Roberts v. Unidynamics Corp., 9
| Decision Date | 28 November 1997 |
| Docket Number | 96-2440 and 96-3445,No. 9,96-2437,Nos. 96-2432,9,s. 96-2432 |
| Citation | 126 F.3d 1088 |
| Parties | 7 A.D. Cases 1867, 24 A.D.D. 768, 10 NDLR P 372 Karl ROBERTS, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. UNIDYNAMICS CORPORATION, a Missouri Corporation; doing business as Crane National Vendor, Defendant, DistrictInternational Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Defendant/Appellant. Karl ROBERTS, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. UNIDYNAMICS CORPORATION, a Missouri Corporation; doing business as Crane National Vendor, Defendant/Appellant, DistrictInternational Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Defendant/Appellee. Karl ROBERTS, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. UNIDYNAMICS CORPORATION, a Missouri Corporation, doing business as Crane National Vendor; District International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Defendants/Appellees. Karl ROBERTS, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. UNIDYNAMICS CORPORATION, doing business as Crane National Vendor, a Missouri Corporation; District International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Defendants/Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
D. Michael Linihan, St. Louis, MO, argued (Daniel R. Begian, Michelle M. Cain, Cary Hammond, Greg A. Campbell and Richard P. Perkins, on the brief), for appellant.
Larry A. Bagsby, St. Charles, MO, argued, for appellee.
Before WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge, HENLEY, Senior Circuit Judge, and BEEZER, 1 Circuit Judge.
Unidynamics Corporation, which does business as Crane National Vendors (Crane), and District No. 9 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (the union), appeal from the judgment entered on the jury's verdict in favor of Karl Roberts. Roberts' suit is based on his claim that Crane and the union regarded him as carrying the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or having Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and discriminated against him because of that perception. Roberts cross-appeals on several issues. We reverse the judgment and dismiss the cross-appeal as moot.
Roberts began working in 1989 as a welder at Crane, a company that manufactures such items as vending machines and elevators. He continued to work in the weld department until his termination in 1992, except for a brief period of time during which he worked in the paint department. In the spring of 1992, Roberts began experiencing weight loss, eye irritation, tremors, weakness, and diarrhea. Roberts' supervisor in the weld department, Dennis Blake, believed that Roberts might have an eye infection and advised him to see a physician. Roberts followed Blake's advice and, in June of 1992, was diagnosed as having Graves' disease. 2 Roberts reported the diagnosis to Blake. Blake did not request documentation of Roberts' diagnosis, but did ask whether it would interfere with Roberts' ability to perform his job. Roberts replied that it would not.
Roberts' physical condition was also observed by his co-workers. Several stated at trial that they had noticed a change in Roberts' appearance in that he had lost a great deal of weight, that he looked gaunt and sickly, and that his eyes "kind of bulged" or "bugged out."
On September 30, 1992, Roberts was at Blake's desk writing a note to a co-worker during a break. Blake approached him and requested to see the note. Roberts told Blake the note was private and refused to give it to him. Roberts testified that Blake continued to demand to see the note and that Roberts refused to permit him to do so. Roberts stated that he walked to his work station and that Blake "was right behind [him], kind of hounding [him] about it." When Roberts arrived at his work station, Blake "gave [him] a direct order" and stated, "I want to see the note." Roberts responded, "No, it's private and I don't think I have to show it to you." After Blake gave him another direct order to hand over the note, Roberts demanded that L.C. Monehan, the shop steward, be called over to resolve the dispute.
Monehan told Roberts to show Blake the note, whereupon Roberts did so. After Blake read the note, which read, "Charlie [a co-worker], this is Catfish, are you mad at me?", he said that Roberts' behavior was childish and a waste of time and informed Roberts that he was on notice and that if such behavior continued he, Blake, would take further action.
On October 5, 1992, Blake noticed an empty welding-wire spool, approximately eight to twelve inches long and four inches wide, lying on the floor near the big cabinet line where Roberts was stationed. He asked Roberts if the spool was his. Roberts replied, "I'm assuming that since I just got to this work station I know it's not mine." Blake then asked Roberts if he knew whose it was, to which Roberts replied that he did not. Blake said, "Well, pick it up." Roberts replied, "Okay," but made no attempt to look for or pick up the spool.
