Wright v. Autozone Stores, Inc.
| Decision Date | 17 June 2013 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 1:11–CV–1245. |
| Citation | 951 F.Supp.2d 973 |
| Parties | Sonia M. WRIGHT, Plaintiff, v. AUTOZONE STORES, INC., Autozone Inc., and Autozoners, LLC, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Eric J. Pelton, Kienbaum Opperwall Hardy & Pelton PLC, Birmingham, MI, Stephen R. Drew, Drew Cooper & Anding, Grand Rapids, MI, for Plaintiff.
Celeste Laborde McNulty, Jones Walker Waechter Poitevent Carrere & Denegre, New Orleans, LA, Laurie Michele Chess, Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre, Miami, FL, Tracy Kern, Jones Walker Waechter Poitevent Carrere & Denegre, New Orleans, LA, for Defendants.
Plaintiff, Sonia Wright, brought this action against Defendants for various claims arising out of her employment and termination, including sex discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the Elliott–Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.2101 et seq. Defendant AutoZoners, LLC (AutoZone) has filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (docket no. 35).1 For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant AutoZone's motion in part and deny it in part.2,3
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On or about November 9, 2005, AutoZone hired Wright as a Parts Sales Manager. 4 ( Sometime after May 2006, Brian Waldschmidt became the Store Manager for the AutoZone store in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where Wright worked. (Waldschmidt Dep., Ex. G, Docket no. 40, Page ID 930, 938.) As Store Manager, Waldschmidt was Wright's immediate supervisor.During her employment, Wright frequently expressed her interest in promotion. (Wright Dep., Ex. 1, Docket no. 36, Page ID 422.) AutoZone did not have a formal, written procedure for posting job promotion and transfer opportunities. Promotions and transfers were often requested verbally and processed without formal interviews. (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 806; Marshall Dep., Ex. E, Docket no. 40, Page ID 842, 844.)
After working with Waldschmidt for some time, Wright became concerned that Waldschmidt “really had a problem with women.” (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 807.) Wright was concerned that Waldschmidt and the district manager, Gary Bailey, would not promote her because she was a woman ( id. at 781, 786), and Waldschmidt was looking for a reason to fire her ( id. at 786). As evidence that Waldschmidt and Bailey would not promote her because she was a woman, Wright cites statements by Waldschmidt and Bailey that other employees have reported to her.5 Wright also alleges that similarly situated male employees were promoted although she was more qualified for promotion. For example, Wright alleges that Peter Marshall, a male employee with less experience than Wright, was promoted to the same position that Wright held, but just a few months later was promoted to the position of Commercial Sales Manager, a position for which Wright had expressed an interest. ( Waldschmidt approached and selected Marshall for both the Parts Sales Manager and Commercial Sales Manager positions. (Marshall Dep., Ex. E, Docket no. 40, Page ID 843–44.) Waldschmidt never conducted an interview. ( Id.) Waldschmidt told Marshall that although Bailey would generally interview candidates, Waldschmidt and Bailey were “so close that [Bailey] would trust [Waldschmidt's] decision.” ( Id.)
Similarly, Wright alleges that Donny Terlisner was promoted to the position of Assistant Store Manager, even though Wright was more qualified. (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 781.) Terlisner testified that he believed Wright should have been promoted to the position because she had more years of experience at AutoZone, knew store policy better, had a better understanding of how the computers operated, and knew how to find things. (Terlisner Dep., Ex. I, Docket no. 40, Page ID 1036). At one point, when Waldschmidt promoted someone other than Wright to be a Commercial Sales Manager,6 Wright expressed to Terlisner her concern that she was not hired because she was female. ( Id.) Terlisner approached Waldschmidt and asked why he did not promote Wright to the Commercial Sales Manager position even though she was qualified for it. ( Id. at 1039.) Waldschmidt responded that he did not think Wright “could handle it.” ( Id.)
