Parsons v. Pioneer Seed Hi-Bred Intern., Inc.
| Decision Date | 10 August 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 4:04 CV 40072.,4:04 CV 40072. |
| Citation | 385 F.Supp.2d 782 |
| Parties | Roger PARSONS, Plaintiff, v. PIONEER SEED HI-BRED INTER-NATIONAL, INC.<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL>, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa |
Michael J. Carroll, Babich Goldman Cashatt & Renzo PC, Des Moines, IA, for Plaintiff.
Helen C. Adams, Dickinson MacKaman Tyler & Hagen PC, Des Moines, IA, for Defendant.
ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This matter comes before the Court on Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. Oral arguments were heard on July 7, 2005. Michael Carroll represents Plaintiff Roger Parsons ("Parsons"); Helen Adams represents Defendant Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. ("Pioneer"). This matter is fully submitted and ready for disposition.
On December 10, 2003, Parsons filed a petition in Iowa District Court for Polk County, alleging Pioneer violated provisions of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621, and the Iowa Civil Rights Act, Iowa Code Chapter 216 ("ICRA"). Pioneer removed the case on February 2, 2004, under this Court's federal question jurisdiction over the ADEA claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and supplemental jurisdiction over the ICRA claim pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1367(a).
Roger Parsons began working for Pioneer on October 14, 1974. In 2000, Parsons was appointed Project Manager of the Warehouse Management System ("WMS"), a special warehouse management implementation project at Pioneer. Parsons' duties included (1) working with Pioneer developers and others to match software functionality with business needs; (2) testing, purchasing, and installing radio frequency equipment; (3) training employees on the software system and radio frequency equipment at each new implementation location; (4) assessing and reconfiguring software coding at each new implementation location; and (5) preparing implementation plan budgets.2
of North American Corn Production, Bill Tomlinson ("Tomlinson"),4 determined that there was no longer a need for a full-time WMS Project Manager. Oestreich issued a "Business Decision Statement" announcing that the initial phases of the WMS had ended in North America and therefore the project had shifted away from strategy setting, design, and development to maintenance and control. Because the project now required less skill and responsibility to maintain and coordinate, Parsons' position of WMS "Manager" would be eliminated, and the position of WMS "Coordinator" would be created to handle the project maintenance duties. Pioneer anticipated filling the position with a current employee or outsourcing from Europe. The statement also indicated that there were no positions in the department matching Parsons' skill level, and due to the reduction in force, Parsons' employment would be terminated.
Oestreich called Parsons to his office on September 25, 2002, to inform Parsons that his position had been eliminated and he was being terminated. Lee Slater ("Slater") from Pioneer's Human Resources Department, also participated in the meeting to explain the available severance options to Parsons. Under the first severance option, the effective termination date would be September 30, 2002 ("September 30th Option"); Parsons would receive a large severance payment but forfeit stock options. Under the second severance option, the effective termination date would be October 30, 2002 ("October 30th Option"); Parsons would receive a smaller severance payment and keep stock options. Parsons received copies of both severance agreements and was reminded that he had until October 16, 2002 (twenty-one days), to consider the agreements and make his decision.5
During the September 25, 2002, meeting, Parsons asked whether he would retain his years of service if he found a qualifying position at Pioneer within one year; Oestreich and Slater told Parsons he would. The only reference to age at that meeting was a reference made by Slater informing Parsons he was eligible for early retirement.
Parsons met with attorney Frank Harty and discussed the severance options; after that discussion, Parsons decided to sign the September 30th Option. Parsons signed that agreement ("the Agreement") and delivered it to Slater on October 9, 2002, seven days before it was due. Parsons' termination was effective September 30, 2002; he was fifty-five years old at the time.
On October 16, 2002, Pioneer announced that Larry Lubinus would fill the position of "Warehouse Management Coordinator" ("WMC"). Lubinus was forty-one years old and had been working for Pioneer since September 1984. Prior to becoming WMC, Lubinus was "Black Belt in Supply Management" for Pioneer's "Six Sigma" problem-solving and project-management program. As a Black Belt in Supply Management, Lubinus was responsible for working on projects and mentoring less-trained Six Sigma Black Belts and Green Belts within the Supply Management Department.
As WMC, Lubinus' responsibilities included (1) coordinating and scheduling the modifications, implementations, and usage of warehouse management technologies within North America; (2) partnering with other departments at Pioneer to determine the best practices for warehouse operations; and (3) providing the information management department with the business requirements related business planning and mobile radio frequency software. Lubinus continued to perform the Six Sigma Black Belt duties in addition to the WMC duties.
On February 28, 2003, Parsons filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission ("ICRC") charging Pioneer with discrimination under ICRA. The complaint was cross-filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Parsons received right-to-sue letters from the ICRC and the EEOC on September 12, 2003, and September 24, 2003, respectively.
On December 10, 2003, Parsons filed a two-count petition in Iowa District Court for Polk County alleging Pioneer terminated him because of his age in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 623 and Iowa Code § 216. The case was removed to federal court on February 2, 2004.
Defendant filed the present motion for summary judgment on April 15, 2005, arguing Parsons released any claims under the ADEA when he signed the Agreement. Pioneer alternatively argues Parsons cannot establish a prima facie case of discrimination under the ADEA nor can he show Pioneer's business decision was pretextual. Parsons resists the motion, arguing the release was invalid because it did not comply with the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act ("OWBPA") of the ADEA. Parsons further argues he has established a prima facie case of age discrimination under the ADEA and Pioneer's proffered reason for firing him was pretextual.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) states "the judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if 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); Evers v. Alliant Techsys., Inc., 241 F.3d 948, 953 (8th Cir.2001) (). The party seeking summary judgment "bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of `the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,' which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)).
"To preclude the entry of summary judgment, the nonmovant must make a sufficient showing on every essential element of its case on which it has the burden of proof at trial." Cont'l Grain Co. v. Frank Seitzinger Storage, 837 F.2d 836, 838 (8th Cir.1988). Rule 56(e) requires "the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by her own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)).
The Court's function on a motion for summary judgment is not to "weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Niagara of Wis. Paper Corp. v. Paper Indus. Union-Mgmt. Pension Fund, 800 F.2d 742, 746 (8th Cir.1986). "`On summary judgment the inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts ... must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.'" Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962)); Econ. Hous. Co. v. Cont'l Forest Prods., Inc., 757 F.2d 200, 203 (8th Cir.1985). "[S]ummary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is `genuine,' that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 257, 106 S.Ct. 2505. On the other hand, "[w]hen a motion for summary judgment is made and properly supported, the nonmoving party may not rely on bare allegations but must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." LeBus v....
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