Underhill v. Caudill
| Citation | 186 F.Supp.2d 736 |
| Decision Date | 19 January 2001 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 3:99CV-217-H. |
| Parties | Casey Marie UNDERHILL, Plaintiff, v. Mike CAUDILL and United Parcel Service, Defendants. |
| Court | United States District Courts. 6th Circuit. United States District Court of Western District of Kentucky |
David W. Carby, Sholar & Associates, Shepherdsville, KY, Julia B. Barry, Louisville, KY, for Casey Marie Underhill.
Mike Caudill, Louisville, KY, pro se.
Erin MacCraken Roark, Woodward, Hobson & Fulton, Louisville, KY, Tony C. Coleman, Kathleen Biggs Wright, Frost, Brown & Todd, Louisville, KY, for United Parcel Service.
Plaintiff, Casey Underhill, sued United Parcel Service ("UPS") and Mike Caudill in Jefferson Circuit Court alleging sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. UPS removed to this Court on the basis of diversity, claiming that Ms. Underhill fraudulently joined Mr. Caudill, the nondiverse defendant. UPS has moved for summary judgment, arguing that Plaintiff has not alleged facts sufficient to prove liability under Kentucky law. This Court has reviewed the record and the parties' arguments carefully. Plaintiff endured inappropriate behavior by her coworker and UPS did not respond as well as possible. However, her coworker's improper behavior does not rise to actionable conduct and UPS's prompt response, though not perfect, meets the requirements of Kentucky law. Accordingly, this Court will grant UPS's motion for summary judgment.
Plaintiff began working for UPS in August 1996, her senior year of high school. Although some of her coworkers occasionally told dirty jokes, she worked without major incident until January 8, 1998 when she and Mike Caudill, a 39 year old coworker, arrived for work early. He asked her inappropriate questions about her breasts. Ms. Underhill felt very uncomfortable and threatened. She immediately called her mother, then reported the incident to her supervisor, Jeff Pace. Mr. Pace advised her to talk to Dave Andrews, a UPS manager. Ms. Underhill and Mr. Andrews discussed the incident. Ms. Underhill felt that Mr. Andrews did not take her complaint seriously.
The next day, Ms. Underhill discussed the incident with two members of UPS Human Resources. UPS officials also interviewed several other workers to determine whether anyone witnessed the event and conducted a workgroup meeting to discuss the sexual harassment policy at UPS. Mr. Caudill received a verbal warning for his behavior and was also told not to discuss the matter. In spite of these warnings, Ms. Underhill observed Mr. Caudill in a conversation with other coworkers that appeared to involve the incident.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Caudill gestured to Ms. Underhill in a manner she considered sexually offensive. Once again, she reported the incident. Her supervisor concluded that the gestures were not offensive and did not merit further investigation. A few days later, the union steward informed UPS management that Ms. Underhill did not consider her complaints about Mr. Caudill sufficiently resolved. UPS officials responded by meeting again with Mr. Caudill to discuss the allegations. This time UPS decided to transfer Mr. Caudill to a work area away from Ms. Underhill.
Ms. Underhill also reported incidents with a different supervisor, Kevin Shellman, after Mr. Caudill's transfer. She complained about her treatment on an occasion when she requested to leave early to pick up her sister. On another occasion, Ms. Underhill walked away from a group meeting before Mr. Shellman had finished his presentation. Ms. Underhill complained to Human Resources about the way that Mr. Shellman and another supervisor discussed her early departure from the presentation. Her complaints were general in nature and did not involve a gender reference or harassment.
Ms. Underhill then took an approved leave of absence from February 28, 1998 to March 17, 1998. She extended it as a medical leave from March 18, 1998 to April 1, 1998. Ms. Underhill's doctor released her to work on April 2, 1998, but she did not do so. UPS advised Ms. Underhill that it had no medical documentation for her post-April 1, 1998 leave and encouraged her to provide it. By separate letter UPS also offered Ms. Underhill the option of returning to a different work area. Hearing no response, UPS terminated Ms. Underhill effective July 31, 1998.
These facts were summarized from extensive review of the record in this case. The Court noted numerous discrepancies between counsel for Ms. Underhill's assertions of fact and the facts as demonstrated in the record. Specifically, counsel's assertions that Mr. Caudill physically threatened Ms. Underhill by moving or reaching toward her directly contradict Ms. Underhill's and Mr. Caudill's deposition testimony where they both described a verbal conversation with no indication of physical movement. Such discrepancies undercut the ability of this Court to efficiently review and decide matters as well as diminish the Court's ability to rely on assertions of counsel.
Plaintiff does not contest UPS's claim of fraudulent joinder. Fraudulent joinder arises when the removing party, here UPS, "present[s] sufficient evidence that a plaintiff could not have established a cause of action against non-diverse defendants under state law." Coyne v. American Tobacco Co., 183 F.3d 488, 493-94 (6th Cir.1999). Plaintiff can only bring claims under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act against employers, and not against individuals. KENT.REV.STAT. § 344.040 (West 2001). Thus, Plaintiff's only potential claim against Caudill is the intentional infliction of emotional distress, also known as the tort of outrage.
To prevail on a claim of outrage, a plaintiff must prove four elements, "(1) the wrongdoer's conduct must be intentional or reckless; (2) the conduct must be outrageous and intolerable in that it offends against generally accepted standards of decency and morality; (3) there must be a causal connection between the wrongdoer's conduct and the emotional distress; and (4) the emotional distress must be severe." Gilbert v. Barkes, 987 S.W.2d 772, 777 (Ky.1999) (citations omitted). Plaintiff's allegations against Caudill, if proven, do not make out "at least a colorable cause of action against [UPS] in the [Kentucky] state courts." Jerome-Duncan, Inc. v. Auto-By-Tel, Inc., 176 F.3d 904, 908 (6th Cir.1999) (citing Alexander v. Electronic Data Sys. Corp., 13 F.3d 940, 949 (6th Cir.1994)). Specifically, Plaintiff's facts do not even remotely resemble the kind of outrageous behavior actionable under Kentucky law. See, e.g., Humana of Kentucky v. Seitz, 796 S.W.2d 1 (Ky.1990). Therefore, UPS has met its burden of demonstrating fraudulent joinder and the complaint as to Caudill is therefore dismissed.
Summary judgment is appropriate if no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. FED.R.CIV.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A dispute is genuine when "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The issue is whether the evidence submitted presents a sufficient disagreement about the material facts so that submission to a jury is necessary, or whether the evidence is so one-sided that a party must prevail as a matter of law. Id. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The Court will now each of Ms. Underhill's claims against UPS in turn.
This Court will use the federal standard for evaluating Ms. Underhill's claims since the standards for proving sex discrimination and harassment under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act reflect those of Title VII. Smith v. Leggett Wire Co., 220 F.3d 752, 758 (6th Cir.2000); Meyers v. Chapman Printing Co., Inc., 840 S.W.2d 814, 821 (Ky.1992). To prevail on a sexual harassment claim, Ms. Underhill must show, among other things, that the harassment changed the terms and conditions of employment and created a...
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