Carter v. New Venture Gear, Inc.

310 F. App'x 454
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedFebruary 18, 2009
DocketNo. 07-4672-cv
StatusPublished

This text of 310 F. App'x 454 (Carter v. New Venture Gear, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. New Venture Gear, Inc., 310 F. App'x 454 (2d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

Reba Carter appeals the order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Mordue, J.) granting summary judgment in favor of defendants-appellees. Carter had brought suit in the district court under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e to 2000e-17 (collectively “Title VII”); id. §§ 1981, 1981A (collectively [456]*456“ § 1981”); id. §§ 158,185, alleging that her employer, New Venture Gear, Inc. and Daimler Chrysler Corp. (collectively “NVG”), committed racial discrimination, disparate treatment, and created a hostile work environment through racial and sexual harassment, and that her union, the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America Local 624, and its international affiliate, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (collectively the “Union”) breached the duty of fair representation. Carter appeals the dismissal of all claims.1 We assume familiarity by the parties as to the facts, the procedural context, and the specification of appellate issues.

This Court reviews de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment, construing presented evidence and resolving ambiguities in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Doro v. Sheet Metal Workers’ Int’l Ass’n, 498 F.3d 152, 155 (2d Cir.2007). Summary judgment is only warranted upon a showing by the movant “that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A dispute about a genuine issue of material fact exists if the evidence is such that “a reasonable [fact-finder] could return a verdict for the non-moving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

I. Claims Against NVG

A. Dismissal of Title VII Claims

To make out a prima facie case under Title VII, a plaintiff must show: (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she is qualified to perform the job in question; (3) there was an adverse employment action; and (4) circumstances supporting an inference of discrimination. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 510, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002) (citing, inter alia, McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973)). Once a plaintiff establishes a prima facie Title VII case, the burden shifts to the employer to provide a legitimate, non discriminatory reason for the employment decision at issue. See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 142, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000). If the employer satisfies this requirement, the burden shifts back to the plaintiff to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer was acting with pretext. See St. Mary’s Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 530, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993).

1. Racial Discrimination

Applying the McDonnell Douglas analysis to the case at bar, it is undisputed that the plaintiff, as an African American, is a member of a protected class, and the district court found that she had made the minimal showing needed to satisfy the second element of the test. [457]*457Slattery v. Swiss Reinsurance Am. Corp., 248 F.3d 87, 91-92 (2d Cir.2001). However, Carter failed to present evidence sufficient to establish that the third or fourth elements of the McDonnell Douglas test were satisfied with respect to NVG’s job assignment to Carter. Carter failed to raise any genuine issue that NVG’s measures constituted an adverse employment action against her. Carter did not meet her burden of raising a genuine issue of material fact that her assignment to an admittedly equally paying and comparable job was “materially less prestigious, materially less suited to [her] skills and expertise, or materially less conducive to career advancement.” Galabya v. New York City Bd. of Educ., 202 F.3d 636, 641 (2d Cir.2000). Nor do the circumstances surrounding Carter’s allegations give rise to an inference of race discrimination. No assertions made by the plaintiff support the notion that NVG contemplated race in her assignment. Furthermore, even assuming that plaintiff had made out a prima facie case, NVG has met its burden of articulating a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its actions, namely, Carter’s perceived lack of productivity and extended absences, and Carter has failed to demonstrate that the reason given was pretext. Thus, Carter has not met her ultimate burden of showing that she has been the victim of racial discrimination.

2. Disparate Treatment

A plaintiff alleging discrimination based on disparate disciplinary treatment must demonstrate, in applying the McDonnell Douglas test, that she was subject to an adverse employment action “and that a similarly situated employee not in the relevant protected group received better treatment.” McGuinness v. Lincoln Hall, 263 F.3d 49, 53 (2d Cir.2001). Specifically, a plaintiff must show that she engaged in an act of “comparable seriousness,” but was punished more severely than similarly situated coworkers based on an application of disciplinary rules or a code of conduct. Graham v. Long Island R.R., 230 F.3d 34, 40 (2d Cir.2000).

As the district court pointed out, Carter has provided no evidence that similarly situated black workers were punished differently than white coworkers for actual, comparable incidents. Carter states she reported to an apparently indifferent management that a white coworker was smoking marijuana on the job, though she does not provide analogous occurrences involving black employees smoking marijuana that would support disparate treatment based on race. Furthermore, no reasonable factfinder would infer disparate treatment from NVG promptly calling police when an employee threatened to shoot coworkers, but “only” holding a departmental meeting when plaintiff had a brownie thrown at her. Thus, Carter failed to present any genuine issue of material fact supporting disparate treatment by NVG.

B. Dismissal of Racial Harassment Claim

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Related

Vaca v. Sipes
386 U.S. 171 (Supreme Court, 1967)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green
411 U.S. 792 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks
509 U.S. 502 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A.
534 U.S. 506 (Supreme Court, 2002)
Thomas v. Roach
165 F.3d 137 (Second Circuit, 1999)
Tara C. Galabya v. New York City Board of Education
202 F.3d 636 (Second Circuit, 2000)
Christopher Graham v. Long Island Rail Road
230 F.3d 34 (Second Circuit, 2000)
Terry v. Ashcroft
336 F.3d 128 (Second Circuit, 2003)
Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc.
530 U.S. 133 (Supreme Court, 2000)
Mathirampuzha v. Potter
548 F.3d 70 (Second Circuit, 2008)

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Bluebook (online)
310 F. App'x 454, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-new-venture-gear-inc-ca2-2009.