Bentley v. Miami Air International, Inc.

262 F. Supp. 3d 1370
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 30, 2017
DocketCASE NO. 16-CV-24607-HUCK/OTAZO-REYES
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 262 F. Supp. 3d 1370 (Bentley v. Miami Air International, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bentley v. Miami Air International, Inc., 262 F. Supp. 3d 1370 (S.D. Fla. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER

Paul C. Huck, United States District Judge

THIS CAUSE came before the Court on the Defendant, Miami Air International, Inc.’s (“Defendant[’s]” or “Miami Airfs]”) Amended Motion for Summary Judgment (“Motion” [D.E. No. 36]), filed on May 30, 2017. In the Motion, Miami Air argues that summary judgment is appropriate with regard to all claims asserted in Plaintiffs Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial [D.E. 1], filed on November 3, 2016. Bentley filed a Response in Opposition to Miami Air’s Motion on June 12, 2017 (the “Response”) [D.E. 47], and Miami Air filed a Reply Memorandum in Support of its Motion on June 22, 2017 (the “Reply”) [D.E. 63]. The Court has carefully reviewed the parties’ written submissions,1 the record, and applicable law, and is otherwise fully advised. For the reasons, stated below, the Court DENIES the Motion as to Counts I and II of thé Complaint.

I. BACKGROUND2

The Plaintiff, George Bentley, is a 64-year old3 airline pilot for Miami Air. (D.E. 60-1 at 2.) He asserts that he was not selected for an upgrade , or promotion to Captain because of hjs age. (D.E. 1.) Bentley began working for Miami Air in 1991 as a Captain, the chief commander on any flight. (D.E. 50-1 at 3.) Bentley had 10 years of prior experience as a Captain for other employers. {Id. at 4.)

In 2008, Bentley took a 23-month; medical leave of absence from Miami Air. {Id. at 4-5.) When Bentley returned to work in August 2010, he was 58 years old. Miami Air required that he be re-qualified as a [1372]*1372Captain because he had not done any Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) training or tests during his medical absence. (Id. at 9-12.) In late August and early September 2010, Bentley underwent training before performing his proficiency checks to re-qualify as a Captain. (Id.) Bentley admits that he failed his proficiency check as a Captain in 2010. (Id.)

After his failure, Bentley underwent additional training and then took a check ride as a First Officer rather than risk failing a second Captain-proficiency check. (Id. at 19-20) Bentley took the First Officer proficiency check on September 18, 2010, and passed, thereby becoming Miami Air’s oldest and most senior First Officer. (Id.) The First Officer is second in command of the flight and takes over if something happens to the Captain. (D.E. 50-3 at 5-6.) In November 2013, while a First Officer, Bentley made an error in computing the weight and balance of the fuel necessary for a takeoff resulting in the tail of the aircraft scraping the runway. (SUF at ¶ 5.) Bentley underwent additional training as a result. (Id.)

Miami Air selects candidates for Captain from its pool of First Officers. (D.E. 50-4 at 3.) The selection process is done by a Pilot Review Board (“PRB”). (SUF at ¶8.) The PRB consists of two management employees, the Chief Pilot and the Chief of Flight Standards, and a union member, the Chairman of the Flight Standards Committee. (Id. at ¶ 8.)

From the time that Bentley returned to Miami Air in 2010 until 2013, no upgrades from First Officer to Captain were made at the company. (Id. at ¶ 7.) From 2013 to 2016, the PRB met on at least seven occasions to select First Officers for upgrade.4 (D.E. 43-1.) It was the customary practice for the PRB to begin at the top of the seniority list of First Officers to select candidates for upgrade to Captain. (D.E. 50-3 at 3.) Therefore, it was unnecessary for any First Officer to make it known that he or she was interested in upgrading. (Id.) Bentley was the most senior and oldest First Officer at Miami Air from 2013 to 2016. (D.E. 43-1.) Although he received one vote (out of three) for selection on at least two occasions, Bentley was not selected for upgrade at any of the meetings. (Id.-, D.E. 50-2 at 2, 6, 9.) During this time period, the PRB selected 22 individuals for upgrade to Captain. (D.E. 43-1.)

Bentley filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) on January 29, 2016. (D.E. 1-1.) On August 11, 2016, the EEOC issued a Notice of Right to Sue. (D.E. 1-2.) Bentley filed a Complaint on November 3, 2016, asserting claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) and the Florida Civil Rights Act (“FCRA”). (D.E. for age discrimination. (D.E. 1.) On May 30, 2017, Miami Air moved for summary judgment.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Summary judgment shall be rendered if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), (e). In making this assessment, the Court “must view all the evidence and all factual inferences reasonably [1373]*1373drawn from the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party,” Stewart v. Happy Herman’s Cheshire Bridge, Inc., 117 F.3d 1278, 1285 (11th Cir. 1997), and “must resolve all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of the non-mov-ant,” United of Omaha Life Ins. Co. v. Sun Life Ins. Co. of Am., 894 F.2d 1555, 1558 (11th Cir. 1990). “An issue of fact is material if it is a legal element of the claim under the applicable substantive law which might affect the outcome of the case.” Burgos v. Chertoff, 274 Fed.Appx. 839, 841 (11th Cir. 2008) (quoting Allen v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11th Cir. 1997) (internal quotation marks omitted)). “A factual dispute is genuine ‘if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.’ ” Channa Imps., Inc. v. Hybur, Ltd., No. 07-21516-CIV, 2008 WL 2914977, at *2 (S.D. Fla. July 25, 2008) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)).

The movant’s initial burden on a motion for summary judgment “consists of a responsibility to inform the court of the basis for its motion and to identify those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115 (11th Cir. 1993) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted)). “[T]he plain language of Rule 56 mandates the -entry of summary judgment against a party who fails to maké a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof- at trial.” Jones v. UPS Ground Freight, 683 F.3d 1283, 1292 (11th Cir. 2012)' (quoting Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
262 F. Supp. 3d 1370, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bentley-v-miami-air-international-inc-flsd-2017.