Goree v. United Parcel Serv., Inc.
| Decision Date | 08 October 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. W2014-01468-COA-R3-CV,W2014-01468-COA-R3-CV |
| Citation | 490 S.W.3d 413 |
| Parties | Mitch Goree, et al. v. United Parcel Service, Inc. |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. and Marcus M. Crider, Nashville, Tennessee, for the Appellant/Cross Appellee, United Parcel Service, Inc.
Andrew C. Clarke, Memphis, Tennessee, and Luther O. Sutter, Benton, Arkansas, for the Appellees/Cross–Appellants, Mitch Goree and James Wherry.
BRANDON O. GIBSON
, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which J. STEVEN STAFFORD, P.J., W.S., and KENNY ARMSTRONG, J., joined.
This appeal involves two employees' claims of racial discrimination and retaliation pursuant to the Tennessee Human Rights Act, Tenn.Code Ann. § 4–21–101, et seq .
After a five-day jury trial, the jury found in favor of both employees on their claims of racial discrimination and retaliation for engaging in protected activity. The jury awarded one employee $2,600,000 and the other employee $2,042,000 in back pay, benefits, and compensatory damages. The trial judge granted the employer's motion for remittitur of the jury verdict and suggested remittitur of the awards to $1,225,933.33 and $676,000, respectively. The plaintiffs accepted the remittitur under protest. The employer appeals, claiming that the trial court should have granted its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict because the plaintiffs failed to establish essential elements of their claims. Alternatively, the employer argues that a new trial is necessary due to erroneous jury instructions. The employees argue that the trial court erred in reducing the jury verdict. For the following reasons, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.
Plaintiffs Mitch Goree and James Wherry are long-time employees of United Parcel Service, Inc. (“UPS”). Both are black males. Goree began working for UPS in 1982. After several promotions, he achieved the title of business manager in 2000. A business manager is responsible for everything that goes on in a particular business unit or location and oversees the package preload employees, drivers, and supervisors. After failing a safety audit, Goree was demoted from his position as business manager in 2004. In 2005, Goree filed a lawsuit against UPS alleging racial discrimination, but his suit was eventually dismissed. For the next several years, Goree continued to work as a supervisor at various facilities in Memphis.
Plaintiff James Wherry began working for UPS around 1983. Wherry was promoted to the position of division manager around 2006. A division manager is responsible for everything that goes on in a certain division and oversees all of the business managers in that division. Wherry served as the division manager for West Tennessee.
In 2010, a business manager position became vacant at the Walnut Grove package center in Memphis. Wherry had known Goree for about twenty years and asked him to serve as “acting” business manager until the vacant position was filled. Goree agreed and began serving as acting business manager at Walnut Grove.1 Around this time, Wherry suggested to his superior, Midsouth district operations manager James Buchanan, that Goree should be promoted to the business manager position on a full-time basis. In August 2010, Goree, Wherry, and Buchanan (also a black male) met for lunch at a restaurant and discussed the vacant business manager position. According to Goree, Buchanan said that he was going to submit the necessary paperwork to promote Goree and that he should expect to be promoted in a couple of weeks. Goree left the meeting believing that he had been promoted and informed his wife that he would be receiving a substantial raise. He also told several fellow employees that he was getting the job.
On October 4, 2010, Buchanan called a meeting at the Walnut Grove package center and announced to all of the employees that the vacant business manager position would be filled by Brian Riley, a white male, who was transferring from another facility. Goree was embarrassed and humiliated and left work immediately. He took “stress leave” and sought counseling before eventually returning to work six months later.
