Williams v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc.
| Decision Date | 01 August 2012 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:10-CV-156 |
| Parties | YVONNIE WILLIAMS, Plaintiff, v. CVS PHARMACY, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas |
Pending before the court is Defendant CVS Pharmacy, Inc.'s ("CVS") Motion for Summary Judgment (#38) on Plaintiff Yvonnie Williams's ("Williams") claim that she was discharged because of her race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2000h-6.1 Williams opposes CVS's motion, asserting that outstanding issues of material fact make judgment as a matter of law inappropriate. Having reviewed the pending motion, the submissions of the parties, the pleadings, and the applicable law, the court is of the opinion that summary judgment is warranted.
This employment discrimination suit arises from CVS's termination of Williams, an African-American female. Prior to her employment with CVS, Williams had a long history as an assistant manager and manager at an Eckerd pharmacy. On August 1, 2004, CVS acquired the Eckerd pharmacy chain, and Williams became a CVS employee, continuing her position as store manager at the company's Nederland, Texas, location. According to CVS guidelines, Williams'sresponsibilities as store manager included protecting store assets, locking security doors, identifying and reacting to in-store repairs, executing the weekly payroll, supervising employees, and stocking the shelves.
In January 2007, CVS relocated its Nederland store to a significantly larger location nearby. Approximately two months prior to the relocation, David Kough ("Kough"), a Caucasian male, became the district manager with responsibility over the Nederland store. Kough claims that he quickly identified Williams as an unsatisfactory employee, chiefly because she struggled to order and stock inventory properly. Because Kough anticipated a dramatic increase in front-end sales volume and pharmacy traffic at the new location, he met with Williams to discuss his concern that she was not equipped to manage the new, larger store in accordance with CVS standards. During that meeting, Kough informed Williams that, despite his reservations, she would have an opportunity to demonstrate her capabilities at the new location.
A few weeks later, numerous area store managers assisted in the relocation of the Nederland store. Specifically, managers transported merchandise in rental trucks from the old to the new location. During this process, Kough and Williams discussed a truck containing CVS merchandise that required unloading, although the parties dispute the exact content of the conversation. CVS claims that, after Williams told Kough she had lost the key to the back of the truck, he arranged to have the padlock removed and instructed Williams to replace the lock and secure the vehicle's door. The following morning, according to Kough, he found the truck without a padlock and inferred that it had been left unsecured overnight. Williams, on the other hand, avers that Kough did not direct her to secure the truck and maintains that doing so was nother responsibility because she had not driven the vehicle that day. Further, Williams contends that the vehicle contained only "damaged goods, junk" rather than valuable merchandise. In any event, when reprimanded by Kough, Williams informed him that she believed other employees were responsible for the truck. In response, Kough made clear that, as store manager, Williams would be held responsible for leaving the vehicle unsecured. Pursuant to the recommendation of the area human resources director, Kough issued Williams a final written warning for failure to protect company assets and a first written warning for failure to perform up to CVS's standards for store manager.
In early 2008, Cooney, a Caucasian male, replaced Kough as district manager. In preparation for Cooney assuming his post, Kough shared information with him, both in-person and via e-mail, about all of the area store managers, including Williams. During those communications, Kough notified Cooney of the rental truck incident and Williams's final written warning.
Thereafter, from early 2008 until August 2008, Williams received several "coachings" from Cooney and at least one warning, via e-mail, that her performance was unacceptable. Specifically, Cooney issued Williams a "coaching" on January 28, 2008, for submitting payroll late and incorrectly. Next, on March 12, 2008, Cooney issued Williams a final warning for the same violation when she again failed to submit payroll timely and accurately. The "coaching" and counseling form informed Williams that she would be terminated if she committed another similar infraction.
