Heath v. Massey-Ferguson Parts Co.

• Citation: 869 F. Supp. 1379
• Decision Date: 08 December 1994
• Docket Number: No. 92-C-515.,92-C-515.
• Parties: Allan T. HEATH, Plaintiff, v. MASSEY-FERGUSON PARTS COMPANY, a DIVISION OF MASSEY-FERGUSON, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Wisconsin

869 F. Supp. 1379

Allan T. HEATH, Plaintiff, v. MASSEY-FERGUSON PARTS COMPANY, a DIVISION OF MASSEY-FERGUSON, INC., Defendant.

No. 92-C-515.

United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin.

October 25, 1994.

Order Denying Reconsideration December 8, 1994.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Lawrence M. Shindell, Anne B. Shindell, Shindell & Shindell, Milwaukee, WI, for plaintiff.

James R. Scott, Lindner & Marsack, S.C., Milwaukee, WI, for defendant.

DECISION AND ORDER

RANDA, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on the following motions: (1) defendant's motion for summary judgment; (2) plaintiff's motion for a jury trial and submission of a punitive damages question on the ERISA claim; (3) plaintiff's motion to preclude exhibits; (4) plaintiff's motion to preclude the testimony of certain defense witnesses; (5) defendant's motion to preclude the testimony of certain plaintiff witnesses. On September 28, 1994 the Court faxed a letter to counsel informing them of the Court's intended disposition of the foregoing motions and adjourning the final pretrial. The court further indicated that a written decision and order would follow. The following constitutes the Court's decision in the matter.

FACTS

In July of 1962, the defendant, Massey-Ferguson Parts Company — Division of Massey-Ferguson, Inc. ("MF"), hired the plaintiff, Allan T. Heath ("Heath"), to work at an MF parts plant located in Racine, Wisconsin. (Complaint at ¶ 5; Answer at ¶ 5; Defendant's Proposed Findings of Fact ("DFOF") at ¶ 2.) Heath worked at the Racine plant for almost 29 years until his termination on January 10, 1991. (DFOF at ¶ 1; Complaint at ¶ 5; Answer at ¶ 5.) When terminated, Heath was 51 years old and the Director of Parts for the North American Parts Division. (DFOF at ¶¶ 1, 9; Complaint at ¶ 6; Answer at ¶ 6.) Heath's job performance played no part in his termination. (Pieper Aff. at Exs. B-C; MF Brief in Support at 4.) MF claims Heath's termination was caused by a corporate reorganization.¹ (Complaint at ¶ 7; Answer at ¶ 7.) Specifically, MF claims it combined Heath's position with that of Bruce Plagman's ("Plagman"), at the time a 39 year old Director of Sales and Marketing. (DFOF at ¶¶ 4, 7.) The new combined position was Director of Parts Operations-North America and was given to Plagman over Heath. (DFOF at ¶ 7.) Heath disputes MF's assertion that the two positions were combined, claiming that Plagman merely took over Heath's former duties and that other MF employees became responsible for Plagman's former duties. (Nelson Aff. at ¶¶ 2-10; Tyson Aff. at ¶¶ 3-18; Third Heath Aff. at ¶¶ 14-27.)

MF maintained a pension plan, known as the Retirement Income Plan ("the Plan"), as part of its general welfare benefits package for salaried employees. (DFOF at ¶ 10; Pieper Aff. at Ex. O.) Although the complete details of the plan are not disclosed by either party, the Court may infer from the submissions that an employee became eligible to receive full pension benefits, including medical and life insurance benefits, upon reaching a certain age. The Court says "eligible to receive" because the actual "right" to such benefits "vested" much earlier in the employment relationship, after a minimum number of years in service. Once vested, the right to pension benefits was not eliminated or otherwise affected by termination. However, actual payment of such benefits would not begin until the terminated employee reached the required age.

