Mullet v. Wayne-Dalton Corp., No. 5:03CV2485.

• Citation: 338 F.Supp.2d 806
• Decision Date: 27 September 2004
• Docket Number: No. 5:03CV2485.
• Parties: Tori MULLET, Plaintiff, v. WAYNE-DALTON CORP., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

338 F.Supp.2d 806

Tori MULLET, Plaintiff, v. WAYNE-DALTON CORP., Defendant.

No. 5:03CV2485.

United States District Court, N.D. Ohio, Eastern Division.

September 27, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Jennifer D. Matyac, Medina, OH, Sally D. Henning, Canton, OH, Stephen J. Brown, Medina, OH, for Plaintiff.

Christopher J. Freeman, Medina, OH, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

DOWD, District Judge.

Before the Court are fully briefed cross-motions for summary judgment (Doc. Nos. 20, 34).¹ For the reasons set forth below, plaintiff's motion (Doc. No. 34) is denied and defendant's motion (Doc. No. 20) is granted with respect to plaintiff's federal and state law claims of pregnancy discrimination. Plaintiff's remaining state law claims are dismissed without prejudice.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 5, 2003, plaintiff, Tori Mullet filed this action against her former employer, Wayne-Dalton Corp., alleging that her employment had been terminated on or about June 9, 2003 in violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.² The complaint, as amended (Doc. No. 18), sets forth four causes of action: (1) sex/pregnancy discrimination under Title VII; (2) sex/pregnancy discrimination under Ohio Rev.Code Chapter 4112; (3) a state law public policy tort; and (4) a state law claim of infliction of emotional distress. See Doc. No. 18. None of the material facts are in dispute.

Defendant is in the business of manufacturing garage doors and garage door components. At the time of plaintiff's employment, defendant employed about 500 people at the Mt. Hope, Ohio facility where plaintiff worked.

Plaintiff was hired by defendant on June 17, 2002 for the position of Hardware Assembler C. She was not covered by any collective bargaining agreement and her employment was at-will. Her job duties required that she occasionally lift boxes of bolts, brackets and bearings weighing in excess of 40 pounds.

Beginning on or about April 21, 2003, defendant began requiring employees on one of its several production lines to work 10-hour shifts in order to accommodate customer demand for its product. It was the defendant's policy that any employee scheduled to work any shift over 8 hours was required to work the shift unless the employee had vacation time and/or other authorized leave that would excuse the employee's attendance (and then only if the leave was properly sought and granted by a supervisor). Failure to work a scheduled overtime shift would subject the employee to discipline.³ Plaintiff had worked several of these 10-hour shifts.

On or about May 8, 2003, plaintiff presented defendant with a doctor's note dated that same day indicating that she was pregnant and due to deliver around August 23, 2003. The note stated that plaintiff "has gestational diabetes and threatened preterm labor." The slip also said that she "should be off work probably until at least 6 weeks post partum." (Compl Exh. E).⁴ On May 8, 2003, plaintiff requested a 30-day personal leave of absence based on her doctor's note. At that time, plaintiff had not yet worked for Wayne-Dalton for a full 12 months and was not eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). On May 9, 2003, she submitted a "Personal Leave of Absence Request" form, requesting a leave from May 9, 2003 to June 7, 2003. The request form specifically provided: "I understand [that] if I fail to return to work, full-duty, within 30 days, my employment with Wayne-Dalton, will be terminated." Defendant approved the requested personal leave.

On or about June 5, 2003, just as her approved leave was nearing completion, plaintiff's doctor faxed defendant another note dated June 2, 2003. This note stated that plaintiff "[m]ay return to work 6-9-03," and that her "workday is restricted to [no more than] 8 hrs/day and lifting [is] restricted to [no more than] 20 lbs. on an occasional basis."

On June 6, 2003, defendant's employees, Chad Luxenburg, Scott Harmon and Jacqueline Clausnitzer, called plaintiff at her residence to inquire whether she would be reporting back to work on June 9, 2003. She confirmed that she would return, but subject to the restrictions placed on her by her doctor. Wayne-Dalton informed her that, because she was unable to return to "full duty" for her Hardware Assembler C position, she could not return, but would be terminated.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate where there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. When considering a motion for summary judgment, "the inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts contained in [affidavits, pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions] must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion." U.S. v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962). See, e.g., U.S. v. Hodges X-Ray, Inc., 759 F.2d 557, 562 (6th Cir.1985) and cases cited therein. The Court's favorable treatment of facts and inferences, however, does not relieve the nonmoving party of the responsibility "to go beyond the pleadings" to oppose an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment under Rule 56(e). See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Once the moving party satisfies his or her burden to show an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case, Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, the party in opposition "may not rest upon mere allegation or denials of his pleading, but must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Although the showing required of the nonmoving party by Rule 56 does not go so far as to require that all opposition evidence be in a form admissible at trial, the rule does require the nonmoving party who has the burden of proof at trial to oppose a proper summary judgment motion "by any of the kinds of evidentiary material listed in Rule 56(c), except the mere pleadings themselves...." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. General averments or conclusory allegations of an affidavit, however, do not create specific fact disputes for summary judgment purposes. See Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation, 497 U.S. 871, 888-89, 110 S.Ct. 3177, 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990). Furthermore, unsworn statements and affidavits composed of hearsay and non-expert opinion evidence, "do not satisfy Rule 56(e) and must be disregarded." See Dole v. Elliott Travel & Tours, Inc., 942 F.2d 962, 968-69 (6th Cir.1991) (quoting State Mutual Life Assurance Co. v. Deer Creek Park, 612 F.2d 259, 264 (6th Cir.1979) and citing Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 158 n. 17, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970)). Nor may a party "create a factual issue by filing an affidavit, after a motion for summary judgment has been made, which contradicts... earlier deposition testimony." Reid v. Sears Roebuck & Co., 790 F.2d 453, 460 (6th Cir.1986) (citing Biechele v. Cedar Point, Inc., 747 F.2d 209, 215 (6th Cir.1984)).

On a motion for summary judgment, the Court will consider "[o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Non-material facts will not be considered. Neither will the judge attempt to weigh the material evidence or determine its truth. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The judge's sole function will be to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial such that "there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party." Id. (citations omitted).

Where the nonmoving party "has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of her case with respect to which she has the burden of proof," summary judgment is appropriate. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (equating the standard for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(a) with the summary judgment standard of Rule 56). If the evidence is "merely colorable," or is "not significantly probative," the Court may decide the legal issue and grant summary judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citing Dombrowski v. Eastland, 387 U.S. 82, 87 S.Ct. 1425, 18 L.Ed.2d 577 (1967) (per curiam) and First National Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co., 391 U.S. 253, 290, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)). "`The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.'" Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1477 (6th Cir.1989) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505).

In sum, "[t]he inquiry performed is the threshold inquiry of determining whether there is the need for a trial — whether, in other words, there are any genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Put another way, this Court must determine "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." Id. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505. See also Wexler v. White's Fine Furniture, Inc., 317 F.3d 564, 578 (6th Cir.2003) ("[t]he conflicting proof and the inferences that can be drawn therefrom raise genuine issues of material fact that preclude the grant of summary judgment").

III. DISCUSSION

A. Applicable Law

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination "because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a). In 1978, after the Supreme...