Rinehart v. City of Independence, Mo.
| Decision Date | 12 December 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-3560,93-3560 |
| Citation | 35 F.3d 1263 |
| Parties | 65 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1548 Robert E. RINEHART, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI; Larry Kaufman, Acting City Manager, City of Independence, Missouri; William Carpenter, as Mayor, City of Independence, Missouri, Defendants-Appellees. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Amicus on Behalf of Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Dennis E. Egan, Kansas City, MO, argued (Martha Sperry Hickman, Independence, MO, on the brief), for appellant.
John F. Suhre, Washington, MO, for amicus.
J. Randall Coffey, Kansas City, MO, argued (John M. Edgar and Craig S. O'Dear, on the brief), for appellees.
Before FAGG, HANSEN, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.
Robert E. Rinehart appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment on his age discrimination claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Missouri Human Rights Act, and on his claim for retirement benefits under the Missouri Local Government Employees' Retirement System. Rinehart argues that in deciding his age discrimination claims, the district court erred by requiring him in this non-reduction-in-force case to show as part of his prima facie case either that he was replaced by someone outside the protected age class or that age was a determining factor in the termination decision. Rinehart also argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to the defendants on his claim for retirement benefits. We reverse in part, affirm in part, and remand.
Robert Rinehart served as the Chief of Police of Independence, Missouri, for 12 years before he was fired on April 7, 1992, at age 67. On August 11, 1992, he filed this action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri against the City of Independence, Missouri; William Carpenter, the Mayor of Independence, Missouri; and Larry Kaufman, the Acting City Manager of Independence, Missouri (collectively "the defendants"), asserting four claims. In count I, Rinehart asserted unlawful age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. Secs. 621-634. In count II, he asserted the denial of due process and the violation of his First Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. In count III, he asserted unlawful age discrimination under the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), Mo.Ann.Stat. Secs. 213.010-213.137 (Vernon 1987). In count IV, he asserted that the City violated his right to benefits under the Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS), Mo.Ann.Stat. Secs. 70.600-70.755 (Vernon 1987).
The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on all four of Rinehart's claims. Rinehart filed a resistance and submitted a variety of factual materials in support of his resistance. On September 28, 1993, the district court granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment on all claims.
In addressing the age discrimination claims in counts I and III, the district court applied the now familiar burden-shifting analysis the Supreme Court laid out in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), which requires a plaintiff to first establish a prima facie case of unlawful employment discrimination. The district court found that to establish a prima facie case, Rinehart was required to show: "(1) he was within the protected age group; (2) he was performing his job at a level that met his employer's legitimate expectations; (3) he was discharged; (4) his employer attempted to replace him." Rinehart v. City of Independence, et al., No. 92-0728-CV-W-8, slip op. at 3 (W.D.Mo. Sept. 28, 1993) (quoting Radabaugh v. Zip Feed Mills, Inc., 997 F.2d 444, 448 (8th Cir.1993)) (other citation omitted). The district court also found that the fourth element of the prima facie case test required Rinehart to show either that he was replaced by someone outside the protected class or that age played a role in the decision to discharge him. Id. (citing Kehoe v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 995 F.2d 117, 119 (8th Cir.1993)).
The defendants admitted, for the purposes of the summary judgment motion on counts I and III, that Rinehart could satisfy the first three elements of a prima facie case. The only issue was whether Rinehart had made a sufficient showing to satisfy the fourth element of the prima facie case. The district court concluded that Rinehart had failed to make the necessary showing on the fourth element. The district court first found that Rinehart was not replaced by someone outside the protected class, which consists of workers aged 40 and older, because he was replaced by Shannon Craven, who was 48 years old. The district court then found that Rinehart could only establish a prima facie case by providing evidence that age was a factor in the decision to fire him. The district court concluded Rinehart had failed to produce any such evidence and granted summary judgment for the defendants on counts I and III.
The district court also granted summary judgment on counts II and IV. In count II, Rinehart alleged both a violation of his due process rights because he did not receive a post-termination hearing and a violation of his First Amendment rights. The district court found that the record indicated only that Rinehart's own actions were responsible for the failure to receive the post-termination hearing and that there were simply no grounds for a First Amendment claim. In count IV, Rinehart made a claim that his termination denied him the right to collect benefits to which he otherwise would have become entitled under LAGERS. After he was terminated, the City of Independence voted to reimburse current employees for certain LAGERS contributions they had made to the fund. Rinehart asserts a claim for the funds he would have received as reimbursement had he not been fired. The district court found that because he was not employed by the city at the time, he had no legal basis to support a claim for the reimbursement. Accordingly, the district court entered summary judgment against Rinehart on counts II and IV as well.
Rinehart appeals the district court's order to the extent it granted summary judgment on his age discrimination claims, counts I and III, and on his claim for LAGERS benefits, count IV. He does not appeal with respect to count II. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed an amicus brief on behalf of Rinehart which addresses the age discrimination claims.
A district court should grant summary judgment only when "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We review the district court's decision granting summary judgment de novo.
Rinehart first argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on his age discrimination claims under the ADEA and the MHRA. 1 The only issue in dispute on these age discrimination claims is whether the district court correctly stated and applied the fourth element of a prima facie case of age discrimination. The district court required Rinehart to show as the fourth element of his prima facie case either (1) that he was replaced by someone outside the protected class of workers aged 40 or older or (2) that age was a factor in the termination decision. Rinehart argues that a prima facie case of age discrimination in a non-reduction-in-force case does not require a showing of either one of those factors but requires a showing only that he was replaced by someone younger. Given the facts of this case, we agree.
We have specifically noted that "[a] plaintiff need not be replaced by a person outside the protected age group to make out a prima facie case under the ADEA; the plaintiff need only be replaced by a younger person." Hillebrand v. M-Tron Indus., Inc., 827 F.2d 363, 366 n. 6 (8th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1004, 109 S.Ct. 782, 102 L.Ed.2d 774 (1989). Moreover, we have consistently held in Title VII cases that proof that the plaintiff was replaced by a person outside the protected class is not required. Davenport v. Riverview Gardens Sch. Dist., 30 F.3d 940, 944-45 (8th Cir.1994); Williams v. Ford Motor Co., 14 F.3d 1305, 1308 (8th Cir.1994); Walker v. St. Anthony's Med. Ctr., 881 F.2d 554, 558 (8th Cir.1989). In both Davenport and Williams, we specifically found that the district court erroneously required the plaintiff to show he was replaced by someone outside the protected class in order to establish the fourth element of his prima facie case. Davenport, 30 F.3d at 944; Williams, 14 F.3d at 1308. While this evidence is probative of the ultimate issue of intent to discriminate, it is not a per se requirement, and thus it is not required to show a prima facie case. Davenport, 30 F.3d at 944; Williams, 14 F.3d at 1308. Because the prima facie case standards in Title VII cases and those in ADEA cases are substantially similar, see, e.g., Radabaugh, 997 F.2d at 448; Richmond v. Board of Regents of Univ. of Minn., 957 F.2d 595, 598 (8th Cir.1992) (); see also Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U.S. 575, 584, 98 S.Ct. 866, 872, 55 L.Ed.2d 40 (1978) (), we conclude that the rationale of the Title VII cases should extend to the present case as well. We conclude that the district court erred to the extent it required Rinehart to demonstrate as part of his prima facie case that his replacement came from outside the protected class of workers aged 40 or above. 2
Similarly, we have never required plaintiffs bringing age discrimination claims to make as part of the fourth element of a prima facie case...
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