At one time the Plan also had an early retirement option, whereby salaried employees could retire with full pension benefits after 30 years of service regardless of age. (DFOF at ¶ 11; Third Heath Aff. at ¶ 64.) This was called the "30 and Out" option. (Id.) In late 1987 through early 1988, MF considered eliminating the 30 and Out program altogether. (DFOF at ¶ 12; Third Heath Aff. at ¶ 64.) Heath was a party to these discussions and claims that MF wanted to eliminate the program in order to reduce its pension costs. (DFOF at ¶ 14; Third Heath Aff. at ¶ 64.) Heath advocated retention of the program, arguing that elimination would be unfair to those long-term employees who had counted on early retirement. (Third Heath Aff. at ¶ 65.) Effective May 1, 1988, MF eliminated the 30 and Out option, except that it "grandfathered" or retained the program for those employees who had 20 or more years of service as of the elimination date. (DFOF at ¶ 13; Third Heath Aff. at ¶ 66.) These employees could retire with a full pension under any of three circumstances: (1) 30 years of service regardless of age; (2) service and age equalling 85; or (3) age 60 or older. (Heath Dep. at 63-64; Third Heath Aff. at Ex. R-3.)

Heath was one of the employees "grandfathered" into the 30 and Out program. (DFOF at ¶ 14.) Plagman was not. (DFOF at ¶ 4.) While Heath was fully vested in an accrued pension benefit at the time of his termination, he was still 18 months away from qualifying for early retirement under the 30 and Out program. (DFOF at ¶¶ 9, 15.) For that reason, Heath objected to his termination and requested transfer to one of two other available positions so that he could continue working until he qualified for early retirement. (Complaint at ¶ 7; Pieper Aff. at Ex. L; MF Reply Brief at 2.) MF rejected this request, apparently because of the additional pension and health insurance costs. (Pieper Aff. at Ex. L; MF Reply Brief at 2.) It also appears that MF hired two individuals for these positions who were both older than Heath and who were already retirees from other companies. (Christman Aff. at ¶¶ 5-7; Third Heath Aff. at ¶¶ 35, 46; MF Reply Brief at 2.)

Heath brought suit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"). Under both claims, Heath alleges he was terminated in an effort to preclude his eligibility for early retirement. He seeks trial by jury and declaratory and equitable relief including compensatory and punitive damages.

LAW

I. MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Under Rule 56(c), summary judgment is proper "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 the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Summary judgment is no longer a disfavored remedy. "Summary judgment procedure is properly regarded not as a disfavored procedural shortcut, but rather as an integral part of the Federal Rules as a whole, which are designed `to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.'" Id., at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555. It "can be a tool of great utility in removing factually insubstantial cases from crowded dockets, freeing courts' trial time for those that really do raise genuine issues of material fact." United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local No. 88 v. Middendorf Meat Co., 794 F.Supp. 328, 330 (E.D.Mo.1992). Thus, "the plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552. "The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). While a material fact is one that is "outcome determinative under the governing law", Whetstine v. Gates Rubber Co., 895 F.2d 388, 392 (7th Cir.1990), a genuine issue as to that material fact is raised only "if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510.

The question whether a material issue of fact is genuine necessarily requires "some quantitative determination of sufficiency of the evidence." Childress, A New Era for Summary Judgments: Recent Shifts at the Supreme Court, 116 F.R.D. 183, 186 (1987). "Of course, a court still cannot resolve factual disputes that could go to a jury at trial, ... but no longer need the trial court leave every sufficiency issue for trial or a later directed verdict motion." Id. Rather, the standard for summary judgment is now the same as that for a directed verdict: "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. at 2512. Thus, a party opposing summary judgment "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corporation, 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). "If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. at 2510-11. Such principles insure that summary judgment is utilized "when it can be shown that a trial would serve no useful purpose." Windham v. Wyeth Laboratories, Inc., 786 F.Supp. 607, 610 (S.D.Miss.1992).

A. The ERISA Claim.

There are significant factual disputes surrounding the question whether MF terminated Heath in order to prevent him from becoming eligible for early retirement benefits. Moreover, these disputes are genuine, such that the Court cannot, under the principles just discussed, resolve the disputes on its own. Normally, this would compel the Court to deny summary judgment. One of MF's arguments, however, is based on a single undisputed fact and is more in...