Gonzalez v. Florida Dept. of Highway Safety, 99-2971-CV-HOEVELER.
| Court | United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. Southern District of Florida |
| Writing for the Court | Hoeveler |
| Citation | 237 F.Supp.2d 1338 |
| Parties | Henry GONZALEZ, et. al., Plaintiffs, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY AND MOTOR VEHICLES, DIVISION OF FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL, Defendant. |
| Docket Number | No. 99-2971-CV-HOEVELER.,99-2971-CV-HOEVELER. |
| Decision Date | 06 February 2002 |
Carlos Garcia, Garcia & Dominguez, Miami, FL, for Plaintiffs.
Helen Ann Hauser, Dittmar & Hauser, Coconut Grove, FL, for Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTIONS FOR FINAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT; DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SANCTIONS; GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR ORDER COMPELLING DISCOVERY AND DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF ORDER GRANTING DEFAULT
THIS CAUSE comes before the Court on the Defendant's Amended Motions for Summary Judgment as to each Plaintiff, filed October 23, 2001. The Plaintiffs elected to stand on their original responses, filed in March of 2001. See Pls.' Resp. Am. Mot. Summ. J. at 1. The Court held a hearing on the motions on January 30, 2002. This Order also addresses the Defendant's Motion for Sanctions, filed July 25, 2001; the Defendant's Motion for an Order Compelling Discovery, filed August 2, 2000; and the Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration of Order Granting Default, filed January 24, 2002.
On November 4, 1999, Plaintiffs Henry Gonzalez, Alejandro Diaz, Wanda Diaz, Pedro Cortes, Jorge J. Diaz, Manuel Sanchez, Orlando Alverez, Angelo Santiesteban filed their Amended Complaint, alleging violations of Title VII (Count I), Retaliation (Count II) and the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (Count III). The Plaintiffs asserted multiple violations of the Civil Rights Act including unequal disciplinary action (Am.Compl. ¶ 12), unequal pay (¶ 15, 16), hostile work environment (¶ 15) and unequal promotional opportunities (¶ 17). The Defendant filed eight motions for summary judgment arguing that in each instance, the Plaintiffs either failed to state a prima facie case, were unable to present any evidence that the Defendant's legitimate nondiscriminatory explanation was pretextual, or the Plaintiffs' claims were untimely filed, barred by collateral estoppel, waived by settlement, or not "significant and material" changes in employment.1
Florida Highway Patrol ("FHP") troopers and supervisors are allowed to supplement their salaries by working off-duty for private employers, but there are limitations on the number of hours they are allowed to engage in such off-duty work. In addition, they are required to submit a Request to Work Secondary Employment and get authorization from their supervisors. Troopers are required to report the number of hours which they work and reimburse FHP for mileage on their patrol vehicles. Some troopers do not report their off-duty hours to the FHP, in violation of the rules, in order to earn more income. These troopers who "stealth," as it is referred to, are subject to strict discipline if caught. In 1995, most of the Plaintiffs began "stealthing" at PCL, a construction company that was erecting tollbooths on the Florida Turnpike. After being caught, they admitted to numerous FHP violations. Plaintiff Manual Sanchez's violations were deemed to be isolated incidents, and thus, he entered into a settlement agreement with FHP, received an administrative punishment, and is still employed with FHP. Orlando Alverz entered into a settlement agreement, in which he accepted a demotion. No allegations of violations of off-duty policies have ever been sustained against Wanda or Jorge Diaz and no action has been taken against them. Pedro Cortes, the scheduler for PCL was fired and prosecuted for grand theft, and conspiracy. Henry Gonzalez, Angelo Santisteban and Alejandro Diaz were fired from FHP. Shortly after these actions were taken, these Plaintiffs filed charges and after receiving permission from the EEOC, brought suit in this Court.
Rule 56(C) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment is appropriate only where the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A court's task is not "to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The purpose of the summary judgment rule is to dispose of unsupported claims or defenses which, as a matter of law, raise no genuine issues of material fact suitable for trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
The party who moves for summary judgment bears the initial burden "to show the district court, by reference to materials on file, that there is no genuine issue of material fact that should be decided at trial." Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir.1991). A court must view the evidence presented in a light most favorable to the non-moving party.
However, once the moving party meets his initial burden, "the burden shift[s] to the non-moving party to demonstrate that there is indeed a material issue of fact that precludes summary judgment." Id. at 608. The non-moving party may not rest upon mere allegations or denials in his pleadings, but must set forth specific facts, through affidavits or the other forms of evidence provided for by the rules. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Essentially, "the inquiry ... is ... 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." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505. With this standard in mind, we address Defendant's Motions for Summary Judgment.
Mr. Sanchez appears to base his claims on the fact that (1) he was never promoted; (2) he was denied working on the morning shift; (3) his file was "papered" with negative comments; (4) he was temporarily made to work in a vehicle with no air conditioning; (5) he was disciplined for not testifying in Court on a different matter and (6) he was subject to a hostile work environment and; (7) he had privileges suspended twice for minor infractions.2 The Court will discuss each allegation in turn.
To establish a prima facie case of discriminatory failure to promote, a plaintiff must prove: (1) that he is a member of a protected class; (2) that he was qualified for and applied for the promotion; (3) that he was rejected; and (4) that other equally or less qualified employees who were not members of the protected class were promoted. See Combs v. Plantation Patterns, 106 F.3d 1519, 1539 n. 11 (11th Cir.1997). In the present case, the Plaintiff concedes that he never applied for any promotion. Generally, this would prevent the Plaintiff from recovering on this theory. McKinney v. Boyd Gaming Corp., 2001 WL 711633 at 600 (9th Cir.2001) ()
A plaintiff may still establish a prima facie case without demonstrating that he applied for a position, if instead, he shows that an application would have been futile due to the employer's discriminatory practices. See Taylor v. Hudson Pulp and Paper Corp., 788 F.2d 1455, 1462 (11th Cir.1986)("[It] is clear that a...
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