Ramos v. Roche Products, Inc., Civ. No. 87-01442 (JAF)

• Decision Date: 26 August 1988
• Docket Number: 87-01637 (JAF).,Civ. No. 87-01442 (JAF)
• Citation: 694 F. Supp. 1018
• Parties: Nixa RAMOS, Plaintiff, v. ROCHE PRODUCTS, INC., Defendant. Julie ROSSY, Abel Rossy, and the conjugal partnership existing between Julie Rossy and Abel Rossy, Plaintiffs, v. ROCHE PRODUCTS, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

694 F. Supp. 1018

Nixa RAMOS, Plaintiff, v. ROCHE PRODUCTS, INC., Defendant.

Julie ROSSY, Abel Rossy, and the conjugal partnership existing between Julie Rossy and Abel Rossy, Plaintiffs, v. ROCHE PRODUCTS, INC., Defendant.

Civ. Nos. 87-01442 (JAF), 87-01637 (JAF).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

August 26, 1988.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Harvey Nachman, Nachman & Fernandez-Sein, San Juan, P.R., for plaintiffs.

Luis F. Antonetti, Goldman & Antonetti, San Juan, P.R., for defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

FUSTE, District Judge.

This is a consolidated action in which plaintiffs allege sexual discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e to 2000e-17, and Law 100 of June 30, 1959, 29 L.P.R.A. § 146. The Title VII claims are bottomed under federal question jurisdiction, and the local claims are based upon diversity jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1332. Plaintiff Julie Rossy alleges that because of her gender, Roche Products, Inc. ("Roche") failed to promote her to a managerial position given to a less qualified male. Plaintiff Nixa Ramos alleges that Roche failed to give her promotions in retaliation for being a witness in Rossy's sex discrimination claim before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Before the court are several motions, including summary judgment and dismissal. In ruling on each, we describe the facts as best we are able from the voluminous, clumsy, repetitive, and largely irrelevant record the parties have provided.

I. GENERAL FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Roche is a pharmaceutical manufacturing concern with operations located in Manati, and is an employer within the meaning of Title VII. Roche began operations in Puerto Rico in 1976, and hired both plaintiffs in the same year to work in its Quality Control Department. All of the actors in this story, with the exception of top Roche management, worked in the Quality Control Department. Roche hired Rubén Freyre, who Rossy claims is the lesser qualified male, in September of 1976 as Quality Control Laboratory Supervisor, a position he held until April 16, 1980. Roche hired Rossy as the Quality Control Administrative Manager, and supervised, among others, Ramos, who was hired as a Complaints and Stability Technical Writing Coordinator. At the relevant period, Edward A. MacMullan was the Director of Quality Control. Apparently, the managerial hierarchy at Roche begins with Directors, who supervise Managers, who in turn oversee Supervisors. From 1976 to December 31, 1978, Ed Brown was the Director of Pharmaceutical Operations, and from January 1, 1979 to January 31, 1983, he was the Vice-President and Director of Operations. From August of 1980 to January 31, 1983, Jim Leonard was the President and General Manager of Roche. In 1983, Brown succeeded Leonard as President.

II. ROSSY'S DISCRIMINATION CLAIM

In a Title VII case, the plaintiff may prove intentional discrimination through direct proof or through facts which support an inference of discrimination. Oliver v. Digital Equipment Corp., 846 F.2d 103, 107 (1st Cir.1988). Where the plaintiff has offered no direct proof of discrimination, as here, her claim must be proven under the directives of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). See Keyes v. Secretary of the Navy, 853 F.2d 1016, 1023 (1st Cir.1988).

The Supreme Court, in Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981), outlined the applicable burden of proof in a Title VII case alleging discriminatory treatment, relying on the standard set forth in McDonnell Douglas. The plaintiff bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence a prima facie case of sexual discrimination. If the plaintiff meets her initial burden, the burden shifts to the defendant to "articulate some legitimate nondiscriminatory reason" for the adverse personnel decision. Burdine, 450 U.S. at 254, 101 S.Ct. at 1094, (quoting McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824). While the burden of production shifts to the defendant, the plaintiff maintains the burden of persuasion throughout the case. As to the defendant's quantum of proof, "it is sufficient if the defendant's evidence raises a genuine issue of fact as to whether it discriminated against the plaintiff." Burdine, 450 U.S. at 254-55, 101 S.Ct. at 1094. If the defendant satisfies this burden, the burden shifts back to the plaintiff to show that the reasons shown by the defendant "were but a pretext for discrimination." Burdine, 450 U.S. at 253, 101 S.Ct. at 1093 (citations omitted) (citing McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824). See also Fields v. Clark University, 817 F.2d 931, 934 (1st Cir. 1987). In order to establish a prima facie case, the plaintiff must demonstrate the following:¹

1. that she belongs to a protected class, here sex;

2. that she applied for an announced, vacant position;

3. that despite her qualifications, she was rejected, and,

4. that, after her rejection, the position remained open and the employer continued to seek applicants from persons of complainant's qualifications.

McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824; Oliver, 846 F.2d at 107; Keyes, 853 S.Ct. at 1023.

Rossy claims that Roche discriminated against her gender in 1983 by promoting Rubén Freyre instead of her to the position of Director of Quality Control. Roche, in its motion for summary judgment, contends that Freyre was more qualified than plaintiff. Rossy, on the other hand, contends that she possessed the better credentials.² We find at the outset that plaintiff has demonstrated a prima facie case: she is a woman who was under consideration for a vacant position filled by a man despite her fine qualifications. The problem in her case lies with her inability to show that defendant's proffered reasons for Freyre's selection was a pretext for discrimination. As the facts will illustrate, both individuals were the sole competitors to fill an upcoming vacancy as the head of Quality Control, the only division of Roche that both worked in from its start in 1976. In reaching their ultimate ranks within Quality Control, both Rossy and Freyre travelled similar paths through several organizational changes involving both personnel transfers and restructured responsibilities. However, Roche's selection of Freyre was nothing more than a managerial decision after a review of their educational background, work experience with Roche, and performance evaluations.

Both parties submit reams of empirical evidence to prove each professional's superior qualifications. The documentation shows that both possessed similar outstanding job evaluations, though Freyre edged Rossy in work performance and evaluations. They entered Roche with somewhat similar educational backgrounds, though Roche considered Freyre's chemistry degree more valuable than Rossy's degree in Arts and Natural Sciences. The parties agree that both candidates remained equal only in prior work experience.

To begin, Rossy earned her B.A. in Arts in the Natural Sciences Faculty in 1968 from the University of Puerto Rico, and in 1974 received her M.S. in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Later, while working for Roche, in 1982 Rossy obtained a law degree from the Interamerican University. Roche funded her legal education and there is some evidence it intended for her to work at Roche in the area of regulatory affairs as it relates to pharmaceuticals. Freyre received a B.S. in Chemistry from the Universidad Central de Bayamón in 1975, and earned a prize for the best graduate in Chemistry from the Puerto Rico College of Chemists in the same year. While working at Roche, he completed some graduate courses in Industrial Pharmacy at the University of Puerto Rico. Roche initially believed that Rossy earned her degree in Biology, and later learned, at the time that she was under consideration for the promotion to Director of Quality Control, that her degree was actually in arts and sciences. Both were hired to different positions in the Quality Control Department, plaintiff as Quality Control Administrative Manager, and Freyre as Quality Control Laboratory Supervisor.

MacMullan, the Director of Quality Control, encouraged his employees in Quality Control, as far back as 1978, to obtain a Certified Quality Engineer certificate. He made clear, however, that obtaining the certificate was not a predicate to maintaining a position within Roche. To earn this specialized certificate, an applicant must pass an exam that covers eight major areas of quality control that are relevant to the Department of Quality Control at Roche. Rossy did not take the exam, but Freyre was one of three associates out of eleven who took and passed the exam in 1979. The record shows that the powers that be in Roche looked favorably upon those who earned the certificate.

Turning to their work history with Roche, in 1981 Roche reorganized the Quality Control Department and named Freyre to the newly created position of Manager of Quality Assurance. This entailed a transfer of all previous responsibility in quality assurance from Rossy to Freyre. In turn, Rossy was named Manager of Administrative Services. In November 1981, the Directors of Roche ranked its nineteen Managers "in terms of contribution to the Company and job knowledge." Ranking of Managers, Defendant's Exhibit 62. The ranking report states that "Mrs. Rossy and Mr. Freyre have been specifically identified while the other managers are coded for obvious reasons ... However, Mr. Freyre was rated significantly higher than Mrs. Rossy in both categories of individual contribution and job knowledge." Id. In Individual Contribution, the Directors ranked Freyre third and Rossy ninth, and in Job Knowledge the Directors ranked Freyre fourth and Rossy eighth. Id.

With regard to work...