Vaughn v. Edel

• Decision Date: 06 December 1990
• Docket Number: No. 90-3181,90-3181
• Citation: 918 F.2d 517
• Parties: 54 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 870, 55 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 40,455, 59 USLW 2378 Emma S. VAUGHN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Robert EDEL, et al., Defendants, Texaco, Inc., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 517

918 F.2d 517

54 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 870,

55 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 40,455, 59 USLW 2378

Emma S. VAUGHN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Robert EDEL, et al., Defendants, Texaco, Inc., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 90-3181

Summary Calendar.

United States Court of Appeals,

Fifth Circuit.

Dec. 6, 1990.

Kenneth J. Beck, Harvey, La., for plaintiff-appellant.

Albert H. Hanemann, Jr., Lemle & Kelleher, John D. Fitzmorris, Jr., Legal Dept. New Orleans, La., for Texaco.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Before GEE, SMITH, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.

WIENER, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant Emma S. Vaughn contests the judgment rendered in favor of defendant Texaco, Inc., dismissing with prejudice Vaughn's race and sex discrimination suit filed pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq. Because the magistrate clearly erred in finding no racial discrimination, we reverse.

I Procedural History

Vaughn filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which determined that the evidence did not establish a violation of Title VII. She then filed this lawsuit against Texaco and against Roger Keller, manager of the Land Department for much of Vaughn's tenure with Texaco; Ronald O'Dwyer, who succeeded Keller as manager; and Robert Edel, chief contract analyst and Vaughn's supervisor. When Texaco assumed responsibility for the individual defendants, Vaughn agreed to their dismissal as defendants. The parties consented to proceedings before a magistrate who, finding as a "matter of law" that Vaughn's firing did not constitute racial discrimination, dismissed the suit. Vaughn timely appealed. ¹

II

A. Operable Facts

In August 1979, Vaughn, a black female attorney, became an associate contract analyst in Texaco's Land Department. Her supervisors were Edel and Alvin Earl Hatton, assistant chief contract analyst. In Vaughn's early years with Texaco she was promoted first to contract analyst and then to petroleum contract analyst. During this period she was the "highest ranked contract analyst" in the department.

The events leading to this dispute began on April 16, 1985, the day after Vaughn had returned from a second maternity leave. On that day, Edel complained to Vaughn about the low volume of her prior work and the excessive number of people who had visited her office. Vaughn later spoke to Keller about Edel's criticism. In a memorandum concerning this discussion, Keller wrote that he had told Vaughn that he had been told that Vaughn's productivity "was very low"; that he "had become aware for some time of the excessive visiting by predominantly blacks in her office behind closed doors"; and that "the visiting had a direct bearing on her productivity." Keller then told Vaughn, as he noted in his memo, that "she was allowing herself to become a black matriarch within Texaco" and "that this role was preventing her from doing her primary work for the Company and that it must stop."

Keller's remarks offended Vaughn, so she sought the advice of a friend who was an attorney in Texaco's Legal Department. Keller learned of this meeting and of Vaughn's belief that he was prejudiced. To avoid charges of race discrimination, Keller, as he later testified, told Edel "not [to] have any confrontations with Ms. Vaughn about her work." Keller added that "[i]f he [Edel] was dissatisfied, let it ride. If it got serious, then see [Keller]."

Between April 1985 and April 1987 when Vaughn was fired, neither Edel nor Hatton expressed criticism of Vaughn's work to her. During this period all annual written evaluations of Vaughn's performance (which, incidentally, Vaughn never saw) were "satisfactory." Vaughn also received a merit salary increase, albeit the minimum, for 1986. Keller testified that for several years he had intentionally overstated on Vaughn's annual evaluations his satisfaction with her performance because he did not have the time to spend going through the procedures which would result from a lower "rating" and which could lead to termination.

In 1985-86 Texaco undertook a study to identify activities it could eliminate to save costs. To meet the cost-reduction goal set by that study, the Land Department fired its two "poorest performers," one of whom was Vaughn, as the "lowest ranked" contract analyst; the other was a white male.

