Castle v. Central Benefits Mutual Insurance

751 F. Supp. 717, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15905, 57 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 41,122, 1990 WL 183766
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedNovember 21, 1990
DocketNo. C2-87-0030
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 751 F. Supp. 717 (Castle v. Central Benefits Mutual Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Castle v. Central Benefits Mutual Insurance, 751 F. Supp. 717, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15905, 57 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 41,122, 1990 WL 183766 (S.D. Ohio 1990).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

GEORGE C. SMITH, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court pursuant to the motion filed by the defendants on October 17, 1988 for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff, Janice E. Castle, initiated this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, on January 15, 1987. Plaintiff further seeks relief under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985, 1986, and 1988. For the foregoing reasons, defendants’ motion is hereby GRANTED.

FACTS

Plaintiff, Janice E. Castle, was employed by Central Benefits Mutual Insurance Co. (Central Benefits) as a Health Claims Examiner II in December, 1985. Ms. Castle worked for Central Benefits through December, 1986. During the course of her one year at Central Benefits, she applied for a promotion seven times. Though she was considered for several of the promotions, in each case the promotion was given to another employee of Central Benefits. In December, 1986, Ms. Castle was terminated from her employ at Central Benefits.

Plaintiff alleges inter alia, that she was harassed, denied promotional opportunities, and discharged because of her race in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Plaintiff states that in denying her various promotions, defendants conspired and did intentionally discriminate against her. Accordingly, plaintiff also seeks redress under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985 and 1986.

[719]*719Defendant, Central Benefits, is an Ohio corporation which provides insurance to Blue Cross Health Care Plan subscribers. According to the complaint, defendants Gerald Morrow, Allen Heilman, Vicki Qur-aishi, Kathy Moore, Joyce Massie, Mary E. Johnson, and Dennis Kackley are supervisory personnel who were employed by Central Benefits during the time when Ms. Castle was also employed. According to the defendants, the Medical/Surgical Claims Department is composed of four different areas including Technical User Support, Prepayment Activities, Dental and Vision, and Claims Examining. The Claims Examining area was divided into two different units which were headed by a supervisor and a group leader. Plaintiff worked in Unit D of the Medical/Surgical Claims Examining Department. Defendants claim Ms. Castle remained in her Claims Examiner position until her discharge by supervisor Kathy Moore on December 10, 1986.

Defendants do not deny that during her employ at Central Benefits, plaintiff did apply for a number of promotions. However, defendants assert that pursuant to the company’s policies and procedures, its promotional opportunities depend solely on ability, performance and contribution to the company’s success. Accordingly, defendants assert that plaintiff was denied promotions because of her own inexperience and that in each case the position was filled by a more qualified applicant. Defendants assert that plaintiff was not discharged for any reason based on race or with discriminatory intent. Further, defendants assert that the promotions which plaintiff applied for were filled by both black and white applicants, solely on the basis of their individual qualifications.

In answer to plaintiff’s discharge claim, defendants contend that Ms. Castle was discharged for valid reasons. Throughout plaintiff’s employ, defendants assert that they maintained an attendance and punctuality policy which requires employees to “return promptly from breaks and lunch breaks and to continue working until their scheduled departure time.” (Defendants’ Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, p. 4). Defendants have submitted evidence which shows Ms. Castle experienced numerous problems returning from breaks and lunch throughout the 1986 period. Thus, according to defendants, plaintiff’s discharge was in part the result of a written warning for excessive tardiness given to her on November 17, 1986. Under defendants’ policy, an employee under written warning may be terminated at her supervisor’s discretion if during the warning period the employee obtains a Degree III violation. Defendants contend that Ms. Castle was guilty of a Degree III violation on December 4, 1986, when during a unit meeting she exhibited disrespect toward her unit supervisor by turning her back on the group and facing the door during the entire meeting. As a result of this violation, combined with the written warning of two weeks earlier, Ms. Castle was discharged.

Plaintiff answers that the real reason for her denial of promotional opportunities and discharge is that of racial discrimination by the defendants. Plaintiff argues first, that her qualifications exceed those of the employees chosen for the promotions, and second, that other employees also exhibited excessive tardiness but were not discharged.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In considering this motion, the Court is mindful that the standard for summary judgment “mirrors the standard for a directed verdict under [Rule 50(a) ], which is that the trial judge must direct a verdict if, under the governing law, there can be but one reasonable conclusion as to the verdict.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) citing Brady v. Southern Ry. Co., 320 U.S. 476, 479-480, 64 S.Ct. 232, 234-235, 88 L.Ed. 239 (1943). Thus, the Supreme Court concluded in Anderson that a judge considering a motion for summary judgment must “ask himself not whether he thinks the evidence unmistakably favors one side or the other but whether a fair minded jury could return a verdict for the plaintiff on the evidence presented.” 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.

[720]*720Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides in pertinent part:

The judgment sought shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

In essence, the inquiry is whether the evidence presented a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.

Such an inquiry necessarily implicates the evidentiary standard of proof that would apply at the trial on the merits. As a result, the Court must view the evidence presented through the prism of the substantive evidentiary burden.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
751 F. Supp. 717, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15905, 57 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 41,122, 1990 WL 183766, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/castle-v-central-benefits-mutual-insurance-ohsd-1990.