Poole v. Country Club of Columbus, Inc., 96-8164

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit)
• Writing for the Court: Before COX and BARKETT; HUNT
• Citation: 129 F.3d 551
• Parties: 75 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 609, 72 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,063, 11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 788 Carol L. POOLE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The COUNTRY CLUB OF COLUMBUS, INC., Vafa Ghalahgir, individually and as General Manager, Defendants-Appellees.
• Docket Number: No. 96-8164,96-8164
• Decision Date: 17 November 1997

Page 551

129 F.3d 551 75 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 609,
72 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 45,063,
11 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 788 Carol L. POOLE, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
The COUNTRY CLUB OF COLUMBUS, INC., Vafa Ghalahgir,
individually and as General Manager, Defendants-Appellees. No. 96-8164. United States Court of Appeals,
Eleventh Circuit. Nov. 17, 1997.

Dolly H. Todd, B. Seth Harp, Harp & Johnson, P.C., Columbus, GA, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Deron R. Hicks, Richard A. Marchetti, Self, Mullins, Robinson, Marchetti & Kamensky, P.C., Columbus, GA, for Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

Before COX and BARKETT, Circuit Judges, and HUNT ^*, District Judge.

HUNT, District Judge:

Plaintiff Carol L. Poole appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment to defendant The Country Club of Columbus ("CCC") on plaintiff's age discrimination claims and dismissing plaintiff's pendent state law claims. Poole brought suit claiming defendants CCC and Vafa Ghalahgir impermissibly discriminated against her because of her age, retaliated against her for engaging in a statutorily protected activity, and committed various state law torts. In support of her age discrimination claim, Poole alleges that she was constructively discharged from CCC. Because we find that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Poole was constructively discharged, we reverse the district court and remand this action for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

After working as Ghalahgir's executive secretary for almost two years, plaintiff Carol L. Poole, who was fifty-six years old at the time, was told that her duties and responsibilities

Page 552

would be reduced to virtually nothing. Until this, Poole's duties to Ghalahgir, the General Manager of CCC, included typing correspondence, taking minutes at board meetings, supervising receptionists, and purchasing office supplies. The change in the relationship between Ghalahgir and Poole was not an abrupt shift; tensions between the two had been mounting for some time. In early 1992, Ghalahgir's wife routinely displaced Poole from her desk and computer, and began performing many of the typing duties previously handled by Poole. In July 1992, Poole gave an unsworn statement in support of six former employees who were suing CCC and Ghalahgir for age discrimination. Four days later, Ghalahgir sent a security guard to Poole's home at night to retrieve her key to Ghalahgir's office. The security guard stated that Ghalahgir had lost his key, but Poole's key was never returned to her. About this same time, Poole injured her right eye while at work, but Ghalahgir refused to submit Poole's worker's compensation claim to the insurance carrier, instead waiting almost a year and then forcing Poole to submit it herself. Plaintiff offers evidence that Ghalahgir also made remarks to her and to others regarding Poole's age. For example, Ghalahgir allegedly said to Poole that "you're as old as my mother," and said to others that he was "too fast paced for an elderly secretary" and that Poole "was too old, had too many lines in her face, and too many gray hairs."

Beginning in April 1992, Poole began taking anti-depressant medication after contacting her regular physician complaining of stress related disorders. This was Poole's fourth episode of seeking medical advice for stress since 1989. In August 1992, Poole's physician recommended to CCC that Poole take a five day vacation, a request which CCC granted, and that CCC enact provisions to reduce Poole's stress. Poole returned to work on a Tuesday, and that day, as well as the two following days, Poole was not allowed to use her...