In re Tribune Media Co.

• Decision Date: 05 September 2018
• Docket Number: No. 17-2449,17-2449
• Parties: IN RE: TRIBUNE MEDIA COMPANY, et al., Reorganized Debtors, f/k/a Tribune Company, Keith Younge, Appellant
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

902 F.3d 384

IN RE: TRIBUNE MEDIA COMPANY, et al., Reorganized Debtors, f/k/a Tribune Company,

Keith Younge, Appellant

No. 17-2449

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued April 25, 2018

Opinion filed: September 5, 2018

Timothy P. Creech, Esquire (Argued), 1835 Market Street, Suite 2626, Philadelphia, PA 19103, Counsel for Appellant.

Kenneth P. Kansa, Esquire, Robert N. Hochman, Esquire (Argued), Sidley Austin, One South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60603, J. Kate Stickles, Esquire, Cole Schotz, 500 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1410, Wilmington, DE 19801, Counsel for Appellee.

Before: AMBRO, SCIRICA, and SILER, Jr.^* , Circuit Judges

OPINION OF THE COURT

AMBRO, Circuit Judge

Keith Younge is an African-American man who was fired by WPHL, a Philadelphia television station owned by Tribune Media Company ("Tribune"). He claims the station subjected him to a hostile work environment because it scheduled him to train under a white co-worker who accosted him with racial epithets. He further contends he was wrongfully terminated because of his race and/or color.

Although Younge filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations, he chose to litigate his claims in Bankruptcy Court after Tribune filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. When it disallowed his claims, Younge appealed to the District Court. There he challenged for the first time the Bankruptcy Court’s jurisdiction to hear his claims. The District Court held he impliedly consented to the Bankruptcy Court’s jurisdiction. It also concluded the Bankruptcy Court correctly disallowed his hostile work environment and wrongful termination claims. Because we agree, we affirm.

I. Background matters

A. Factual background

In April 2008, Younge was hired as a seasonal, part-time technician by WPHL. He was trained by full-time technicians, as he was responsible for covering their vacation schedules between Memorial Day and Labor Day. On May 7, 2008, Younge was scheduled to train with Rick Schultz, an engineering technician. Before Younge’s training began, Sandy Kerr, a technician, told him, "If you run into any trouble tonight[,] make sure you tell me tomorrow." In re Tribune Media Co. , Case No. 08-13141(KJC), 2016 WL 1122865, at *2 (Bankr. D. Del. Mar. 18, 2016) (internal quotation marks omitted). When he asked Steve Leff, another technician, to explain Kerr’s statement, Leff said, "Schultz has a problem." Id. When Younge inquired whether Schultz had a problem with him, Leff replied, "No, he just has a problem." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

During his training with Schultz, Younge walked into the room and placed his briefcase on the table. Schultz immediately responded, "Hey Spike, you want to get this off the table?" App. at 127a (internal quotation marks omitted). Assuming Schultz did not know his name, Younge introduced himself. The former answered, "[A]s far as [I] am concern[ed,] you are Spike Lee." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Younge walked over to Schultz and retorted, "I told you what my name is," and Schultz countered, "I’ll call you anything I want to." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Younge, in an attempt to diffuse the situation, stated, "[W]hoa, I don’t know what’s going on here[.] [A]ll you have to do is train me." Id. at 157a (internal quotation marks omitted). Schultz replied, "I don’t work for you, I don’t have to listen to you, I don’t have to train you, some intern." Id. When Younge told him he was not an intern and had been in the television industry for years, Schultz asked, "Well[,] why don’t you know nothing?" Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

Schultz walked into the adjacent room, and Younge followed him. The argument continued, with both parties yelling and using profanity. At one point, Schultz told Younge to "take that shit back to the ghetto[,] hommie." Id. at 127a (internal quotation marks omitted). Younge also said, "Hey motherfucker, use my name[;] motherfucker[,] I dare you to hit me." Id. at 160a (internal quotation marks omitted). Eventually, the station’s security officer entered the room and physically separated both men. Ed Elias, the technician-in-charge, called the station and spoke with Younge. He told him to go home and assured him that the station would investigate the incident in the morning.

