Yagudaev v. Credit Agricole Am. Servs.

• Decision Date: 06 February 2020
• Docket Number: 18 Civ. 513 (PAE)
• Parties: ALBERT YAGUDAEV, Plaintiff, v. CREDIT AGRICOLE AMERICA SERVICES, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

ALBERT YAGUDAEV, Plaintiff, v. CREDIT AGRICOLE AMERICA SERVICES, INC., Defendant.

18 Civ. 513 (PAE)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

February 6, 2020

OPINION & ORDER

PAUL A. ENGELMAYER, District Judge:

This case involves claims of age discrimination and retaliation by a financial services employee. Plaintiff Albert Yagudaev was an employee of defendant Credit Agricole America Services, Inc. ("CAASI"), assigned to CAASI's Risk and Permanent Control division, between September 2005 and May 13, 2016, when Yagudaev was terminated. He brings this action for violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621, et seq. ("ADEA"), the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL"), and the New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL"). He alleges that CAASI terminated him, and otherwise discriminated against him, on the basis of age, and retaliated against him for complaining about such discrimination.

With discovery complete, CAASI has moved on multiple grounds for summary judgment on Yagudaev's claims. Yagudaev opposes CAASI's motion, arguing that disputes of material fact preclude summary judgment. For the following reasons, the Court grants CAASI's motion.

I. Background

A. Factual Background¹

1. The Parties

CAASI is an entity registered with, and having its principal place of business in, the State of New York. JSF ¶ 1. CAASI provides back office and administrative support to other Credit Agricole entities in the U.S. These entities are all wholly owned, directly or indirectly, by the French banking corporation Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (collectively, "Credit Agricole"). Id. ¶ 2.

Yagudaev is a New Jersey resident who was formerly employed by CAASI. Id. ¶ 3. Born in July 1965, Yagudaev was age 40 when he began working for CAASI on or about September 19, 2005. Id. ¶¶ 4-5.

2. Yagudaev's Employment with CAASI

At all relevant times, Yagudaev was an employee in the Market Activity Monitoring ("MAM") team. Id. ¶ 7. The MAM team was within the Market Risk Management ("MRM") group, which, in turn, was within CAASI's Risk and Permanent Control division ("RPC"). Id. Yagudaev worked for CAASI as a Profit & Loss Analyst with a corporate title of "Grade E4 Senior Associate." Id. ¶ 5. In his role at CAASI, Yagudaev supported Credit Agricole's capital market activities by producing daily reports of profit and loss ("P&L") for certain desks, with explanations and analyses of the risk factors relevant to the P&L that he reported. Def. 56.1 ¶ 7. Yagudaev's duties also included, inter alia, detecting, reporting, and analyzing "off market" trades; working with the Finance team to identify, explain, and remedy any discrepancies between his P&L reports and those produced by the Finance team; and monitoring the "gap" created between the assets and liabilities of Credit Agricole's "Treasury" business line. Id. ¶ 8. Yagudaev was hired on September 19, 2005 at a base salary of $90,000. Id. ¶ 151. He received a $2,000 salary increase after his first full year of work. He never again received a salary increase. Id.

At all relevant times, Yagudaev reported directly to the head of the MAM team, who reported directly to the head of MRM group, who reported directly to the head of the RPC division. JSF ¶ 8. In summer 2009, Maurice Michael Dimenschstein became MRM's head; at all relevant times thereafter, he was Yagudaev's second-level manager. Id. ¶ 10. Dimenschstein was born in 1969. Id. In September 2015, Anne Girard became the head of the RPC division, replacing a predecessor who had held the role for more than five years. Id. ¶ 11. At all relevanttimes thereafter, Girard, who was born in 1968, remained division head. Id. Dimenschstein reported directly to Girard. See id. ¶ 8. At the time of Yagudaev's eventual discharge, there were two other permanent full-time employees in MAM: Simon Finn, who was born in 1976, and Shivanand Shetty, who was born in 1974. Id. ¶ 32.

Yagudaev's direct managers—i.e., the several individuals who, at different times, served as the head of the MAM team—were all French nationals who rotated into the U.S. for a finite and usually predetermined period of time. Id. ¶ 12. Between September 2007 and September 2010, Lionel Denizet was the head of MAM (and Yagudaev's direct manager). Id. ¶¶ 8, 13. Denizet was replaced by Florent Bonnet, at which time Denizet returned to France. Id. ¶ 13. Bonnet held the role between September 2010 and September 2013, at which time Bonnet returned to France and was replaced by Thomas Damagnez. Id. ¶ 14.

Damagnez, who was born in 1979, was at CAASI in New York on a three-year assignment. Id. ¶¶ 14-15. In August 2016, at the end of his time as head of MAM, Damagnez returned to Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank in France. Id. ¶ 15.

