Jones v. Glaxosmithkline Llc

• Decision Date: 20 December 2010
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 08–566 (RMC).
• Citation: 755 F.Supp.2d 138
• Parties: Floyd JONES, Plaintiff,v.GLAXOSMITHKLINE, LLC, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

755 F.Supp.2d 138

Floyd JONES, Plaintiff,

v.GLAXOSMITHKLINE, LLC, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 08–566 (RMC).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Dec. 20, 2010.

Denise Marie Clark, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.H. Scott Johnson, Jr., Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan, L.L.P., Washington, DC, Emery Harlan, Warren E. Buliox, Gonzalez, Saggio & Harlan LLP, Milwaukee, WI, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROSEMARY M. COLLYER, District Judge.

Floyd Jones, an African–American man, sues GlaxoSmithKline, LLC (“GSK”), his former employer, alleging harassment and hostile work environment based on his race and sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., and wrongful termination in breach of an implied contract.¹ On March 1, 2010, at the end of prolonged discovery, GSK filed a motion for summary judgment. After three extensions, Mr. Jones filed no opposition. Therefore, on April 23, 2010, GSK moved the Court to treat its unopposed motion for summary judgment as conceded, and the Court issued an order to show cause why said motion should not be granted. Mr. Jones responded on April 26, 2010, and stated: “If Plaintiff does not file [his opposition] on April 28, 2010, Plaintiff has no further extension or opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment.” Pl.'s Opp'n to Def.'s Mot. to Treat its Unopposed Mot. as Conceded [Dkt. # 49] ¶ 10. Nonetheless, Mr. Jones's opposition was filed on April 29, 2010, with no motion for leave to file late, and GSK followed with a reply on June 21, 2010. Given the history of this case, the Court could take Mr. Jones at his word and grant summary judgment as conceded or dismiss the matter for failure to prosecute. Nonetheless, given the “strong polic[y] favoring the resolution of genuine disputes on their merits,” Jackson v. Beech, 636 F.2d 831, 835 (D.C.Cir.1980), the Court has reviewed the pleadings and decides the case on its merits. Summary judgment will be granted to GSK.

I. FACTS

GSK hired Mr. Jones as a Pharmaceutical Consultant and he began work on approximately June 26, 1995.² In that role, he was principally responsible for calling on hospitals, medical centers, and healthcare professionals to engage in face-to-face discussions regarding the use and benefits of GSK's medical products. In September 2003, Mr. Floyd assumed the position of Oncology Senior Executive Account Manager, a position he held until his discharge on March 30, 2006. His basic duties continued to entail meeting with healthcare professionals to discuss and promote GSK's products.

A. Events Leading to Mr. Jones's Discharge

GSK restructured its Oncology Division in January 2005 and Mr. Jones was assigned to the Acute Care Group. That reassignment placed him under the supervision of Joanna Turbeville, who was the Regional Sales Director. GSK measures the performance of its sales representatives, in part, based upon their sales rankings, which GSK prepares on a quarterly basis. In the last quarter of 2004, Mr. Jones was ranked in the top 15% in the nation among GSK's salesforce. Starting in January 2005, his sales rankings began to decline and, over the course of the next four quarters, plummeted from the top 17%, top 52%, top 71%, top 82%, until the first quarter of 2006, when Mr. Jones tied for last in the nation. As Mr. Jones notes, the precipitous drop in his sales performance coincided with Ms. Turbeville's assignment as his supervisor. See Opp'n [Dkt. # 50] 6 ¶ 18.

As his supervisor, Ms. Turbeville spent time in the field with Mr. Jones to observe his work performance on five occasions: in March 2005, June 2005, November 2005, January 2006, and March 2006. These “work contacts” are intended to give GSK supervisors an opportunity to observe sales representatives as they call on health care professionals, after which the supervisor provides feedback on the representative's performance. The substance and feedback from these work contacts were captured in written notes called “Field Coaching Tools,” which Ms. Turbeville prepared and then shared with Mr. Jones. In the first of these Field Coaching Tools, which followed the March 2005 work contact, Ms. Turbeville noted that “Floyd has the desire and skills to move this product,” and that her expectation was that “Floyd will move a lot of business.” Def.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. for Summ. J. [Dkt. # 44] (“Def.'s Mem.”), [Ex. 2] Decl. of Joanna Turbeville (“Turbeville Decl.”), [Ex. A] Field Coaching Tool 3/23 & 3/24. Ms. Turbeville suggested: “Look at your geography from an account basis and identify where your efforts will get the maximum ROI [return on investment]. Find ways to see the orthos [orthopaedic doctors] that are driving your business.” Id. Further, she suggested that he “[f]ocus cslls [sic] mostly on selling the product versus sharing information.” Id. Despite these generally positive comments, Mr. Jones thought that Ms. Turbeville was “very contentious” during this work contact and that she “challenge[d] me without any resolutions to help me improve the situation.” Def.'s Mem., [Ex. 1] Decl. of Mary Kate Harkins, [Ex. D] Floyd Jones GSK Employee Issues File (“Jones GSK Employee Issues File”) 1 (quoting Week of 3/21/05 entry).

