiff Luz Gonzalez-Bermudez (hereinafter "Plaintiff" or "Gonzalez") filed this action pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA" or "the Act"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 -634, against her employer Abbott Laboratories PR Inc. ("Abbott" or "the Company") and her supervisor Kim Perez¹ (hereinafter "Perez"). Plaintiff alleges she has been the victim of discrimination on the basis of age and of retaliation for engaging in protected conduct. See Docket No. 1. Specifically, Gonzalez claims that she was demoted, bypassed for promotion and suffered other adverse employment actions because of her age and for complaining of age discrimination.² See id. The Plaintiff also pleads supplemental state law claims of age discrimination under Puerto Rico's anti-discrimination statute, Law No. 100 of June 30, 1959 ("Law No. 100"), P.R. LAWS ANN. tit. 29, § 146, et seq. , as well as claims of retaliation under Puerto Rico's anti-retaliation statute, Law No. 115 of December 20, 1991 ("Law No. 115"), P.R. LAWS ANN. tit. 29, § 194a.

Before the court is the defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 42), Plaintiff's Opposition³ thereto (Docket No. 55) and defendants' reply (Docket No. 66). After a close examination of all the evidence on record and a careful review of the applicable statutory and case law, the court DENIES the defendants' motion for summary judgment for the reasons explained below.

I. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

A motion for summary judgment is governed by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which entitles a party to judgment if "the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). "When the party who bears the burden of proof at trial is faced with a properly constituted summary judgment motion, defeating the motion depends on her ability to show that such a dispute exists." Geshke v. Crocs, Inc., 740 F.3d 74, 77 (1st Cir.2014) (citing Borges ex rel. S.M.B.W. v. Serrano–Isern, 605 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.2010) ).

If the non-movant generates uncertainty as to the true state of any material fact, the movant's efforts should be deemed unavailing. See Suarez v. Pueblo Int'l, 229 F.3d 49, 53 (1st Cir.2000). Nonetheless, the mere existence of "some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not affect an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247–48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "Summary judgment may be appropriate if the nonmoving party rests merely upon conclusory allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation." Medina–Muñoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir.1990).

At the summary judgment juncture, the court must examine the facts in the light most favorable to the non-movant, indulging that party with all possible inferences to be derived from the facts. See Rochester Ford Sales, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 287 F.3d 32, 38 (1st Cir.2002). The court reviews the record "as a whole," and "may not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence." Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 135, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000). This is so because credibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge. Id.

II. FACTUAL FINDINGS

Before setting forth the facts found by this court found to be undisputed and relevant to the matter at hand, we must first address a compliance issue arising from both parties' statements of facts.⁴

The parties objected to each other's proposed statements of facts on the grounds that the documents submitted in support thereof were not properly authenticated by affidavit. After the 2010 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 56(c)(1) states that a party must support its assertions of fact or dispute by "citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). "A party may object that the material cited to support or dispute a fact cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evidence." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2). The objecting party must thus state the proper grounds for which the opposing party's evidence cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible at trial . A plain objection simply stating that the exhibit proffered has not been properly authenticated will not suffice. See Int'l Shipping Agency, Inc. v. Union de Trabajadores de Muelles Local 1740, No. CIV. 12–1996 SCC, 2015 WL 5022794, at *3 (D.P.R. Aug. 21, 2015) ("Because [plaintiff] makes no argument that the defendants' evidence could not be authenticated, its objection should be denied."). Seeing as both parties' objections were unsubstantiated, the same are denied and the statements were not considered unauthenticated if supported by potentially admissible evidence.

In accordance with the foregoing, the court found the following relevant facts were undisputed:

The Parties

1. Plaintiff Gonzalez is currently an employee of Abbott. She has been employed by Abbott uninterruptedly since 1984 when she began her career with the Company as a Pharmaceutical or Medical Representative.

2. Plaintiff was born on June 6, 1960.

3. Co-defendant Abbott is a for-profit corporation duly created under the Laws of and with its principal place of business in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Abbott is at all times relevant herein an employer as defined by the statutes under which the Plaintiff seeks relief.

4. Co-defendant Kim Perez was the Plaintiff's supervisor from January 10, 2011 until May 12, 2014. Prior to taking over the position of General Manager on May 12, 2014, co-defendant Perez worked as Abbott's Marketing Manager and Marketing Director since 2008.

Other Abbott Employees

5. Since January 2013, Luz Miriam Adames ("Adames") has held the position of Business Human Resources Director for Puerto Rico at Abbott. Adames has been conversant with Abbott's Human Resources policies since 1988.

6. Matthew Harris ("Harris") started as Abbott's General Manager on October 2, 2011 until co-defendant Kim Perez assumed said position on May 12, 2014.

7. Taisgali Mendez ("Mendez") is the Regional Senior Manager for Talent Acquisition in Abbott. Mendez is in charge of managing all of the recruiting efforts for Abbott.

8. Yolanda Gonzalez Bonilla is an Employee Relations Manager at Abbott. In her role as Employee Relations Manager, she is in charge of, among other things, assisting employees, managers and members of Abbott's Human Resources Department in answering their personnel matters related questions and employee relations activities. Yolanda Gonzalez also evaluates personnel related actions related to performance and discipline, among others, to ensure compliance with Abbott's policies.

Relevant Employment Policies

9. Abbott has a Workplace Harassment Policy that proscribes any type of illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The purpose of the Workplace Harassment Policy is to provide a professional work environment free from discrimination, intimidation, harassment or insult, including that based on race, sex, religion, color, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry or any other reason prohibited by law.

10. Abbott's Workplace Harassment Policy contains a complaint procedure. According to the same, individuals are encouraged to report all perceived incidents of discrimination, harassment or retaliation. Any reported allegation of harassment, discrimination or retaliation has to be investigated. If the investigation reveals that the Workplace Harassment Policy has been violated, the Company will take disciplinary action up to and including termination.

11. Abbott classifies positions by levels. Each position level has an assigned compensation scale and benefits package.

12. Abbott has in place a program known as "TMR" or "Talent Management Review," which identifies potential candidates for promotion to certain positions. An employee selection for the TMR depends on criteria such as the potential candidate's performance, interpersonal relations and experience, among others. It is the process of identifying and developing individuals with the potential to compete for a leadership role.

13. According to Adames, when Abbott has identified a person who is a potential successor for a position, and a position becomes available, preference is given to an internal candidate over external candidates. If an internal Abbott employee who is already prepared to occupy a position and meets its requirements and does not need any training to occupy it, preference may also be given to such an individual (as an internal candidate) over external candidates.

14. Abbott provides its employees with yearly written work performance evaluations.

15. As part of the process of evaluating its employees, Abbott uses a rating system with the following categories: Exceeds Expectations ("EE"); Achieved Expectations ("AE"), Partially Achieved Expectations ("PA") and Not Achieved Expectations ("NA").

16. Abbott's definition...