Ryder v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp.

• Decision Date: 06 February 1995
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 93-1945.
• Citation: 879 F. Supp. 534
• Parties: John M. RYDER, Plaintiff, v. WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

879 F. Supp. 534

John M. RYDER, Plaintiff, v. WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 93-1945.

United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania.

February 6, 1995.

Ogg, Jones, Desimone & Ignelzi, Samuel J. Cordes, Pittsburgh, PA.

Louise Q. Symons, James A. Buddie, Pittsburgh, PA, for Westinghouse Elec. Corp.

MEMORANDUM ORDER

AMBROSE, District Judge.

Plaintiff John Ryder ("Ryder") has filed suit alleging that Defendant Westinghouse Electric Corporation ("Westinghouse") discriminated against him because of his age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 621-634 (1985 and Supp.1994), when they discharged him from his employment at Westinghouse. Pending before the Court is Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. For the following reasons, the Motion will be denied. Discovery will be reopened for a period of 20 days, however, for the limited purpose of deposing John Ryder on the sole issue of whether he engaged in misconduct while still employed at Westinghouse by acting adversely to Westinghouse's interest regarding the dispute and arbitration between Asea Brown Boveri and Westinghouse.

"Summary judgment is appropriate only when the admissible evidence fails to demonstrate a dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Sempier v. Johnson & Higgins, 45 F.3d 724, 727 (3d Cir.1995); Fed. R.Civ.Proc. 56. Rule 56 mandates the entry of summary judgment against the party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In reviewing the record, the Court must give the nonmoving party the benefit of all reasonable inferences. Josey v. John R. Hollingsworth Corp., 996 F.2d 632, 637 (3d Cir.1993).

The burden is on the moving party to demonstrate that the evidence creates no genuine issue of material fact. Chipollini v. Spencer Gifts, Inc., 814 F.2d 893, 896 (3d Cir.1987) (en banc), cert. dismissed, 483 U.S. 1052, 108 S.Ct. 26, 97 L.Ed.2d 815 (1987). Where the nonmoving party bears the burden of persuasion at trial, the party moving for summary judgment may meet its burden by demonstrating that the nonmoving party lacks sufficient evidence to meet its burden at trial. Sempier, 45 F.3d at 727. The nonmoving party then creates a genuine issue of material fact by providing sufficient evidence from which a reasonable jury could find for him at trial. Id. The role of the trial judge on a motion for summary judgment is not to make credibility determinations and assess the evidence to determine the truth of the matter but merely to determine whether a genuine issue of fact remains for trial. Josey, 996 F.2d at 639.

Westinghouse argues that summary judgment must be granted for three reasons: (1) Ryder failed to set forth a prima facie case of age discrimination because Ryder's position was eliminated and he failed to show that he was replaced by a person sufficiently younger to permit an inference of age discrimination; (2) there is no evidence from which a jury could infer that Ryder's age was a factor in the determination to abolish Ryder's position as Staff Assistant; and (3) after-acquired evidence of misconduct on the part of Ryder precludes any damages in this case.

To survive summary judgment in an ADEA action, a plaintiff must first demonstrate that sufficient evidence exists to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination. Torre v. Casio, Inc., 42 F.3d 825, 828 (3d Cir.1994). In the usual case, where a plaintiff is terminated from his position and a younger person fills the job he previously had, a prima facie case is established by showing that the plaintiff is at least 40 years old, was qualified for the position, was dismissed despite being qualified, and ultimately was replaced by a person sufficiently younger to permit an inference of age discrimination. Armbruster v. Unisys Corp., 32 F.3d 768, 777 (3d Cir.1994). This is not an inflexible rule, and a district court must look to the particular circumstances of a case to determine whether a prima facie case has been established. Torre, 42 F.3d at 830-31. Where the employer alleges that the discharged employee's position has been eliminated and that the employee is therefore not replaced, the plaintiff "need only show that he was laid off from a job for which he was qualified while other workers not in the protected class were retained." Turner v. Schering-Plough Corp., 901 F.2d 335, 343 (3d Cir.1990); see also Torre, 42 F.3d at 830.

Once the plaintiff provides sufficient evidence from which a prima facie case may be established, the defendant must then advance a legitimate, nondiscriminatory justification for the action it took. Torre, 42 F.3d at 830. A plaintiff may then survive summary judgment by "`either (i) discrediting the employer's proffered reasons, either circumstantially or directly, or (ii) adducing evidence, whether circumstantial or direct, that discrimination was more likely than not a motivating or determinative cause of the adverse employment action." Id.

We have carefully reviewed the evidence submitted by both parties and find summary judgment is precluded because genuine issues of material fact exist as to Ryder's prima facie case, including whether Ryder's position was actually eliminated, as contended by Westinghouse, or whether the position was not in fact eliminated and he was actually replaced by Patricia Newingham, who was sixteen years younger than Ryder. We find that Ryder has also demonstrated that sufficient evidence exists to allow a jury to find that Westinghouse's proffered reason for Ryder's termination should be discredited. Under the above standard for a pretext age discrimination case, summary judgment is precluded and will therefore be denied.

As to Defendant's argument that summary judgment should be granted because the after-acquired evidence doctrine bars all damages in this case, two recent decisions binding on this court clearly hold that after-acquired evidence of employee misconduct is irrelevant in the liability stage of litigation under the ADEA. See McKennon v. Nashville Banner Publishing Co., ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 879, 130 L.Ed.2d 852 (1995); Mardell v. Harleysville Life Insurance Co., 31 F.3d 1221 (3d Cir.1994). Even if we were to accept Westinghouse's contention that Ryder divulged confidential and protected information to Asea Brown Boveri ("ABB") regarding the dispute between ABB and Westinghouse (although Westinghouse has provided nothing more than mere conjecture that Ryder did so), the Supreme Court in McKennon unequivocally held that such ...