3. Yagudaev's Job Performance

Throughout Yagudaev's employment with CAASI, he received an annual performance appraisal.² Id. ¶ 16. CAASI utilized a rating system whereby it graded employees on a five-level scale, with each grade representing a different level of performance. JSF, Exs. 1-8; Def. Reply 56.1 ¶ 18. The specific language accompanying each grade varied slightly over the years. Pl. Counter 56.1 ¶ 21; compare JSF, Ex. 1 at 3, with JSF, Ex. 4 at 5. However, as a general matter, when CAASI evaluated employees, a rating of two out of five was considered to be"below expectations," a rating of three out of five was considered "meets expectations," a rating of four out of five meant "above expectations," and a rating of five out of five meant "outstanding." Def. 56.1 ¶ 21; Def. Reply 56.1 ¶ 21; see also Roth Decl., Ex. 1 ("Yagudaev Dep.") at 103 (Yagudaev conceding at his deposition that a "two out of five" is "below expectations").³

Yagudaev received a performance evaluation for 2007 issued by his then-manager Denizet. Def. 56.1 ¶ 19. In the 2007 evaluation, Denizet gave Yagudaev a two out of five rating—i.e., the second-lowest rating—for both "overall competency assessment" and "overall performance assessment." Id. ¶ 20; see JSF, Ex. 1 at 3. Denizet wrote about Yagudaev in the 2007 evaluation: "Despite his dedication and commitment, Albert needs to work faster and in a more organized manner. Albert lacks of reliability [sic] and should pay more attention to quality and internal procedure." Def. 56.1 ¶ 22.⁴ Denizet also provided a 2008 evaluation of Yagudaev,in which Denizet again gave Yagudaev the second-lowest out of five grades for "overall performance assessment," id. ¶ 26, but gave him a three out of five for "overall competency assessment," Pl. Counter 56.1 ¶ 26. In the 2008 evaluation, Denizet wrote: "[Yagudaev]'s performances are often reduced due to a lack of method. A greater sense of interest and organization should help him enhance the quality of the work produced. [Yagudaev] has room for improvement." Def. 56.1 ¶ 27. Yagudaev signed each of Denizet's evaluations. Id. ¶¶ 23, 28. Despite having the opportunity, before signing, to write anything on the evaluation in a section designated for his comments, Yagudaev wrote nothing on either evaluation. Id. ¶¶ 24, 29.

In September 2010, Bonnet replaced Denizet as the Head of MAM (and thus as Yagudaev's direct manager). JSF ¶¶ 13, 14. Bonnet provided Yagudaev's annual performance evaluations for 2010, 2011, and 2012. Def. 56.1 ¶¶ 30, 36, 49. For 2010 and 2011, Bonnet gave Yagudaev the second-lowest out of five grades for both "overall performance assessment" and "global evaluation." Id. ¶¶ 31, 37. These grades were accompanied by the language "[i]nfériure aux attentes" and "[e]n développement," Pl. Counter 56.1 ¶¶ 31, 37, which loosely translate to "lower than expected" and "in development," respectively, Def. Reply 56.1 ¶¶ 31, 37.

In his comments on Yagudaev's 2010 performance evaluation, Bonnet wrote that Yagudaev's "[o]verall [a]ppraisal is considered below expectations because Albert needs to be attentive to what is communicated to external clients [and internal supervisors] . . . ." Def. 56.1 ¶ 32. Bonnet further wrote that Yagudaev "needs to pay more attention before publishing the P[&]L and Attribution. A better control of the P&L file production with the [setup] of consistency checks will help him to send a reliable P[&]L. He also needs to improve his communication with the Manager of MAM and the RM." Id. ¶ 33.

One year later, in his comments on Yagudaev's 2011 performance evaluation, Bonnet wrote:

[Yagudaev] is in charge as a product controller at MAM department since 6 years [sic]. He's considered as a senior staff member. He should have acquired the knowledge to produce P[&]L with a high standar[d] of quality. [Yagudaev] is not enough rigorous [sic] and attentive with its daily production. Files are fuzzy, they need to be simplified, easy to understand for the other members of the team and his manager. Consequently, this year, mistakes have been done which would have been avoided with more attentiveness. Before publishing any results to our client[s], products controllers must ensure that the production of P[&]Ls is reliable and accurate. Significant efforts must be done by [Yagudaev] for this year in order to improve the quality of his job.

Id. ¶ 38. On that same evaluation, Yagudaev's second-level manager, Dimenschstein, wrote:

I would like to highlight that too many mistakes were done in the production during 2011, despite [a] few reminders and requests to pay more attention, to be more cautious before sending any report. Moreover[,] Albert did not inform properly his management about important issues whereas he must have done it. It is a real source of concern for his management. Globally the performance is a real disappoint[]ment."

Id. ¶ 39. Yagudaev signed (or electronically acknowledged) each of the 2010 and 2011 evaluations. Id. ¶¶ 34, 40; see Pl. Counter 56.1 ¶ 34. Despite having the opportunity, before signing, to write anything on the evaluation in a section designated for his comments, Yagudaev again wrote nothing on...