Hoffman v. MCA, Inc.
| Citation | 144 F.3d 1117 |
| Decision Date | 05 June 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-3199,97-3199 |
| Parties | 77 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 559 Paul J. HOFFMAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MCA, INC., Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Kathleen R. Pasulka, Chapman & Cutler, Paul K. Vickrey (argued), Niro, Scavone, Haller & Niro, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Bonita L. Stone (argued), Julie L. Helenbrook, Katten, Muchin & Zavis, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellee.
Before BAUER, RIPPLE, and KANNE, Circuit Judges.
Paul Hoffman worked for seventeen years at MCA, Inc. In 1994, MCA fired him. He brought this suit alleging that he was fired because of his age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. The district court granted summary judgment to MCA. We affirm.
MCA is a syndicator that sells television programming to television stations around the country. In 1977, MCA hired Hoffman as a sales representative in its Chicago office. Hoffman was not an at-will employee--he worked under a series of contracts until MCA fired him in 1994. When he was fired he was 54 years old, the oldest sales representative, and the only one over 50. He was also a top revenue producer and MCA's highest paid sales representative. His title was Vice President/Midwest Regional Manager.
In 1988, Hoffman began reporting to James Kraus, who is twelve years younger than he. Kraus was the Executive Vice President/Director of Sales and Marketing. Kraus reported directly to MCA President Shelly Schwab. Hoffman and Kraus intermittently had disagreements until Hoffman was fired in 1994.
The bulk of these disagreements took place in 1991, which was around the time when MCA was considering whether to renew Hoffman's contract. One such disagreement occurred because Kraus learned that Hoffman had given "permission" for another sales representative to interview with a competitor despite that sales representative's contractual obligation to continue working for MCA. Kraus documented the incident in a "confidential" memorandum to Schwab, meaning he did not place the memorandum in Hoffman's personnel file as was the common practice at MCA. Hoffman denies that he gave permission for the sales representative to interview with the competitor.
Kraus considered that he and Hoffman did not have a good business relationship. In 1991, he wrote Hoffman a memorandum outlining his general expectations, including in particular a desire for better communication between the two. A few weeks later, however, because of Hoffman's failure to communicate his plans adequately, Kraus accused Hoffman of being "AWOL." Dep. of James Michael Kraus at 96, Hoffman v. MCA, Inc., 974 F.Supp. 1149 (N.D.Ill.1997). It was routine for Hoffman to travel to make sales calls, but Kraus claims he did not know where Hoffman was for a few days. Kraus documented the incident in another confidential memorandum to Schwab. Hoffman claims that he told Kraus he would be away and that Kraus's secretary's telephone log documented a telephone call from Hoffman while he was on the road.
Hoffman appeared to have problems with other MCA employees as well. Hoffman had supervisory authority over Kristine Orr, a newer sales representative. Orr performed poorly, possibly indicating that she was receiving inadequate training and supervision. She complained to Kraus that Hoffman was making her life a "living hell." Kraus Dep. at 2. MCA removed her from Hoffman's supervision and put her under the supervision of a Vice President in the New York office. Kraus documented the problems that led to the decision to place Orr under someone else's supervision, but Hoffman says he was never told to change his behavior toward Orr.
Hoffman believes that Kraus disliked him because of his age. Hoffman recalls several age-related statements that Kraus made in 1991. First, Hoffman says that he recalls Kraus calling another sales representative an "old-fashioned hack salesman," Hoffman Dep. at 203, adding that Kraus "would like to get him out of there," id. at 204. Hoffman also says that after he complained one day that his back was bothering him, Kraus responded that "you're just getting old." Id. at 219. In a similar incident, Hoffman declared he was having trouble reading a menu. Kraus responded, "Paul, you're getting old." Id. at 222.
The conflict between Kraus and Hoffman seems to have lain dormant until 1993. Then, Kraus received a complaint from a station manager about Hoffman. The station manager said he was unable to develop a good relationship with Hoffman because of his negative, sarcastic, and insulting attitude. Hoffman does not deny that the station manager made the complaint; however, he says MCA never informed him about it. Kraus documented the complaint in a confidential memorandum to Schwab.
In 1994, Kraus received another complaint about Hoffman, this time from a representative of WLS-TV in Chicago. She complained that Hoffman was insulting and unprofessional over the telephone, and she requested a different sales representative to service their account. Hoffman knew about the complaint; he called WLS to apologize.
Also in 1994, Hoffman attended a sales conference along with Kraus and Schwab. At the end of each day of the conference, Schwab asked each sales representative what he or she had done that day to generate sales leads. Schwab and Kraus say that Hoffman refused to participate in the spirit of the meeting, giving only negative or incomplete answers. Hoffman says he was trying; he simply had no leads to report.
Hoffman recalls a couple age-related comments made around this time. At a business dinner, Kraus said to Hoffman, "Paul, you're just getting old," id. at 263-64, and asked when Hoffman might retire. Later that year, Kraus and Hoffman were at a business dinner when Hoffman remarked that he needed new glasses. Kraus said, "Hey, you're just getting old." Id. at 267. As the two were walking in the parking lot after dinner, Kraus said, "I think we're going to have to get fresh legs in Chicago." Id.
The story reaches a crescendo at a June 1994 sales meeting. At the end of the meeting, Schwab asked, "Do any of you have any ideas that will help sell our product?" Hoffman's Resp. to MCA's Local Rule 12(M) Statement Exh. H. Hoffman answered, "Does management feel we are doing a good job covering the various broadcast groups?" Id. Kraus immediately retorted, "That's an indictment of management." Hoffman Dep. at 403. Schwab later agreed with Kraus that he interpreted the statement to be a criticism of management. Hoffman understood that he had offended Schwab; he wrote Schwab a letter acknowledging that his question had prompted "some animosity towards me." Decl. of Shelly Schwab at 4. Hoffman invited Schwab to contact him to discuss the matter further. Kraus sent Schwab a memorandum describing his own reaction to Hoffman's question.
A month later, Schwab decided to fire Hoffman "[b]ased on Hoffman's conduct at the June, 1994, sales meeting, which was the culmination of Hoffman's on-going problem with disruptive behavior." Id. at 4. Schwab sent Kraus to tell Hoffman that he need not continue to perform under his contract. MCA immediately replaced Hoffman with a 37-year-old sales representative from within the company.
Hoffman sued under the ADEA alleging that MCA fired him because of his age. The district court granted MCA's motion for summary judgment. Hoffman appeals.
We review a district court's decision to grant summary judgment de novo, drawing our own conclusions of law and fact from the record before us. See Thiele v. Norfolk & W. Ry. Co., 68 F.3d 179, 181 (7th Cir.1995). Summary judgment is proper where "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 a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, courts must construe all facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all reasonable and justifiable inferences in favor of that party. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. However, neither "the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties," id. at 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, nor the existence of "some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts," Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986), is sufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment.
Hoffman believes that MCA fired him because of his age in violation of the ADEA, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. The ADEA makes it "unlawful for an employer ... to discharge any individual ... because of such individual's age." 29 U.S.C. § 623(a). Hoffman attempts to prove a violation of the ADEA in two ways--by direct proof and by the well-known McDonnell Douglas burden shifting method. We address each in turn.
To succeed under the direct proof method, Hoffman must show that age was a determining factor in MCA's decision to fire him. In other words, he must show that but for his age, MCA would not have fired him. See Mills v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 83 F.3d 833, 841 (7th Cir.1996). Sometimes, remarks by an employer can be direct proof of discriminatory intent. But Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 251, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989). Although Price Waterhouse was a sex discrimination case, we...
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