Jenkins v. City of San Antonio Fire Dep't, Civil No. 5:12–CV–787–DAE.
| Decision Date | 17 April 2014 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 5:12–CV–787–DAE. |
| Citation | 12 F.Supp.3d 925 |
| Parties | Randy JENKINS, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas |
R. Chris Pittard, Forte & Pittard, PLLC, San Antonio, TX, for Plaintiff.
Deborah Lynne Klein, Office of the City Attorney, Mark Kosanovich, Fitzpatrick & Kosanovich, PC, San Antonio, TX, for Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
On April 7, 2014, the Court held a hearing on a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant City of San Antonio Fire Department (“Defendant” or “SAFD”) (“Mot.,” Dkt. # 29). Chris Pittard, Esq., represented Plaintiff Randy Jenkins (“Plaintiff” or “Jenkins”); Mark Kosanovich, Esq., represented Defendant. After careful consideration of the memoranda in support of and in opposition to the Motion, and in light of the parties' arguments at the hearing, the Court, for the reasons that follow, GRANTS Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment.
SAFD is a department of the City of San Antonio. The hierarchy of SAFD, in descending order, is: Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief, District Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Engineer and Firefighter. SAFD is overseen by Fire Chief Charles N. Hood (“Chief Hood”), a fifty-four-year-old African–American male.1
SAFD is comprised of several divisions, including the Fire Marshal Division (also referred to as the Fire Prevention Division). (“Hitzfelder Dep.,” Dkt. # 29, Ex. B at 1.) From 2007 through his retirement on December 5, 2011, the Fire Marshal Division fell under the authority of Deputy Chief Rodney Hitzfelder (“Hitzfelder”). (Id. )
Since July 31, 2007, Assistant Chief Earl Crayton (“Asst. Chief Crayton”), a 63–year–old African–American male, has been the direct supervisor of the Fire Marshal Division. (“Crayton Dep.,” Dkt. # 29, Ex. C, 6:10–7:25, Oct. 4, 2013; see also “Crayton Aff.,” Dkt. # 29, Ex. D at 1.) He also holds the title of Fire Marshal. (Crayton Dep. 7:1–12.)
Plaintiff Randy Jenkins is a fifty-one-year-old African–American male who has been employed by Defendant San Antonio Fire Department since March 1986. (“FAC,” First Amended Complaint, Dkt. # 23 at 2; “Jenkins Dep.,” Dkt. # 36, Ex. 1, 78:19–21, Apr. 4, 2013.) In 1989, he was promoted to Engineer; in 1993, he was promoted to Lieutenant; in 1995, he was promoted to Captain. (Jenkins Dep. 78:16–79:16.) In 1998, he was promoted to District/Division Chief, and has since retained that title. (Id. 79:17–25.)
Beginning early 2008, Plaintiff was assigned to the Fire Marshal's Office and held the position of District/Division Chief of Fire Prevention. (Id. 93:1–5, 96.) In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing Community Safety and Education. (Id. 93–96.) He supervised two individuals: a Lieutenant and an Engineer, as well as several light-duty staff. (Id. 97:3–13.) Another District/Division Chief, Arthur Villareal (“Villareal”), was already working in the Fire Prevention Division and oversaw Arson, Special events, Inspections, and Administration. (Id. 93:1–5.) Both individuals were supervised by Asst. Chief Crayton. (Id. 94:3–23, 98:4–11.)
After Villareal left the Fire Marshal's Office in June 2008, Asst. Chief Crayton transferred all of the duties of the Fire Marshal's Office to Plaintiff, including Community Safety and Education, Arson, Special events, and Inspections. (Id. 96–98.) In this capacity, Plaintiff supervised five to six Captains. (Id. 99–100.)
Sometime after 2008, Asst. Chief Crayton appointed another individual, District/Division Chief Armando Perez (“Perez”) to the Fire Marshal's Office. (Id. 100–01.) Asst. Chief Crayton transferred Plaintiff's duties of Community Safety and Education to Perez, transferred Arson to himself, and assigned Plaintiff to oversee Inspections, Administration and Special Events. (Id. 102–03.) In late 2010, however, Perez left the Fire Marshal's Office to transfer to Special Operations. (Id. 107:11–16.) Asst. Chief Crayton then assigned District/Division Chief Christopher Monestier (“Monestier”) to Community Safety and Education, as well as Special Events. (Id. 107–08.) Plaintiff continued to oversee Administration and Inspections (Id. 110:11–14.) Both Monestier and Plaintiff supervised approximately ten to twelve individuals in their respective positions. (Id. 110:15–25.)
On February 3, 2011, Asst. Chief Crayton realigned the duties of Monestier and Plaintiff. (Id. 111–12.) Plaintiff was given responsibility for oversight of Community Safety and Education, and Monestier was given responsibility for the oversight of Inspections and Special Events. (Id.; see also Crayton Dep. 21:18–23:5.)
