Edwards v. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

80 F. App'x 261
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedNovember 5, 2003
Docket02-4279
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 80 F. App'x 261 (Edwards v. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Edwards v. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, 80 F. App'x 261 (3d Cir. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

MCKEE, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff, Terri Lynn Edwards appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgement for the defendant, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (the “Commission”) as well as the district court’s denial of plaintiffs motion to supplement the judgment record. For the reasons that follow, we will affirm the ruling of the district court.

I.

Because we write only for the parties, it is not necessary to recite the facts of this case in detail. It is sufficient to note that Edwards, a former employee of the Commission, filed a complaint in the Middle District of Pennsylvania pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, against the Commission. Edwards alleged that she was denied a promotion and terminated from her employment because of her race and/or in retaliation for having raised discrimination claims.

After discovery was closed, the Commission filed a motion for summary judgment and four months later Edwards filed a motion to supplement the summary judgment record with after-acquired evidence. *263 The district court granted the Commission’s motion for summary judgment, 2 denied Edward’s motion to supplement the record 3 and entered judgment for the Commission. This appeal followed.

II.

As noted, Edwards appeals both the district court’s grant of the Commission’s motion for summary judgment as well as the court’s denial of her motion to supplement the record. Each issue will be discussed separately.

A. Motion for Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is appropriate “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 a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56©; see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. To be a genuine issue, the evidence must be “such that a reasonable jury 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). Materiality will be determined by the substantive law of the case. Id. Therefore, “the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.” Id.

In disparate treatment cases brought under Title VII, once the plaintiff has established a prima facie case of discrimination the burden shifts to the defendant “to articulate some legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the employee’s rejection.” McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Once the defendant has met this burden, the plaintiff must show that the nondiscriminatory reason articulated by the defendant is in fact a pretext for discrimination. Id. at 804.

In a Title VII action, to avoid summary judgment after the employer has proffered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for adverse employment action, the plaintiff must produce evidence which: (1) casts sufficient doubt upon each proffered reason so that a fact finder could reasonably conclude that each reason was fabrication, or (2) allows a fact finder to infer that discrimination was more likely than not a motivating or determinative cause of action. See Fuentes v. Perskie, 32 F.3d 759 (3d Cir.1994). The plaintiff, therefore, must east doubt on the legitimate reason for an employment decision advanced by the employer. This burden is met through a demonstration that such “weaknesses, implausibilities, inconsistencies, incoherencies, or contradictions in the employer’s proffered legitimate reasons for its action are such that a reasonable factfinder could rationally find them ‘unworthy of credence’ ” Id.

Here, Edwards established a prima facie case, as the burden is not overly heavy. *264 The Commission then sustained its burden by advancing a multitude of reasons for Edwards’ termination other than discrimination. The legitimate reasons included Edwards’ poor job performance as evidenced by a written warning issued to Edwards for threats she allegedly made against a co-worker, as well as a two-day suspension issued as a result of certain job deficiencies, including an incident where Edwards put a 9-1-1 dispatcher on hold so that she could continue a personal phone call. After these measures were taken, Edwards was warned that under the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement, the next step in the disciplinary procedure would be Edwards’ termination. Finally, in May of 1999, Edwards was terminated for a variety of other infractions. The Commission presented evidence which showed she was insubordinate to her direct supervisor and also charged personal periodical subscriptions and a seminar to the Commission without permission.

Edwards argues that the legitimate reasons proffered by the Commission to support their employment decisions are merely a pretext for racial discrimination. Edwards does not attempt to cast doubt upon the Commission’s proffered reasons for her termination. Instead, she attempts to bring forth evidence from which a reasonable fact finder could conclude that racial discrimination was more likely than not a motivating cause for her discharge. See Fuentes v. Perskie, 32 F.3d 759 (3d Cir.1994). In support of this claim, Edwards asserts that her actions at work were not unusual, in that other employees behaved in a similar unprofessional manner. She also claims that co-workers and superiors had referenced her race by criticizing her for talking “too black,” Plaintiffs Exhibit E at page 3, and labeled her as a “trouble-making f ..... ------,” Plaintiffs Exhibit A at page 26, and that another white employee who was also written up for insubordination received no discipline in response to his actions.

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Bluebook (online)
80 F. App'x 261, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edwards-v-pennsylvania-turnpike-commission-ca3-2003.