When Ms. Turbeville next worked with Mr. Jones in June 2005, she expressed concerns about his “market knowledge” and strategic analysis and planning. Turbeville Decl. ¶ 9; see also id., [Ex. B] Field Coaching Tool (undated). Specifically, Ms. Turbeville observed that Mr. Jones did not seem to have his routing—a schedule of doctors to call on—well developed. Id., [Ex. B] Field Coaching Tool (undated) (“Floyd need[s] to get the routing done and spend more time selling and less time tracking down the doctor.”). She was concerned that Mr. Jones spent so much time finding doctors that it limited the amount of time he could spend actually selling the product. See Turbeville Decl. ¶ 9. She found that he was “[g]ood at sharing the information, [but] need [ed] to include the visual and clinical. Go over the clinical as you show it. You know the data but need to sell it with a sense of urgency.” Id., [Ex. B] Field Coaching Tool (undated). Mr. Jones was also approximately rated “fair” in the four of five “Winning Practices” ranking categories in which he was rated. Mr. Jones was not rated in the category Teamwork & Leadership. Ms. Turbeville noted that she was “[s]till determining this.” Id. In response, Mr. Jones wrote:

I have been dis-empowered and discouraged by the clash of personalities that have existed on this team over the past several months.³ The routing of physicians requires me to spend a good portion of my time providing information to the nurses and the Doctor in the hospital, and I have good access in some areas and adequate access in others. Also, I have attempted to exert my influence to correct and improve the working relationship with my teammates, which will improve the contact with customers....

Id. at 2.

The November 2005 work contact between Ms. Turbeville and Mr. Jones noted some continuing problems and some improvements:

Floyd has identified who can write Arixtra today. He has selected a hand full [sic] of Orthos to focus activity and frequency for the remainder of the year. He has improved at getting time with the doctors, but I have not seen a lot of selling in front of the customer. For example, the Ortho group we saw was detailed on Medicare Part D and the new educational device, but there was no use of visual and no mention of efficacy with our core messages delivered. I expect this to be the core of every interaction.

Turbeville Decl., [Ex. C] Field Coaching Tool (undated). Ms. Turbeville advised Mr. Jones that she expected him to use his “visual and clinicals as a seasoned account manager and [to be] asking for the business.” Id. She noted that “[w]e discussed this on the contact in March and on the June contact.” Id. Ms. Turbeville also indicated that Mr. Jones was not selling the product to the extent he could, and that his last quarter did not meet expectations and that the current quarter was trending the same way. Id.

When Ms. Turbeville and Mr. Jones met at the next work contact in January 2006, they had a lengthy discussion concerning his career. Mr. Jones expressed his interest in management positions and Ms. Turbeville wrote that she “could not support him for further positions at this point. His focus needs to be on meeting expectations as a surgical account manager” and on “leadership and strategic planning skills.” Turbeville Decl., [Ex. D] Field Coaching Tool 1/18 & 1/19/06. Ms. Turbeville noted that Mr. Jones's main strategy was to “do a lunch once a month with the key office he targeted,” but that he needed to develop a more strategic approach and a plan to move business. Id. She also noted that Mr. Jones had some improved coordination, but she expressed disappointment that his numbers had not risen in one particular region. Id. She acknowledged his past success: “Floyd, you have had tremendous success in the past. Draw on what worked then and utilize these skills to get on top in this position.” Id. Lastly, Ms. Turbeville informed Mr. Jones that “[w]e will discuss your career growth on each contact, but now is the time to meet expectations in your current role.” Id.

The March 13, 2006 work contact was especially problematic. Ms. Turbeville noted that she and Mr. Jones were “[n]ot successful in meeting call objectives for today.” Turbeville Decl., [Ex. E] Field Coaching Tool 3/13/2006 at 2. Ms. Turbeville commented:

Floyd took me to see Dr. Oplinger in Rockville. We drove around for a while and Floyd stated, “this doesn't look familiar like last itme” [sic]. We ended up in a housing community. I asked Floyd where he saw Dr. Oplinger last time, and he said it was at another office building. I said to call Dr. Oplingers [sic] office after he decided to go to the hospital and track him down. Floyd, this is another example...