Raschick v. Prudent Supply, Inc., 87-5120
| Decision Date | 15 October 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-5120,87-5120 |
| Citation | 830 F.2d 1497 |
| Parties | 44 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1883, 44 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 37,561 Walter A. RASCHICK, Appellant, v. PRUDENT SUPPLY, INC. and Red Line Medical Supply, Inc., division of Prudent Supply, Inc., Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
H. Louis Sirkin, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Peter M. Rosene, St. Paul, Minn., for appellant.
Thomas B. Hatch, Minneapolis, Minn., for appellees.
Before HEANEY, Circuit Judge, BRIGHT, Senior Circuit Judge, and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.
Walter A. Raschick appeals from the district court's 1 grant of summary judgment against him on his claim of age discrimination brought under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. Sec. 621, et seq. (1982). On appeal, Raschick contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment when, according to Raschick, a prima facie case of age discrimination may be inferred from the record. After reviewing the record, we are satisfied that Raschick did not present evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case. Thus, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment.
Defendants/appellees (hereinafter referred to as Red Line) sell medical supplies to nursing homes in most parts of the United States. Sales are made primarily through the efforts of outside sales personnel who make in-person calls at various nursing homes (accounts). Red Line also engages in telemarketing, which involves making telephone calls to potential new accounts and attempting to sell Red Line products over the telephone.
Prior to July of 1983, Red Line engaged in telemarketing only sporadically and had never committed more than one full-time employee to the task. In July of 1983, Red Line decided to expand its telemarketing by hiring a full-time telemarketing manager. Red Line advertised the position and received a response from Raschick. Red Line's president, Herbert Goldenberg, the controller, Jeffrey Kolmer, and the national sales manager, William Crews, were impressed with Raschick's twenty years of experience in telemarketing and agreed to hire him.
By August of 1983, Raschick fully staffed his department. However, Red Line's limitations on solicitation territories increasingly upset Raschick because the lack of territory would ultimately lead to lower sales commissions for him. 2
On September 14, 1983, Raschick, frustrated with the restriction on territories, submitted his resignation to Crews. His resignation letter reads, in part:
In the company's best interests I feel it best to step aside, confident that the present staff will accomplish company goals without me. Therefore, with regret, I hereby tender my resignation, effective a week from today.
Additional territory is needed to keep three full-time operators busy and that territory is not ready for solicitation at this time.
At the time he submitted the letter, Raschick intended on resigning. He also hoped the letter would prompt management to open up new territories for telemarketing. If this occurred, he would not resign. Raschick asserts that Crews, upon reviewing the letter, told Raschick that he, Crews, was satisfied with Raschick's work and that new territory would be given. Thus, Raschick decided not to resign. However, on October 21, 1983, Crews told Raschick that he was discharged.
Red Line has a different view of what transpired after Raschick submitted the letter. Red Line claims that Crews, after reviewing the letter, told Raschick that Crews needed to discuss the resignation with Goldenberg and Kolmer in order to decide what to do. While Raschick was on vacation, Crews, Goldenberg and Kolmer met and reviewed the letter, together with the sales figures from the telemarketing department. They found that the number of full-time people in the department had increased from one to four, while the sales had not even doubled. Based on these disappointing results, Crews, Goldenberg and Kolmer agreed to accept Raschick's resignation.
On July 12, 1984, Raschick filed with the EEOC a charge of age discrimination against Red Line. The EEOC informed Raschick that it could not process the charge because the EEOC could not substantiate the alleged discrimination. Raschick then filed the present action in federal district court. Subsequent to discovery between the parties, the district court granted Red Line's motion for summary judgment. The court determined that Raschick failed to establish two of the four essential elements of the McDonnell Douglas test for a prima facie case of discrimination. The district court determined that Raschick failed to show he performed his job at a level that met Red Line's expectations and that Red Line replaced him, thus showing a need for the same service or skill. This appeal followed.
In reviewing a grant of summary judgment, our duty is to determine whether there is a genuine issue as to any material fact in the litigation. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). On review, we view the facts in the light most favorable to Raschick and will give him the benefit of all reasonable inferences which may be made from the underlying facts disclosed in the record. See Buller v. Buechler, 706 F.2d 844, 846 (8th Cir.1983).
In order to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination under the revised McDonnell Douglas test, a plaintiff must establish all of the following elements: (1) the plaintiff was in the protected age group; (2) he or she performed the job at a level that met the employer's legitimate expectations; (3) he or she was fired; and (4) the employer tried to replace the plaintiff with someone else who would provide the same service or skill. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Halsell v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 683 F.2d 285, 289 (8th Cir.1982). 3 If the plaintiff is successful in establishing a prima facie case, the defendant has the burden of producing some legitimate non-discriminatory reason for the alleged discriminatory action. Halsell, 683 F.2d at 291.
Two of the four elements of Raschick's prima facie case are not in dispute. First, Raschick must be in the protected age category. The protected age category is " * * * at least 40 years of age but less than 70 years of age."...
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