In mid–2012, Monestier left the Fire Marshal's Office. (Jenkins Dep. 188:15–20.) Plaintiff asked to be reassigned to supervise Inspections. (Crayton Dep. 66:12–16.) Asst. Chief Crayton felt that Plaintiff had not shown any significant improvement in his work performance to warrant overseeing the Inspections duties, so he decided to open up the position to any interested District/Division Chief. (Id. 67:17–23.) The position was advertised throughout SAFD and a review panel for the position was selected. (Id. 73:17–24.)
The interview panel included three individuals: Terry Kannawin (“Kannawin”), a director in the City's Department of Development Services; Chief Horan (“Horan”), the Chief of Operations for SAFD; and Janae Florance (“Florance”), a deputy chief in SAFD. (Id. 74:22–75:17; Dkt. # 29, Exs. F, G, H.) Kannawin and Horan are Caucasian; Florance is African–American. (Crayton Dep. 75:23–76:4; Dkt. # 29, Exs. F, G, H.) SAFD Human Resources drafted questions for the review panel. (Crayton Dep. 74:12–17.)
The only two candidates to apply for the District/Division Chief position overseeing Inspections were Plaintiff and District/Division Chief Matias Jiminez (“Jiminez”). (Id. 85:5–8.) Jiminez is a Hispanic male, who is two years younger than Plaintiff. (Id. 85:1–10; see also Crayton Aff. at 3 ( ).) After the interviews were conducted by the panel, the panel recommended to Chief Hood that Jiminez be selected over Plaintiff. (See Dkt. # 29, Exs. F, G, H.) Jiminez was placed in the Fire Marshal's Office on May 15, 2012 and was in charge of overseeing Inspections, Administration, and Special Events. (Crayton Aff. at 3.) Plaintiff retained responsibility for Community Safety and Education. (Id. )
On May 16, 2013, Asst. Chief Crayton again realigned the duties in the Fire Marshal's Office to balance workloads. (Id. ) Oversight for boarding homes, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and congregate living, which had previously been part of the Inspections duties, was carved out and assigned to Plaintiff. (Id. ) Plaintiff was also given responsibility for overseeing Special Events, HazMat, after-hours details, and supervision of all engineers assigned to the Fire Marshal's Office, as well as his continued oversight of Community Safety and Education. (Id. ) Jiminez was responsible for the balance of Inspections duties, office administration and fire code interpretation, the latter of which had not previously been a division chief assignment. (Id. )
On August 19, 2011, Plaintiff filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), alleging discrimination based on race, color, and age, as well as retaliation. (Dkt. # 36, Ex. 1–1.) In his Charge of Discrimination, Plaintiff contended that over a year-and-a-half earlier, Asst. Chief Crayton had made comments about Plaintiff's having given a statement supporting a complaint filed against Asst. Chief Crayton. (Id. ) He also claimed that the February 2011 reassignment of duties with Monestier was a demotion. (Id. )
On August 17, 2012, nearly a year later, Plaintiff filed a second Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC, alleging that his non-selection to be the district chief supervising Inspections was based on discriminatory motives and retaliation. (Dkt. # 36, Ex. 1–2.)
Three days later on August 20, 2012, Plaintiff filed suit in this Court, alleging that the reassignment of duties in February 2011 was based on age and race discrimination because he was replaced by Monestier, a younger, Caucasian, less-experienced District/Division Chief. (Dkt. # 1.) Plaintiff again contended that his reassignment to Community Safety and Education was, in effect, a “demotion” because it resulted in a loss of prestige and overtime pay. (Id. ¶ 8.) Plaintiff also included a retaliation claim, alleging that Asst. Chief Crayton made the alleged “demotion” because he had previously made comments to Plaintiff, including “He knew Plaintiff had given testimony against him in a fellow fireman's complaint” and that Asst. Chief Crayton was “keeping records” on Plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 7.)
He amended his complaint on June 26, 2013, to include the claims raised in his second EEOC Charge of Discrimination relating to the 2012 selection process for District/Division Chief of Inspections. (FAC ¶ 8.) He asserted that SAFD engaged in intentional race and age discrimination by selecting Jiminez, a younger, less-qualified Hispanic male, to oversee the Inspections duties. (Id. ) He also amended his retaliation claim to allege that SAFD retaliated against him by choosing Jiminez because of Plaintiff's first EEOC Charge of Discrimination. (Id. )
On October 18, 2013, Defendant filed a Motion for Summary Judgment that is now currently before the Court. On November 5, 2013, Plaintiff filed a Response (“Response”). (“Resp.,” Dkt. # 34.) Defendant filed a Reply on November 19, 2013. (“Reply,” Dkt. # 41.) On that same day, Defendant filed a Miscellaneous Objection to Plaintiff's evidence tendered in...
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