The next day, Younge called Elias and Michael Hort, a supervisor. After hearing Younge’s account of the altercation, one of them said, "[Y]ou should have never had to deal with that—we have had problems with S[c]hultz before." Id. at 74a (internal quotation marks omitted). On May 12, 2008, Shalona Douglas, a human resources coordinator, called Younge to investigate the incident. She asked him whether he cursed at Schultz. Younge responded that he did. Douglas probed further, inquiring whether Younge remembered what he said. He answered, "[N]o, I was angry[.] I don’t remember." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Finally, she asked if Younge had spit on Schultz. He replied, "[A]bsolutely not." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Douglas also spoke with Schultz and other technicians, including Leff. The latter informed her that Schultz made a number of comments immediately before training Younge. For example, Schultz told other technicians that Younge "look[ed] like Spike Lee," id. at 162a (internal quotation marks omitted).

Douglas submitted her findings to Vincent Giannini, WPHL’s Vice President and General Manager. After reviewing them, he concluded both Younge and Schultz should be discharged for violating WPHL’s Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy. The station sent termination letters to both men on May 15, 2008.

B. Procedural background

Younge filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations in June 2008 alleging he was subjected to a hostile work environment and wrongfully terminated because of his race and/or color. He forwarded a copy of his complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which notified him that it would not act on his complaint until its Pennsylvania counterpart issued final findings and orders. Younge’s claims were based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ("Title VII"); the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 951 et seq. ; and the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance, Phila., Pa., Code ch. 9-1100 et seq.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations began investigating the complaint during the same month. It started by gathering evidence from WPHL and Schultz. The former responded to the agency’s questions and provided company records as requested. Schultz also spoke with the Commission. He said that on, May 6, 2008 (i.e. , the day before he trained Younge), he asked Leff, "[W]hy are you training a hoop ... who doesn’t know anything?" App. at 159a (internal quotation marks omitted). He also admitted he gave Younge a nickname—"Spike Lee"—and acknowledged his own nickname was the "Nazi." Id. at 163a. Schultz, however, never mentioned whether WPHL’s management knew of his nickname before his altercation with Younge.

In December 2008, when the Commission’s investigation was still ongoing, Tribune and its affiliates (including WPHL) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (for simplicity, we refer to all debtors as "Tribune"). Younge responded by filing a proof of claim in the Bankruptcy Court.¹ Tribune objected to it. Because Younge was not represented by counsel at the time, he filed a pro se response to Tribune’s objection. When he obtained counsel, the Bankruptcy Court held a hearing on the claim and allowed Younge’s counsel to file a supplemental response that included additional evidence. Tribune, in turn, filed a supplemental reply. After the parties completed briefing, the Court notified them that it was reviewing Tribune’s objection, see id. at 59a (docket entry stating "Judge Carey is reviewing this case"), and construed it as a motion for summary judgment.

The Court sustained the objection. It held Younge could not establish a hostile work environment claim because he could not prove respondeat superior liability (i.e. , that WPHL was liable for Schultz’s discriminatory behavior because it knew of Schultz’s racial animus and failed to take prompt remedial action). In reaching this conclusion, the Court considered Schultz’s personnel file and employment history. It noted Schultz had been employed at WPHL since 1972 and had been involved in two other altercations with his co-workers. The first altercation involved accusations of racial bias and occurred in 1993. A security guard was angry that Schultz accidentally tripped a door alarm and accused him of making a racist comment. Schultz, however, denied any type of racial animus, and the letter in his personnel file included his take of the incident. While the second altercation did not contain any allegations of racism, it involved profanity and took place in 2002. In view of this evidence, the Court acknowledged it was "troubl[ed]" by the incident from 1993. In re Tribune Media Co. , 2016 WL 1122865, at *6. Nonetheless it concluded that a single altercation from 1993 did not "provide[ ] the [s]tation with notice or reason to know that Schultz would create a hostile work environment" or "harass Younge with racial slurs in May 2008." Id. at *6-7.

Turning to the wrongful termination claim, the Bankruptcy Court applied the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework. See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green , 411 U.S. 792, 802-05, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973) (noting that, after a plaintiff-employee proves a prima facie case of discrimination, the employer must offer a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for its action and the plaintiff may rebut this reason by showing that it is pretextual). It observed that WPHL provided a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for firing Younge because it discharged him for violating the station’s Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment Policy. It concluded Younge failed to show that the...