Subsequently, on August 20, 2008, Cooney sent Williams an e-mail reprimanding her for maintaining "poor stock and store conditions" after he observed three customers request products that were unavailable on the store's shelves. In the message, Cooney notified Williams that a copy of the communication would be placed in her employment file. Shortly thereafter, on August 27, 2008, Williams received two additional written "coachings." Cooney issued the first warning after Williams failed to file her "promo orders," which were used to ensure that each store had sufficient stock to support items currently on sale, in a timely manner. Williams was also notified of the possibility of termination if she failed to file the orders correctly in the future. Additionally, Williams received a second, unrelated written warning on the same day for failing to train and follow-up with sales associates regarding monthly upsell items.
At deposition, Williams acknowledged her signature on these August 27, 2008, "coachings," but claimed that Cooney directed her to sign them after the fact on the day of her discharge. Moreover, Williams disputes the legitimacy of Cooney's criticisms and maintains that she told him these incidents resulted from the failings of her subordinates, such as her assistant manager. Additionally, Williams now claims Cooney targeted her for termination because he knew his predecessor, Kough, had "set [her] up" for discharge.
During the last week of August 2008, Hurricane Gustav threatened the Nederland area, and a mandatory evacuation was issued. Cooney held a meeting with all store managers to discuss the hurricane and to stress the importance of keeping CVS stores open with managers present before, during, and after the storm. Williams, however, planned to evacuate the area and was, therefore, unable to work during the hurricane. Upon learning of Williams's evacuation plans, Cooneycalled the Nederland store and told Williams's coworker, Darlene Champagne ("Champagne"), that he wanted to talk to Williams about the importance of management being present during the storm and scheduling someone to cover for her in her absence. Champagne informed Cooney that, although Williams was not scheduled to work that day, she planned to visit the Nederland store that evening to finish payroll before evacuating. Cooney responded by requesting that Williams call him when she arrived. When Williams later telephoned Cooney, he implored her to remain in town until he could find a manager to replace her during her absence. Williams claims that when she declined to stay past the evacuation deadline, Cooney became upset and verbally reprimanded her for being irresponsible.
Cooney then assigned Jane Doe ("Doe")2 , who is white, and Andy Flowers ("Flowers"), an African-American, to serve as store managers at the Nederland location during Williams's absence. While Doe and Flowers were covering the store, Hurricane Gustav damaged the front automatic doors and the emergency doors on the side and back of the building. Cooney instructed Doe and Flowers to inform Williams of the broken doors and to direct her to file a request with the CVS company-wide repair line. Both Doe and Flowers claim that on September 2, 2008, they told Williams about the malfunctioning doors and reminded her to ensure their repair.
Several weeks later, Hurricane Ike hit the Nederland area. Williams evacuated from September 11 through 18, 2008, during which time Doe again managed the Nederland store. Onthe morning of September 14, 2008, after the hurricane had passed, Doe went to check the store for damage. When she arrived, Doe observed pieces of the metal doorframe on the floor inside the store and merchandise strewn about. Although she initially assumed the store had been burglarized, the police later told Doe that officers had observed the store doors open that morning during their post-hurricane patrol, closed them, and exited through the back of the store. The officers surmised that hurricane winds had likely blown the doors open. Based on this information, Doe concluded that a burglary probably had not occurred.
When Cooney arrived at the store shortly thereafter, he observed the broken door frame and the displaced merchandise and also presumed a break-in had occurred.3 In spite of the officers' opinion that the debris was caused by Hurricane Ike, Cooney instructed Doe to call the police and report a burglary. Doe responded that she felt uncomfortable calling to report a crime because the police had already determined a break-in was unlikely. Cooney, however, allegedly insisted, stating that he might need the report in the future and that Doe may one day be managing the Nederland store. Accordingly, Doe called the police, who recorded the possible burglary but did not revisit the scene.
As a result of this incident, Cooney questioned whether Williams ensured the repair of the broken doors after Hurricane Gustav. In response to Cooney's inquiry, Williams produced two work order numbers and completion codes that she claimed corresponded with the repair of the doors. Cooney and his secretary both...
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