Green v. The Servicemaster Co.
| Decision Date | 21 July 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. C97-3120-MWB.,C97-3120-MWB. |
| Citation | 66 F.Supp.2d 1003 |
| Parties | Caren A. GREEN, Plaintiff, v. THE SERVICEMASTER COMPANY and Leroy Luhring, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
Blake Parker, Blake Parker Law Office, Fort Dodge, IA, for plaintiff.
James P. Osick, Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson, Chicago, IL, for defendants.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 1005
II. STANDARDS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ..................................................... 1006
III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND ................................................................ 1008
IV. LEGAL ANALYSIS ..................................................................... 1009
A. Sexual Harassment Claim ..................................................... 1009
1. The Ellerth/Faragher standard ........................................ 1010
2. Green's prima facie case of hostile work environment ................. 1010
3. The Ellerth/Faragher affirmative defense ............................. 1012
B. The Retaliation Claims ...................................................... 1014
1. Retaliation for filing the EEOC and ICRC charge ...................... 1015
2. Retaliation for filing a federal lawsuit ............................. 1016
V. CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 1017
In this employment discrimination lawsuit, the plaintiff-employee alleges that her former employer violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., by subjecting her to a hostile work environment and then retaliating against her for engaging in protected activity to remedy the perceived harassment. The employer has moved for summary judgment on all counts. Because the plaintiff alleges sexual harassment at the hands of her former supervisor, resolution of the employer's summary judgment motion takes a new twist. The court must consider — for the first time — the newly established affirmative defense set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742, 118 S.Ct. 2257, 141 L.Ed.2d 633 (1998), and Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 118 S.Ct. 2275, 141 L.Ed.2d 662 (1998).
Plaintiff Caren A. Green filed this employment discrimination lawsuit against her former employer, defendant The Servicemaster Company ("Servicemaster"), on December 15, 1997. She amended her complaint on October 5, 1998. In her amended complaint, Green asserts three federal claims for violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e) et seq. In Count I, Green alleges that she was sexually harassed by her former supervisor at Servicemaster, defendant Leroy Luhring. In Count II, Green asserts that Servicemaster retaliated against her for filing a charge of discrimination by lodging false complaints and reprimands against her. Finally, in Count IV, Green alleges that Servicemaster discharged her in retaliation for filing this lawsuit. Green also alleges a pendant state law claim for assault (Count III) against Luhring. The defendants answered the amended complaint, generally denying Green's allegations and raising a variety of affirmative defenses.
On April 1, 1999, Servicemaster and Luhring filed their respective motions for summary judgment. Although Green concedes that summary judgment is appropriate on her assault claim against defendant Luhring, she asserts that genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment on her remaining three claims against Servicemaster.1
The court heard telephonic oral arguments on Servicemaster's motion on July 12, 1999. Servicemaster was represented by James P. Osick of Seyfarth, Shaw, Fairweather & Geraldson, Chicago, Illinois. Green was represented by Blake Parker of The Blake Parker Law Office, Fort Dodge, Iowa. The court will begin with a consideration of the standards applicable to a motion for summary judgment. Next, the court will set forth the factual background established by the summary judgment record. Finally, the court will turn to its legal analysis of Servicemaster's motion.
