Sullivan v. Delphi Auto. Systems Corp., Case No. C-3-00-378.

• Decision Date: 30 April 2002
• Docket Number: Case No. C-3-00-378.
• Citation: 198 F.Supp.2d 952
• Parties: Ann DeWitt SULLIVAN, Plaintiff, v. DELPHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CORPORATION, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

198 F.Supp.2d 952

Ann DeWitt SULLIVAN, Plaintiff, v. DELPHI AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CORPORATION, Defendant.

Case No. C-3-00-378.

United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, Western Division.

April 30, 2002.

Randolph Freking, Cincinnati, OH, for plaintiff.

Lori Clary, Columbus, OH, Robert Walker, Cleveland, OH, for defendant.

DECISION AND SUSTAINING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (DOC. # 15); JUDGMENT TO BE ENTERED IN FAVOR OF DEFENDANT AND AGAINST PLAINTIFF; TERMINATION ENTRY

RICE, Chief Judge.

The Plaintiff was formerly employed by the Defendant. In 1983, she graduated from Wright State University with a B.S. in finance and accounting.¹ Plaintiff was hired by the Defendant's predecessor, General Motors Corporation ("General Motors"), to work at its Delco Products facility. She began working as a fourth-level, management or supervisory employee.² In June, 1984, the Plaintiff was promoted to a fifth-level position in General Motors' Cost Accounting Department. In 1988, she was promoted to a sixth level position. In December, 1990, the Plaintiff became a sixth level scheduler/expediter in General Motors' Products, Control and Logistics ("PC & L") Shock Manufacturing Department. In May, 1996, the Plaintiff was promoted to a seventh level position, as a general supervisor in the PC & L Shipping Department.

In 1996, the Plaintiff began to work at Defendant's Home Avenue Plant. In early 1999, she began a romantic relationship with Michael Sullivan ("Sullivan"), an eighth-level supervisor at the Home Avenue Plant to whom she had reported. In order to avoid the appearance of favoritism, Plaintiff was transferred to Defendant's Vandalia Plant. Subsequently, the Plaintiff and Sullivan married.

In 1998 and 1999, Plaintiff sought to be promoted to an eighth level supervisor position on two occasions. One promotion would have been to a materials manager position, while the other would have been to a PC & L manager position. In both instances, the Defendant selected a male to fill the open position. With respect to one of the positions for which Plaintiff applied, the PC & L manager position, the Defendant selected Jeff Leake who was 37 years of age. The Plaintiff was 47 at the time.

In May, 2000, Sullivan took a position at a manufacturing facility of the Defendant, located in Lockport, New York. Consequently, Plaintiff transferred to one of Defendant's facilities in that city. In April, 2001, Sullivan left his employment with the Defendant and returned to the Dayton area. To be with her husband, Plaintiff resigned her position with the Defendant and also moved to the Dayton area.

In her Complaint (Doc. # 1), the Plaintiff has set forth nine claims for relief, to wit: 1) a claim of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq.; 2) a claim of sex discrimination in violation of Chapter 4112 of the Ohio Revised Code ("Chapter 4112"); 3) a claim of age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq.; 4) a claim of age discrimination in violation of Chapter 4112; 5) a claim that the Defendant acted tortiously by violating public policy; 6) a claim of breach of contract; 7) a claim of promissory estoppel; 8) a claim that the Defendant violated the Equal Pay Act ("EPA"), 29 U.S.C. § 206(d), by paying her less than a similarly situated male employee; and 9) a claim that the Defendant has violated Ohio's Equal Pay Act, § 4111.17 of the Ohio Revised Code.

This case is now before the Court on the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. # 15). As a means of analysis, the Court will initially set forth the standards which are applicable to all motions for summary judgment, following which it turn to the parties' arguments in support of and in opposition to the instant request for summary judgment.

Summary judgment must be entered "against a 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, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Of course, the moving party:

always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any," which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.

Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. See also Boretti v. Wiscomb, 930 F.2d 1150, 1156 (6th Cir. 1991) (The moving party has the "burden of showing that the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions and affidavits in the record, construed favorably to the nonmoving party, do not raise a genuine issue of material fact for trial.") (quoting Gutierrez v. Lynch, 826 F.2d 1534, 1536 (6th Cir.1987)). The burden then shifts to the nonmoving party who "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). Thus, "[o]nce the moving party has met its initial burden, the nonmoving party must present evidence that creates a genuine issue of material fact making it necessary to resolve the difference at trial." Talley v Bravo Pitino Restaurant, Ltd., 61 F.3d 1241, 1245 (6th Cir.1995). Read together, Liberty Lobby and Celotex stand for the proposition that a party may move for summary judgment by demonstrating that the opposing party will not be able to produce sufficient evidence at trial to withstand a directed verdict motion (now known as a motion for judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 50). Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1478 (6th Cir.1989).

Once the burden of production has so shifted, the party opposing summary judgment cannot rest on its pleadings or merely reassert its previous allegations. It is not sufficient to "simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). See also Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc. v. Babin, 18 F.3d 337, 341 (6th Cir.1994) ("The plaintiff must present more than a scintilla of evidence in support of his position; the evidence must be such that a jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff."). Rather, Rule 56(e) "requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the [unverified] pleadings" and present some type of evidentiary material in support of its position. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Summary judgment "shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Summary judgment shall be denied "[i]f there are ... `genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.'" Hancock v. Dodson, 958 F.2d 1367, 1374 (6th Cir.1992) (citation omitted). Of course, in determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists, a court must assume as true the evidence of the nonmoving party and draw all reasonable inferences in the favor of that party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (emphasis added). If the parties present conflicting evidence, a court may not decide which evidence to believe, by determining which parties' affiants are more credible; rather, credibility determinations must be left to the fact-finder. 10A Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 2726. In ruling on a motion for summary judgment (in other words, in determining whether there is a genuine issue of material fact), "[a] district court is not ... obligated to wade through and search the entire record for some specific facts that might support the nonmoving party's claim." InterRoyal Corp. v. Sponseller, 889 F.2d 108, 111 (6th Cir. 1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1091, 110 S.Ct. 1839, 108 L.Ed.2d 967 (1990). See also L.S. Heath & Son, Inc. v. AT & T Information Systems, Inc., 9 F.3d 561 (7th Cir.1993); Skotak v. Tenneco Resins, Inc., 953 F.2d 909, 915 n. 7 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 832, 113 S.Ct. 98, 121 L.Ed.2d 59 (1992) ("Rule 56 does not impose upon the district court a duty to sift through the record in search of evidence to support a party's opposition to summary judgment...."). Thus, a court is entitled to rely, in determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists on a particular issue, only upon those portions of the verified pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with any affidavits submitted, specifically called to its attention by the parties.

The Defendant seeks summary judgment on all nine claims set forth in the Plaintiff's Complaint. As a means of analysis, the Court will discuss the parties' arguments relating to the Plaintiff's claims in the order in which those claims appear in her Complaint, discussing similar claims together.

I. Sex Discrimination Claims

With the First and Second Claims for Relief in her Complaint, the Plaintiff sets forth claims of sex discrimination in violation of Title VII and Chapter 4112 of the Ohio Revised Code. In particular, the Plaintiff contends that the Defendant discriminated against her on the basis of her sex by not promoting her to an eighth-level position.³

In Hollins v. Atlantic Company, Inc., 188 F.3d 652 (6th Cir.1999), the Sixth Circuit reviewed the familiar analytical framework, established by the Supreme Court in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), and Texas...