At various times during her employment, Wright alleges that she reported to her supervisors her concerns that she was being treated unequally on the basis of her sex. For example, sometime before June 2009, Wright confronted Waldschmidt about his scheduling practices because he scheduled her to close the store more frequently than male employees who held the same position that Wright held. (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 768, 769; Marshall Dep., Ex. E, Docket no. 40, Page ID 855; Blackamore Dep., Ex. F, Docket no. 40, Page ID 899.) According to Wright, she approached Waldschmidt about his unequal treatment of her on “more than one occasion.” (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 786.) Sometime in 2009, Wright also complained to Bailey about Waldschmidt's unequal treatment of her. ( See id. at 785.) Additionally, on or about July 27, 2009, Wright called Billy Fowler, Regional Human Resources Manager for AutoZone, to complain that the work environment was hostile toward women, that Waldschmidt had contributed to the hostility, and Bailey had not acted to address it. ( Id. at 785.) Waldschmidt denies that Wright has complained about harassment or unequal treatment. (Waldschmidt Dep., Ex. G, Docket no. 40, Page ID 948–49.) Fowler attests that Wright never reported any alleged discrimination or harassment to him. (Fowler Decl., Ex. 3, Docket no. 37, Page ID 553.)
On July 30, 2009, Wright had an altercation with coworker Dondrell Blackamore. Wright had asked three of her coworkers—Blackamore, Joe Simms, and Nick Brown—to the break room to talk. (Ex. Y, Docket no. 42, Page ID 1093; id. at Ex. AA, Page ID 1100; id. at Ex. CC, Page ID 1106.) She told them that the conflict between her and Waldschmidt had nothing to do with them and that she refused to be harassed at her job. (Ex. Y, Docket no. 42, Page ID 1093; id. at Ex. AA, Page ID 1100; id. at Ex. CC, Page ID 1106.) Blackamore responded to Wright, “nobody give a fuck what [she] would say,” and for Wright to “go kill [herself], go somewhere and die because nobody gave a fuck what [she] was talking about” and called Wright a “cockeyed bitch,” among other names. (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 784, 785.) At some point, the employees returned to the sales floor and Wright used vulgarity toward Blackamore on the sales floor. ( Id.) However, the parties dispute whether any customers were present. Waldschmidt was on vacation, but Brown informed Waldschmidt of the altercation, and Waldschmidt relayed the information to Bailey and Human Resources. (Waldschmidt Dep., Ex. G, Docket no. 40, Page ID 952–53.)
On August 4, 2009, Fowler went to the Benton Harbor AutoZone store to investigate the events of July 30, 2009. Wright thought that Fowler was there to investigate her complaints about Waldschmidt's unequal treatment of her. (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 814.) According to Wright, when she met with Fowler, he dismissed her harassment complaint, calling it a lie and telling her that she was “grasping for straws.” ( Id. at 785.) Wright testified that Fowler denied that the work environment was hostile from the beginning, that he did not allow her to show him evidence to support her complaint, and that he used harsh gestures and tones toward Wright. ( Id.) There is no evidence that Fowler communicated Wright's complaint to higher level supervisors or followed any company policy to address or remedy her complaint. Fowler testified that he did not inform Edward Lewis, Regional Manager of AutoZone, of Wright's complaint. (Fowler Decl., Ex. 3, Docket no. 37, Page ID 553.)
Fowler took statements from seven AutoZone employees about the altercation. In addition to Blackamore, two employees stated that they had witnessed at least one customer in the store when Wright used “cursing” or “swear words,” and one additional employee stated that Wright had yelled loudly enough for customers to hear. (Exs. Y–EE, Docket no. 42.) First, Randy Lambrecht—whom Wright alleges is a relative of Waldschmidt (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 796)—stated that Wright “was cursing ... in front of customers.” (Ex. BB, Docket no. 42, Page ID 1103.) Second, although Brown could not recall specific details, he stated that Wright used “swear words,” including the word “fuck,” while customers were present. ( Id. at Ex. CC.) Finally, Simms stated that Wright called Blackamore a “bitch” and “motherfuck[er]” and told Blackamore that he was “not shit for not talking to her.” ( Id. at Ex. AA.) Simms also stated that Wright spoke loudly enough for customers to hear, although he never stated that there were actually customers present. ( Id.)
According to Terlisner, the following day, a customer called to complain that a female employee in a gray shirt had raised her voice inappropriately in front of the customer. (Ex. Z, Docket no. 42, Page ID 1097.) The customer never stated that the female employee had used “curse words.” ( Id.) No one recorded the customer's name or contact information. Wright admits that she “cursed back,” at Blackamore, but denies that there were customers in the store. (Wright Dep., Ex. D, Docket no. 40, Page ID 797; Ex. Y, Docket no. 42, Page ID 1093–94.) Wright alleges that the purported customer complaint was fabricated and Waldschmidt pressured the employees who gave statements to Fowler to fabricate that there were customers in the store. ( Id. at 790.)
Blackamore testified that Waldschmidt did, in...
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