The following day, Roberts was stationed on the small cabinet line. At the end of Roberts' eight-hour shift, Blake asked him if he would be willing to work overtime. Roberts agreed and was moved to the big cabinet line. After Roberts had been working for about 25 minutes, Blake approached him and said, "I thought I told you to pick up a spool." Roberts retorted, "You didn't tell me to pick up the spool." Blake said, "Pick it up, that's an order," to which Roberts replied, "I really don't appreciate the way you said that." Blake said, "Well, pick it up." Roberts said "Okay," but resumed welding. Blake repeated his order and Roberts replied, "I heard you," but continued to weld.
Blake contacted Kay Merz, Crane's human resource manager and described Roberts' conduct. Merz agreed that Roberts' conduct was "blatant insubordination" and suggested Roberts be suspended pending further investigation. Blake then contacted Ron Wilson, general production supervisor, who agreed with Merz's recommendation. Blake and Wilson notified Monehan, and the three approached Roberts. Wilson said to Roberts, "I hear that you're refusing a direct order from your supervisor by not picking up a spool." Roberts explained that he could not find the spool, and Wilson told him he was suspended pending further investigation. Roberts then said, "Ron, what am I supposed to do, show this guy the color underwear I got on if he asks me?"
Blake prepared a memorandum documenting the incident, which was submitted to Edwin Barutio, Crane's vice president of human resources. Barutio conducted an investigation of the incident and concluded that Roberts should be terminated. Barutio testified that he came to this conclusion because Roberts had engaged in several acts of insubordination within a short period of time, the incidents were highly visible to other employees, and Roberts had demonstrated a "cavalier" attitude.
Immediately following his suspension, Monehan advised Roberts to file a grievance. Roberts waived the first and second grievance steps, and the case proceeded to a third step grievance meeting. At the third step meeting, Barutio, Wilson, Blake, and Merz represented Crane. Business representative Bob Soutier, Monehan, and shop steward Al Bohmer represented the union. Roberts was also in attendance. Roberts testified that just prior to the meeting he informed Monehan and Soutier that James Woolsey was a witness to the spool incident and that he should be called. Woolsey was not contacted, however. During a break in the meeting, Soutier told Roberts to apologize and ask for his job back. Roberts then apologized to the Crane officials for "any inconvenience" he may have caused.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Soutier asked that Roberts be reinstated. Monehan suggested to Barutio that Roberts receive a disciplinary layoff rather than termination. Barutio denied the grievance and terminated Roberts. The union decided not to process Roberts' grievance for lack of merit. Soutier, who made the decision not to pursue the grievance, explained that he believed Blake's requests of Roberts were reasonable, that Roberts' acts of insubordination had occurred over a short period of time, and that he did not believe that Roberts had merely forgotten to pick up the spool on October 5 as Roberts testified to at trial.
On November 23, 1992, Roberts wrote to Jim Bagwell, Directing Business Representative of District 9, complaining that Soutier had failed to investigate his grievance or to make a statement on his behalf at the hearing. Roberts did not indicate that he believed that either Crane or the union had discriminated against him. On March 15, 1993, Roberts filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (MCHR) alleging that he had been discharged because of a "handicap/perceived handicap (Graves Disease)." The EEOC and MCHR notified Roberts of his right to sue, and Roberts filed suit against Crane and the union under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), Mo.Rev.Stat. § 213.010 et seq., alleging that Crane had terminated him and the union had failed to investigate and pursue arbitration of his grievance because of his actual and/or perceived disabilities. 3 Following the jury's verdict in favor of Roberts, the district court denied Crane's and the union's motions for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial.
We review the district court's denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law de novo, applying the same standard as the district court. See Triton Corp. v. Hardrives, Inc., 85 F.3d 343, 345 (8th Cir.1996). "[W]e will not reverse a jury's verdict for insufficient evidence unless, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that no reasonable juror could have returned a verdict for the non-moving party." Ryther v. KARE 11, 108 F.3d 832, 836 (8th Cir.19...
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