B. The Magistrate's Findings

The magistrate found as a matter of fact that Vaughn did have "excessive visitations and [that] her output was down" and that Keller's memorandum on the "black matriarch" conversation accurately detailed what had occurred. She also found that "from April or May of 1975 [sic] until [Vaughn] ... is terminated, she is not in any way formally criticized or told anything regarding these problems" because of Keller's "personality of ... not rocking the boat" and "because she was black." The magistrate added that "I think had the lady been white, Texaco would ... have counselled her and told of the problems." The magistrate stated that when Keller told Vaughn's supervisors not to criticize Vaughn's work, "he's concerned about a Title 7 [sic] suit; he doesn't want any problems."

The magistrate also found that the Land Department fired two people because Texaco wanted to reduce costs and that Keller and O'Dwyer picked the "two lowest rated individuals." The magistrate did "not believe in any way that [Vaughn's termination] is race-related, other than the fact that I do believe had she not been black, that she would have been counselled and would have been criticized."

Noting that the facts were not in dispute, the magistrate found "as a matter of law" that failure to counsel and to criticize Vaughn because she was black and later firing her as one of the "lowest rated" contract analysts was not racial discrimination. ²

III The Standard of Review

The findings of a magistrate trying a case with the consent of the parties receive the same deference as do the findings of a district judge. Carter v. South Central Bell, 912 F.2d 832, 841 (5th Cir.1990); see Lockette v. Greyhound Lines, Inc., 817 F.2d 1182, 1185 (5th Cir.1987). In reviewing the judgment of the magistrate, this court must accept the magistrate's factual findings unless they are "clearly erroneous." Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a). See Pullman-Standard v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 287-88, 102 S.Ct. 1781, 1789-90, 72 L.Ed.2d 66, 78-80 (1982) (intentional discrimination under Title VII is a finding of fact subject to clearly erroneous standard of review); Walsdorf v. Board of Comm'rs, 857 F.2d 1047, 1053 (5th Cir.1988).

IV

A. The Applicable Law

In passing Title VII, Congress announced that "sex, race, religion, and national origin are not relevant to the selection, evaluation, or compensation of employees." Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 1784, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989) (plurality opinion) (emphasis added). ³ The Supreme Court has articulated clear principles for lower courts to follow in deciding Title VII discrimination cases. See United States Postal Serv. Bd. of Governors v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 103 S.Ct. 1478, 75 L.Ed.2d 403 (1983); Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981); McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). These principles apply equally to refusal-to-hire and to discharge cases. Norris v. Hartmarx Specialty Stores, 913 F.2d 253, 254 (5th Cir.1990).

In a typical disparate treatment discharge case, the plaintiff must prove a prima facie case of discrimination by showing that (1) he is a member of a protected group; (2) he was qualified for the job that he held; (3) he was discharged; and (4) after his discharge, his employer filled the position with a person who is not a member of the protected group. Norris, 913 F.2d at 254. Because this case involves choosing employees to discharge with no plan to replace them, the fourth element of the prima facie case is, more appropriately, that after Vaughn's discharge others who were not members of the protected class remained in similar positions. See Burdine, 450 U.S. at 254 n. 6, 101 S.Ct. at 1094 n. 6; McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. ⁴

Once the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case, the defendant must articulate a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for its action. If the defendant articulates such a reason, the plaintiff must then show by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant's reason is mere pretext. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802-04, 93 S.Ct. at 1824-25; Burdine, 450 U.S. at 252-54, 101 S.Ct. at 1093-94; Smith v. Wal-Mart Stores, 891 F.2d 1177, 1178 (5th Cir.1990).

When, however, direct credible evidence of employer discrimination exists, a different process appertains. See Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston, 469 U.S. 111, 121, 105 S.Ct. 613, 621-22, 83 L.Ed.2d 523 (1984) ("the McDonnell Douglas test is inapplicable where the plaintiff presents direct evidence of discrimination"). Defendants can counter direct evidence, such as a statement or written document showing discriminatory motive on its face, "only by showing by a preponderance of the evidence that they would have acted as they did without regard to the plaintiff's race." Guillory v. St. Landry Parish Police Jury, 802 F.2d 822, 824 (5th Cir.1986).

B. The Law Applied

Vaughn presented direct evidence of discrimination. Keller testified that to avoid provoking a discrimination suit he had told Vaughn's supervisors not to confront her about her work. His "black matriarch" memorandum details the events that led Keller to initiate this policy. Keller also testified that he had deliberately overstated Vaughn's evaluations in order not to start the process that might eventually lead to termination. This direct evidence clearly shows that Keller acted as he did solely because Vaughn is black. Texaco has never offered any...