Scruggs v. Garst Seed Co.

• Decision Date: 20 November 2009
• Docket Number: No. 07-2266.,07-2266.
• Citation: 587 F.3d 832
• Parties: Dayna L. SCRUGGS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GARST SEED COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

587 F.3d 832

Dayna L. SCRUGGS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GARST SEED COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 07-2266.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued June 4, 2008.

Decided November 20, 2009.

Michael C. Kendall (argued), Kendall-Hahn & Associates, Carmel, IN, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

George R. Wood (argued), Littler Mendelson, Minneapolis, MN, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before BAUER, WOOD, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge.

Dayna Scruggs appeals from the grant of summary judgment in favor of her former employer, Garst Seed Company, on her claims of retaliation and a hostile work environment. A company-wide restructuring eliminated her position before she filed a charge of discrimination, so the company did not retaliate against her for filing the discrimination charge when it eliminated her position. In addition, although she contends the company also retaliated against her when it did not hire her for one of the open positions after the restructuring, Garst hired the person who had previously held the position. The incumbent was experienced in the job, and Scruggs has not created an issue for trial that the hiring decision was pretextual. Finally, the relatively isolated gender-based comments and remarks Scruggs's supervisor directed toward her were not sufficiently severe or pervasive to rise to the level of a hostile work environment. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

Dayna Scruggs worked at Garst Seed Company's seed breeding research facility in Brookston, Indiana, where she was on the soft wheat breeding team. The two other members of the Brookston soft wheat breeding team were Curtis Beazer, a Wheat Breeder, and Eugene Glover, a Research Assistant. Beazer and Glover both held exempt, salaried positions. Scruggs's position as a Research Technician was a nonexempt, hourly wage position.

Scruggs and Beazer began working together in 1988 or 1989. When Beazer ascended to Wheat Breeder in 1995, he became Scruggs's supervisor. Scruggs maintains that after Beazer became her supervisor in 1995, he repeatedly gave her trouble. The conduct to which she points includes her contention that between 2000 and 2002, Beazer refused to provide her with assistance in dealing with temporary employees, including two occasions when temporary employees reacted negatively after Scruggs terminated their employment. She states that one time, while she was discussing his alleged lack of support, Beazer told her that she was "too dumb to catch on" and that the temporary employees were her own responsibility.

Scruggs also alleges that Beazer took several steps in an attempt to have her quit her job. She claims that he intentionally under-built a new greenhouse facility in 2001, changed the temperature in the greenhouse on several occasions, and performed "crosses" of plants too early. She also says that Beazer instructed Glover to spy on her during 2002 and 2003. Scruggs maintains that Beazer later began checking on her several times a day, and that he also once asked her what it would take for her to leave because he would rather hire a 20-year old to do the field work that he and Scruggs currently had to perform.

Scruggs also pointed to several events in 2003. That year, Scruggs says that Beazer introduced her to other employees as the person in charge of "cookies with sprinkles." Scruggs complained to Beazer's supervisor, David Worrall, about this comment. A short time later, Beazer struck a temporary employee. Scruggs did not witness the incident, but she reported it and also said that Beazer had previously hit her. Scruggs maintains that Beazer retaliated against her for reporting the incident by requiring that she take on additional work responsibilities usually handled by Beazer and Glover, although she reported to Worrall only that she was "overwhelmed" by the job duties she had been assigned. At another point in 2003, Beazer stated that he hated "pushy, aggressive women" and that Scruggs was such a woman.

Scruggs also asserts that at various points during her employment, Beazer said that she was "made for the back seat of a car," that her parties were "drunken fiascos," that she was not "smart enough," and that she looked like a "UPS driver," a "dyke," and was a "redneck." In March of 2004, Worrall met with Scruggs and Beazer in an effort to straighten out the issues between the two. Scruggs told Worrall that she did not trust Beazer because he was "manufacturing" research data and complained about Beazer's comment that he would like to replace her with a 20-year-old employee. Worrall responded that he thought Scruggs had misunderstood the statement. Scruggs then left the meeting. She says that Beazer followed her down the hallway dancing, whistling, and singing.

