Hazeldine v. Beverage Media, Ltd., 94 Civ. 3466 (CSH).

• Decision Date: 28 January 1997
• Docket Number: 94 Civ. 3466 (CSH).
• Parties: Grace HAZELDINE, Plaintiff, v. BEVERAGE MEDIA, LTD., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

954 F.Supp. 697

Grace HAZELDINE, Plaintiff, v. BEVERAGE MEDIA, LTD., Defendant.

94 Civ. 3466 (CSH).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

January 28, 1997.

John A. Beranbaum, New York City, for Plaintiff.

Jaffe and Asher, New York City (Ira N. Glauber, Wiliam A. Rome, of counsel), for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

HAIGHT, Senior District Judge:

Plaintiff Grace Hazeldine alleges that she was terminated by her employer, defendant Beverage Media, Ltd. because she is obese and because she is a woman, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("the ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., the New York State Human Rights Law, New York Exec. Law § 290 et seq., and the Administrative Code of the City of New York § 8-101 et seq. After full discovery, defendant moves for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. In addition, plaintiff moves to amend her complaint by adding the president of Beverage Media, William G. Slone, as an individual defendant on her state claims. For the reasons stated below, defendant's motion is granted as to plaintiff's claim under the ADA and denied as to the remainder of her claims, and plaintiff's motion to amend her complaint is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

Beverage Media is a small, family owned business that publishes several magazines for the wine and spirit trade. One such magazine, "Beverage Media Journal", is published in two separate editions: the Metro edition for the New York City area, and the Upstate edition for the surrounding counties. William Slone has been the president of Beverage Media for 15 years.

Hazeldine's Obesity

Grace Hazeldine began working at Beverage Media in 1980 as a part-time proofreader. At the time she was hired, she weighed 150 pounds. Hazeldine gradually gained weight over the course of her employment, so that since the mid-1980's, she has weighed at least 290 pounds. According to a letter from her physician, Dr. Licciardone, Hazeldine is "morbidly obese."

It is undisputed that Hazeldine's obesity never interfered with her ability to do her work at Beverage Media. In fact, Hazeldine testified at her deposition that she worked harder and longer hours than most people. She also stated in her deposition that her obesity did not prevent, interfere or even affect her ability to use public transportation while she was an employee at Beverage Media. Hazeldine commuted to work from New Jersey by bus and subway everyday, walking the remaining distance from the subway to her office.

In addition, Hazeldine testified that her weight condition at the time of her termination did not prevent her from carrying out everyday physical activities such as walking or going upstairs. In fact, when asked, Hazeldine could not think of any physical activities that she could not perform because of her obesity. However, Hazeldine also testified that her ability to engage in some of these physical activities was limited: she could not walk long distances or lift anything too heavy, and she could not engage in heavy physical exercise such as running or jogging.

In a later affidavit, Hazeldine states that she had to stop and rest even when doing less strenuous activities such as cleaning the house, walking five city blocks or climbing subway stairs. According to Lorayne Coneys, Hazeldine's roommate in 1992, Hazeldine could not shovel snow, move furniture around, or climb a ladder. Raking leaves would result in labored breathing and heart palpitations, and Hazeldine would have to take frequent breaks. Coneys also states that Hazeldine could not walk her dogs more than a block, could not bend or kneel, and often twisted her ankles such that they would bruise and become swollen. As a result of these limitations, Coneys states that Hazeldine would engage in any required physical activity on Saturdays, to allow herself a day to rest before returning to work.

In her deposition testimony, Hazeldine testified that she went to one weight loss program at Holy Name Hospital in 1987, but otherwise never consulted a doctor about her obesity. In fact, Hazeldine considered herself to be in good health and testified that "I am very healthy besides being overweight, I have good blood pressure, and I didn't really consider it a problem." However, records from Holy Name Hospital show that Hazeldine was diagnosed with hypertension and coronary insufficiency in 1987. In addition, Hazeldine began seeing a therapist in 1990, Sara Penchuk, who concluded that Hazeldine had an eating disorder and exhibited depressive qualities. Hazeldine has been taking Prozac intermittently since that time.

