Woythal v. Tex-Tenn Corp.

• Decision Date: 09 June 1997
• Docket Number: TEX-TENN,No. 96-5020,96-5020
• Citation: 112 F.3d 243
• Parties: 73 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1103, 70 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,658, 65 USLW 2759 Gerald C. WOYTHAL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v.CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 243

112 F.3d 243

73 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1103,

70 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,658, 65 USLW 2759

Gerald C. WOYTHAL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TEX-TENN CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 96-5020.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued Nov. 21, 1996.

Decided April 25, 1997.

Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing

En Banc Denied June 9, 1997.

Donald F. Mason, Jr. (argued and briefed), D. Bruce Shine, Shine & Mason, Kingsport, TN, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Richard M. Currie, Jr. (briefed), Cherie S. Adams (argued and briefed), Wilson, Worley, Gamble & Ward, Kingsport, TN, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before KENNEDY, BOGGS, and WOOD, ^* Circuit Judges.

HARLINGTON WOOD, JR., Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-Appellant Gerald Woythal appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Defendant-Appellee, Tex-Tenn Corporation. Woythal, a sixty-eight year old male, filed a complaint under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 621, alleging that Tex-Tenn fired him because of his age. Tex-Tenn filed a motion for summary judgment, and because the court found that Woythal could not prove that Tex-Tenn intentionally discriminated against him because of his age, it granted summary judgment in Tex-Tenn's favor. Woythal appeals, and we affirm.

Gerald Woythal was one of Tex-Tenn's founding investors in 1981, and worked there as an engineer from 1981 until December 1993. From December 1988 until December 1993, he was Tex-Tenn's Chief Engineer. For most of that time, Woythal answered only to Tex-Tenn's president, John Seifert. In early 1993, however, Seifert created the job of Operations Manager and hired James Carico to fill the position. One of the Operations Manager's duties was supervising the engineering department, including Woythal. Carico and Woythal never quite hit it off, and Woythal claims to have had difficulty communicating with Carico, finding him unavailable when he was needed. Carico characterizes Woythal as displaying a negative attitude and as being apathetic about the company's future.

Tex-Tenn was experiencing rapid growth at this time, and Seifert was concerned about the engineering department's ability to meet increased demands. He decided to hire an additional engineer as an assistant for Woythal, a decision that Woythal supported. However, Seifert found Woythal to be uninterested in helping to recruit a new engineer. Thus, without asking Woythal to review resumes or interview any of the applicants, Seifert and Carico hired Bill Soltes, then age 39, to fill the position.

At about this same time, rumors circulated among Tex-Tenn employees that Woythal was considering retirement. Several employees later testified that Woythal told them that he was planning to retire soon. Concerned about retaining sufficient engineering support for Tex-Tenn's future, Seifert inquired of Woythal several times what he wanted to do for Tex-Tenn and what his plans for retirement were. Each time, Woythal indicated that he wanted to continue working full-time until at least age 70. Seifert, however, found Woythal's answers evasive, and to him, Woythal seemed unwilling to participate in the process of planning for Tex-Tenn's growth and expansion. He asked Carico to try his hand at motivating Woythal to become more involved.

Carico met with Woythal in October 1993, but that is the extent to which the parties agree on the events of that meeting. Woythal asserts that the two simply spoke about various engineering matters. Carico, on the other hand, testified that he discussed Woythal's lack of determination to solve problems, his lack of interest in new projects, and his negative attitude. Woythal denies this. In any event, Seifert was still unsatisfied with Woythal's responses to questions about his plans for the future, and he made more inquiries about Woythal's rumored retirement. He insisted that Carico get a definite commitment from Woythal on what his plans were.

Carico and Woythal met again on December 20, 1993, and again the parties disagree on what was said at the meeting. Woythal maintains that Carico terminated his employment; Carico testified that he did not terminate Woythal, but instead told him that Tex-Tenn needed his participation, and that if Woythal chose not to participate, he would not be needed. Carico informed Woythal that he wanted to know by the end of December whether Woythal intended to be an active participant in the company. Regardless of what was actually said, Woythal interpreted Carico's message to mean that he was fired, and he cleared out his office and was gone by December 30. Seifert and Carico insist that they did not fire Woythal, but that he chose to either resign or retire. In the days before Woythal left Tex-Tenn, Seifert learned that Woythal believed he had been fired. Seifert told Woythal he was sorry Woythal had decided to leave. He expressed a desire to work things out, and said Woythal could keep his keys and could come back any time he changed his mind.

Bill Soltes started work on January 1, 1994, and because Woythal was no longer working at Tex-Tenn, was given the position of Chief Engineer, Woythal's former position. Soon after, Woythal filed suit under the ADEA, charging that Tex-Tenn had fired him because of his age and had replaced him with a younger employee. The district court granted summary judgment in Tex-Tenn's favor, holding that although it assumed for purposes of summary judgment that Woythal had stated a prima facie case of age discrimination, he did not have enough evidence to convince a reasonable jury that Tex-Tenn had intentionally discriminated against him because of his age.

We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, examining the record and drawing all inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. City of Mount Clemens v. United States Envtl. Protection Agency, 917 F.2d 908, 914 (6th Cir.1990). Our task is to determine whether summary judgment was appropriate in this case; thus, we will examine the record as a whole to determine whether a genuine issue of material fact exists or whether Tex-Tenn is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). In order to prevail, Woythal must provide sufficient facts that, if believed, would allow a reasonable jury to conclude that Tex-Ten fired him. He also must produce "direct, indirect, or circumstantial evidence that [his] age was a factor in the decision to terminate [him] and that 'but for' this factor [he] would not have been terminated." Gagne v. Northwestern Nat'l Ins. Co., 881 F.2d 309, 314-15 (6th Cir.1989), citing Chappell v. GTE Products Corp., 803 F.2d 261, 265-66 (6th Cir.1986).

Under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting method for proving employment discrimination claims when no direct evidence of discrimination exists, Woythal's first step is to state a prima facie case of age discrimination. To do this, he must prove that:

1. He is a member of a protected class;

2. He is qualified to do his job;

3. Despite his qualifications, his employment situation was adversely affected; and

4. His position was filled by a younger individual.

McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); see O'Connor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corp., 517 U.S. 308, ---- - ----, 116 S.Ct. 1307, 1309-10, 134 L.Ed.2d 433 (1996) (assuming that McDonnell Douglas framework is applicable in ADEA cases). If Woythal can prove these four elements, the burden of production shifts to Tex-Tenn to rebut the prima facie case by stating a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for its actions. Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 254, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1094, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981). Once this is done, Woythal, who retains the burden of proof at all times, must produce sufficient evidence to allow a jury to reasonably reject Tex-Tenn's explanation. St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 510-11, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 2748-50, 125 L.Ed.2d 407; Manzer v. Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Co., 29 F.3d 1078, 1083 (6th Cir.1994).

In its motion for summary judgment, Tex-Tenn claimed that Woythal had not stated sufficient facts to even establish a prima facie case. While it admitted that Woythal was a member of a protected class, qualified to do his job, and was replaced by a younger person, Tex-Tenn contested Woythal's claim that his employment situation had been adversely affected because it denies that Woythal was fired. Thus, a genuine issue of fact exists as to the existence of a prima facie case, and the district court, properly viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Woythal, let the case proceed on the assumption that he had been fired. See Lenz v. Erdmann Corp., 773 F.2d 62, 64 (6th Cir.1985); EEOC v....