Scruggs was not the only person at Garst to have problems with Beazer. Beazer also made comments about Eugene Glover and Brian Rice, male Research Assistants at the Brookston facility. Beazer called Glover "fat" and made fun of Rice's home state. He also made derogatory comments about certain employees' cars, among other things. Scruggs testified in her deposition that Beazer did not get along with "[a]nyone that was marginally intolerant or had an opinion he could not tolerate."

Garst managers and Human Resources Director D.J. Horrigan discussed the Brookston facility in the early part of 2004 and the problems Beazer presented. Horrigan sent Worrall and two other managers a memorandum summarizing discussions regarding the Brookston site in May 2004. The memorandum contemplated a reorganization where Beazer would be demoted to Assistant Breeder or offered a severance package, Glover's position would be eliminated, and Scruggs would keep her position. The proposal discussed in the memorandum was not carried out.

Instead, in September 2004, Syngenta Seeds, Inc. purchased a majority interest in Garst. Syngenta already owned a wheat research and sales program in soft red winter wheat. Therefore, to eliminate redundancy, the company restructured the soft wheat research operations. It closed a facility in Arkansas and restructured staffing at the other soft wheat research facilities, including Brookston. The company decided it would have three salaried employees at each soft wheat research location: Breeder, Assistant Wheat Breeder, and Research Assistant. The position of Research Technician would be eliminated. That was the role Scruggs held in Brookston.

Worrall traveled to the Brookston facility in November 2004 and informed employees of the restructuring. Scruggs was on medical leave at the time, so she was not present. Worrall says that he called Scruggs at home in November 2004 and left her a message advising her that a restructuring would be occurring. Scruggs, however, asserts that she did not receive such a message and that she did not learn of the restructuring until several months later.

On December 3, 2004, Scruggs filed a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that alleged gender discrimination, a hostile work environment, and retaliation. Also that month, Worrall informed Beazer that he would not be continuing at Brookston, and Barton Fogleman became the new Wheat Breeder at that location.

With Fogleman in place, the company set out to hire persons for the two other soft wheat breeding positions at Brookston. Fogleman, Horrigan, and Worrall interviewed candidates for the Brookston Assistant Breeder and Research Assistant positions. Approximately twenty persons applied for the Assistant Breeder position, including Glover. The company interviewed Glover for the Assistant Breeder role but ultimately selected another candidate, Jennifer Vonderwell. Approximately seventeen people applied for the Research Assistant position, including six who also applied for the Assistant Breeder position. Glover and Scruggs were two of the applicants. Glover, Scruggs, and several others were interviewed in March and April of 2005. The company selected Glover. Fogleman explained that the company chose Glover because of his past experience at Brookston, his experience managing test plots at other locations, and his education. Glover has a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy and had served as the Research Assistant at the Brookston facility for many years. Scruggs does not have a college degree, and she also did not have the same type or level of experience. In particular, Scruggs did not have experience comparable to Glover's in managing plots outside of Brookston. The Brookston facility manages research plots in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Glover had managed these sites for a number of years, and Fogleman believed that his experience would be very helpful going forward.

After Scruggs did not receive the Research Assistant position, she filed another charge of discrimination with the EEOC on April 28, 2005. She alleged that Garst terminated her employment in retaliation for the EEOC charge she had filed the previous December. The district court granted summary judgment in Garst's favor on Scruggs's claims of retaliation, hostile work environment, and gender discrimination.

II. ANALYSIS

A. No Error in Denying Motion to Strike

Before we turn to the merits of the summary judgment decision, we address one preliminary matter. Scruggs contends that the district court erroneously denied her motion to "strike" Garst's summary judgment motion, or, in the alternative, to strike Fogleman's affidavit. We review the district court's decision for an abuse of discretion, Judson Atkinson Candies, Inc. v. Latini-Hohberger Dhimantec, 529 F.3d 371, 382 (7th Cir.2008), and find no error. Scruggs maintained that Garst misled her as to the identity of the person responsible for the Research Assistant hiring decision and concealed Fogleman's identity. As the district court recognized, however, Scruggs clearly knew about Fogleman, as he was one of the persons...