Employment Conditions at Beverage Media

In 1988, Hazeldine was promoted to assistant production manager for Beverage Media and in 1991 she was promoted again to production manager. Hazeldine was obese at the time of both these promotions. However, Hazeldine alleges in her affidavit that the circumstances of these promotions illustrate the discriminatory treatment she received while an employee at Beverage Media.

When the assistant production manager job became available in 1988, the company's production manager, Phil Alberts, told Hazeldine that Slone wanted to hire a man for the position and that she was not being considered for the job. When she threatened to quit, she was finally given the job. When Alberts left the company in 1991, Hazeldine immediately assumed his duties as production manager. However, it was not until she sent a memo to Slone three months later requesting a raise and the title of production manager that she was formally promoted to the position and given a salary of $61,000 a year.

Hazeldine also testified that the terms and conditions of her employment as production manager were significantly less favorable than those that Alberts had enjoyed. She was paid several thousand dollars less than Alberts and was not given the officer's title that he had held. The masthead was not even changed to reflect her promotion until three months later. In addition, her request for a company car was denied, although Alberts' request had been granted. An assistant production manager was not hired to help her for six months; when the position was finally filled, Hazeldine had to share the assistant with another manager. Hazeldine also says she was denied the direct access to Slone that Alberts had enjoyed. Instead, Slone directed her to communicate with him through his cousin, Gerry Slone, who also worked at Beverage Media.

According to Hazeldine and Anita Rosepka, the former senior editor at Beverage Media, Slone regularly treated men and women differently. Men could be nasty and abrasive, but if a woman disagreed with Slone or raised her voice, she was accused of being hostile, argumentative or hysterical. While Hazeldine was disciplined and called hysterical when she had one confrontation with a customer, Alberts was never disciplined for regularly yelling at everyone, including customers. Rosepka recalls Slone telling her to "lighten up," smile more and be friendly.

In response, Slone points out that five out of six departments at Beverage Media were run by women in May 1992. However, Hazeldine points out that most of the women who were managers in May 1992 were fired or quit around the same time that Hazeldine was discharged. In addition, according to both Rosepka and Hazeldine, Slone commented during a meeting with them and another female manager that he felt "surrounded." Hazeldine also states that Slone said women were hard to get along with. Rosepka reports that Slone told her to hire a man when she wanted to replace her assistant because "we have enough women running things around here." Slone denies making this statement.

Hazeldine's Termination

As production manager, Hazeldine was responsible for the timely production and distribution of the company's publications, including the Upstate edition of "Beverage Media." The Upstate edition was then published on a monthly basis and was typically mailed to customers in the first week of the month. However, in 1992, the October issue of the Upstate edition was not mailed until November 4, 1992, about a month late.

Brian Donna, an account manager for Beverage Media's printer, testified in his deposition that Hazeldine sent him the mechanicals for the October 1992 issue several weeks late. In addition, according to Donna, Hazeldine threatened to find another printer for the magazine if Donna told Slone about the delay. Despite Hazeldine's threat, Donna reported the conversation to Gerry Slone after he called looking for a sample of the October issue. At some point in October 1992, Slone himself asked Hazeldine the status of the October 1992 issue. According to him, Hazeldine lied in response to his inquiry and never told him that the October issue had not yet been produced.

Hazeldine says she told Slone in mid-October that the Upstate edition had not yet been produced because she was overworked and needed more help. According to Hazeldine, Slone was not concerned about the Upstate edition and refused to provide additional help. When Slone inquired about the status of the issue later in the month, Hazeldine responded that it had been mailed. When she discovered that the issue had not in fact been mailed due to a problem at the printer, she "panicked" and told Donna not to tell Gerry Slone that the issue had not been distributed. However, Hazeldine alleges that she told Gerry Slone the truth later that day and he told her not to worry about it. Hazeldine denies threatening Donna with the loss of Beverage Media's business.

On November 24, 1992, Slone informed Hazeldine that she was being terminated. At that time, Slone did not mention the lateness of the October 1992 Upstate edition as a reason for her termination. In fact, Hazeldine testified that Slone assured her that she was an excellent employee, but...