Black v. Reynolds

150 F. Supp. 3d 1273, 2015 WL 8784114, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167240
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Alabama
DecidedDecember 15, 2015
DocketCIVIL ACTION 14-0442-WS-N
StatusPublished

This text of 150 F. Supp. 3d 1273 (Black v. Reynolds) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Black v. Reynolds, 150 F. Supp. 3d 1273, 2015 WL 8784114, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167240 (S.D. Ala. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

WILLIAM H. STEELE, CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on the defendants’ motion for summary judgment. (Doc. 69). The parties have filed briefs and evidentiary materials in support of their respective positions, (Docs. 70-71, 75, 77), and the motion is ripe for resolution. After careful consideration, the Court concludes that the motion is due to be granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

According to the amended complaint, (Doc. 4), the plaintiff was employed by defendant Direct General Corporation (“Direct”) as ah insurance agent until being terminated -in October 2013. Defendant Gary Reynolds was her manager. The amended complaint alleges that the defendants violated Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination by: (1) promoting a male., co-employee (“Ruffin”) over, her and/or placing him in charge of her schedule, (id, at ,2); (2) creating a sexually hostile work environment, (id. at 3-4); and (3) terminating her employment.1 The amended complaint further alleges that the defendants: (4) violated Title VII by firing her in retaliation for complaining of harassment by Reynolds', (id. at 1-2); (5) violated the overtime' provisions of the Fair Labor ’ Standards Act (“FLSA”) by requesting her to work off the clock and by altering Her recorded time, (id. at 4); and (6) breached a contract prohibiting bullying'and harassment. (Id.' at 4).

DISCUSSION

Summary judgment' should be granted only if “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The party seeking summary judgment bears “the initial burden to show the district court, by reference to materials on file, that there are no genuine issues 'of material fact that should be decided at trial.” Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir.1991). The moving party may. meet its. burden in either of two •- ways: (1) by “negating an element of the non-moving party’s claim”; or (2) by “point[ing] to materials on file [1276]*1276that demonstrate that the party bearing the burden of proof at trial will not be able to meet .that burden.” Id. “Even after Celo-tex it is never enough simply to state that the non-moving party cannot meet its burden at trial.” Id.) accord Mullins v. Crowell, 228 F.3d 1305, 1313 (11th Cir.2000); Sammons v. Taylor, 967 F.2d 1533, 1538 (11th Cir.1992).

“If the party moving for summary judgment fails to discharge the 'initial burden, then the motion must' be denied and the court need not consider what, if any, showing the non-movant has made.” Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1116 (11th Cir.1993); accord Mullins, 228 F.3d at 1313; Clark, 929 F.2d at 608.

“If, however, the movant carries the initial summary judgment burden ..., the responsibility then devolves upon the non-movant to show the existence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Fitzpatrick, 2 F.3d at 1116, “If the nonmoving party fails to make ‘a sufficient showing on an essential element of her case with respect to which she has the burden of proof,’ the moving party is entitled to summary judgment.” Clark, 929 F.2d at 608 (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)) (footnote omitted); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(2) (“If a party fails to properly support an assertion of fact or fails to properly address another party’s assertion of fact as required by Rule 56(c), the court may ... consider the fact undisputed for purposes of the motion____”).

In deciding a-'motion.for summary judgment, “[t]he evidence, and all reasonable inferences, must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmovant . . . .” McCormick v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 333 F.3d 1234, 1243 (11th Cir.2003).

There is no burden on the Court to identify unreferenced evidence supporting a party’s position.2 Accordingly, the Court limits its review to the exhibits, and to the specific portions of the exhibits, to which the parties have expressly cited. Likewise, “[t]here is no burden upon the district court to distill every potential argument that could be made based upon the materials before it on summary judgment,” Resolution Trust Corp. v. Dumnar Corp., 43 F.3d. 587, 599 (11th Cir.1995), and the Court accordingly limits its review to those arguments the parties have expressly advanced.

I. Title VII.

A. Employer.

Title VII prohibits an “employer” from engaging in certain practices. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a). Direct says that it was not the plaintiff’s employer and that Direct General Insurance Agency of Tennessee, Inc. (“Tennessee”) was actually her employer. (Doc. 70 at 1 n.1). For this proposition, Direct cites only the defendants’ answer to the amended complaint. (Doc. 13 at 1). But just as a plaintiff cannot avoid summary judgment merely by citing to her complaint,3 a defendant cannot sup[1277]*1277port summary judgment merely by citing to its answer.4

Direct acknowledges that a related entity may be deemed an employer under Title VII. See generally Llampallas v. Mini-Circuits Lab, Inc., 163 F.3d 1236, 1244-45 (11th Cir.1998) (discussing liability of related entities under “single employer” and “joint employer” theories). Direct describes itself as Tennessee’s “parent corporation” and asserts—without citation to any part of the record—that “[n]o ... evidence ... exists in this case” that would support Direct’s liability as a parent corporation. (Doc. 70 at 2 n. 1). As noted above, however, Direct cannot carry its threshold burden on motion for summary judgment simply by offering-its-ipse dixit that the plaintiff cannot prove' an element of her case; instead, Direct must either “negate” that element with record evidence refuting it or “point” to materials in the record that demonstrate the plaintiffs inability to offer supporting evidence. Direct has done neither and has thus failed to carry its initial burden. =

“[W]e now expressly hold that relief under Title VII is available against only the employer and not against individual" employees whose actions would constitute a violation of the-Act, regardless of whether the employer is a public company or a private company." Dearth v. Collins, 441 F.3d 931, 933 (11th Cir.2006) (emphasis omitted). This- is true even when the individual is the president and sole shareholder of the corporate employer. Id. at 932, 934. The amended complaint establishes that Reynolds was merely the plaintiffs “manager” and thus not her employer. (Doc.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
150 F. Supp. 3d 1273, 2015 WL 8784114, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 167240, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/black-v-reynolds-alsd-2015.