In the meantime, on January 19, 2011, two black employees at the Bartlett package center complained to their business manager that a white employee used “the n-word” with them in reference to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The business manager immediately called Wherry and asked him to come to Bartlett. Wherry suggested that they discuss the incident at a regularly scheduled division meeting the next day. The business manager arrived late to the division meeting the following morning and handed written statements to Wherry describing the incident. Wherry placed the statements in his planner and forgot about them. The following week, on Friday, January 28, Wherry received two more complaints about the same employee who used the racial slur in reference to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. That evening, Wherry called the security department and directed the security supervisor to go to Bartlett the following Monday, January 31, to investigate. After an investigation, the employee received formal notice of his discharge on Monday, February 7. However, the collective bargaining agreement between UPS and the teamsters' union provides that UPS must provide the union and the affected employee with a copy of any discharge letter “within ten (10) working days from the day of management's knowledge of the infraction.” The discharged employee filed a grievance with the union and was returned to work after a settlement for a time-served suspension.
After the employee filed a grievance, upper level management and human resource personnel commenced an investigation in order to determine why the ten-day disciplinary deadline was missed. Wherry was taken out of service pending the investigation. One to two days before he was removed from service, Wherry allegedly had a conversation with Ken Harms, the district president of UPS who oversees 18,000 employees in several states, regarding Goree's opportunity the previous summer to be promoted to business manager at Walnut Grove. According to Wherry, during this conversation, the district president told him that “we don't promote guys with litigation at this company, or lawsuits basically.” Wherry did not report this statement to anyone.
Wherry was summoned to Nashville to meet with the Midsouth district Human Resources manager and the regional security manager on or about March 3, 2011, in connection with the investigation of the missed ten-day deadline. After an interview and further investigation, Wherry was demoted from the position of division manager to business manager on or about March 10, 2011, allegedly because of his delay in responding to the incident that occurred on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The decision to demote Wherry was made by the regional HR manager and the Midsouth district HR manager, both black males, in consultation with in-house counsel and subject to the ultimate approval of district president Harms, a white male.
Goree and Wherry filed this lawsuit against UPS on June 30, 2011, alleging racial discrimination and retaliation for protected activity pursuant to the Tennessee Human Rights Act, Tenn.Code Ann. § 4–21–101, et seq .
The complaint alleged that Goree was promised a promotion to business manager by Buchanan and that the promotion was awarded to a lesser qualified white male who had not previously sued UPS. Plaintiffs alleged that Goree was denied the promotion on account of his race and because of his previous lawsuit. The complaint also alleged that Wherry had “consistently opposed” UPS's illegal discrimination against Goree and the manner in which Goree was treated. As a result, the complaint alleged, Wherry was falsely accused of misconduct and demoted. Wherry claimed he was demoted under circumstances in which similarly situated white employees were not demoted. Plaintiffs sought compensatory damages for lost wages, fringe benefits, humiliation, and embarrassment.2
A five-day jury trial was held in January 2014. UPS filed a motion for directed verdict at the close of Plaintiffs' proof and renewed its motion at the close of all the proof, but the motions were denied. The jury ultimately found that both Plaintiffs had proven by a preponderance of the evidence “all of the elements” of their claims for racial discrimination and retaliation for protected activity. The jury awarded Goree (who was not promoted) $600,000 for back pay and benefits and $2,000,000 in compensatory damages. The jury awarded Wherry (who was demoted) $1,042,000 in back pay and benefits and $1,000,000 in compensatory damages. After the verdict, UPS filed a motion for judgment in accordance with its previous motion for directed verdict, or in the alternative, for a new trial and/or remittitur of the jury verdict. The trial judge denied the motion for judgment in accordance with the motion for directed verdict or for a new trial but granted the motion for remittitur, suggesting a remittitur of Goree's back pay award from $600,000 to $125,933.33 and a remittitur of the verdict for his compensatory damages from $2,000,000 to $1,100,000. The trial judge suggested a remittitur of Wherry's back pay award from $1,042,000 to $126,000 and a remittitur of the verdict for his compensatory damages from $1,000,000 to $550,000. Plaintiffs accepted the remittitur under protest. UPS timely filed a notice of appeal.
UPS presents the following issues for review on appeal:
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