This court has considered in some detail the standards applicable to motions for summary judgment pursuant to FED. R.CIV.P. 56 in a number of recent decisions. See, e.g., Swanson v. Van Otterloo, 993 F.Supp. 1224, 1230-31 (N.D.Iowa 1998); Dirks v. J.C. Robinson Seed Co., 980 F.Supp. 1303, 1305-07 (N.D.1997); Laird v. Stilwill, 969 F.Supp. 1167, 1172-74 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Rural Water Sys. # 1 v. City of Sioux Ctr., 967 F.Supp. 1483, 1499-1501 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Tralon Corp. v. Cedarapids, Inc., 966 F.Supp. 812, 817-18 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Security State Bank v. Firstar Bank Milwaukee, N.A., 965 F.Supp. 1237, 1239-40 (N.D.Iowa 1997); Lockhart v. Cedar Rapids Community Sch. Dist., 963 F.Supp. 805 (N.D.Iowa 1997). Thus, the court will not consider those standards in detail here. Suffice it to say that Rule 56 itself provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
Rule 56. Summary Judgment
(a) For Claimant. A party seeking to recover upon a claim, counterclaim, or cross-claim or to obtain a declaratory judgment may, at any time after the expiration of 20 days from the commencement of the action or after service of a motion for summary judgment by the adverse party, move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in the party's favor upon all or any part thereof.
(b) For Defending Party. A party against whom a claim ... is asserted ... may, at any time, move for summary judgment in the party's favor as to all or any part thereof.
(c) Motions and Proceedings Thereon.... The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
FED.R.CIV.P. 56(a)-(c) (emphasis added). Applying these standards, the trial judge's function at the summary judgment stage of the proceedings is not to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter, but to determine whether there are genuine issues for trial. Quick v. Donaldson Co., 90 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (8th Cir.1996); Johnson v. Enron Corp., 906 F.2d 1234, 1237 (8th Cir.1990). An issue of material fact is genuine if it has a real basis in the record. Hartnagel v. Norman, 953 F.2d 394 (8th Cir.1992) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). As to whether a factual dispute is "material," the Supreme Court has explained, "Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Beyerbach v. Sears, 49 F.3d 1324, 1326 (8th Cir.1995); Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 394.
Because this is an employment discrimination case, it is well to remember that the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has cautioned that "summary judgment should seldom be used in employment-discrimination cases." Crawford v. Runyon, 37 F.3d 1338, 1341 (8th Cir.1994) (citing Johnson v. Minnesota Historical Soc'y, 931 F.2d 1239, 1244 (8th Cir.1991); Hillebrand v. M-Tron Indus., Inc., 827 F.2d 363, 364 (8th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1004, 109 S.Ct. 782, 102 L.Ed.2d 774 (1989)); see also Snow v. Ridgeview Medical Ctr., 128 F.3d 1201, 1205 (8th Cir.1997) (citing Crawford); Helfter v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 115 F.3d 613, 615 (8th Cir. 1997) (quoting Crawford); Chock v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 113 F.3d 861, 862 (8th Cir.1997) (); Smith v. St. Louis Univ., 109 F.3d 1261, 1264 (8th Cir. 1997) (quoting Crawford); Hardin v. Hussmann Corp., 45 F.3d 262 (8th Cir. 1995) (). Summary judgment is appropriate in employment discrimination cases only in "those rare instances where there is no dispute of fact and where there exists only one conclusion." Johnson, 931 F.2d at 1244; see also Webb v. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 51 F.3d 147, 148 (8th Cir.1995) (quoting Johnson, 931 F.2d at 1244); Crawford, 37 F.3d at 1341 (quoting Johnson, 931 F.2d at 1244). To put it another way, "[b]ecause discrimination cases often depend on inferences rather than on direct evidence, summary judgment should not be granted unless the evidence could not support any reasonable inference for the nonmovant." Crawford, 37 F.3d at 1341 (); accord Snow, 128 F.3d at 1205 (); Webb v. Garelick Mfg. Co., 94 F.3d 484, 486 (8th Cir.1996) (citing Crawford, 37 F.3d at 1341); Wooten v. Farmland Foods, 58 F.3d 382, 385 (8th Cir.1995) (quoting Crawford, 37 F.3d at 1341); Johnson, 931 F.2d at 1244.
However, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has also observed that, "[a]lthough summary judgment should be used sparingly in the context of employment discrimination cases, Crawford v. Runyon, 37 F.3d 1338, 1341 (8th Cir.1994), the plaintiff's evidence must go beyond the establishment of a prima facie...
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