Ganthier v. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Inc.

345 F. Supp. 2d 271, 2004 WL 2651372
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedNovember 19, 2004
DocketCV 03-142(ADS)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 345 F. Supp. 2d 271 (Ganthier v. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ganthier v. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Inc., 345 F. Supp. 2d 271, 2004 WL 2651372 (E.D.N.Y. 2004).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

The plaintiff Esther Ganthier (“Ganthier” or the “Plaintiff’) brought this action against the defendants North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Inc. (“North Shore Hospital” or the “Hospital”) and Susan Tobin alleging three federal and two state causes of action. These causes of action are (1) Title VII — racial discrimination, (2) Title VII — national origin discrimination, and (3) Section 1981 racial discrimination. In addition, she alleges similar tracking causes of action under the New York State Human Rights Law for racial and gender discrimination.

In this jury trial, this decision was made after both sides rested. The written decision is being made to confirm the oral decision made by the Court after both sides rested on November 4, 2004. At that time the defendants moved for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Practice (“Fed.R.Civ.P.”) 50(a), to dismiss all the causes of action in the complaint.

*274 I. BACKGROUND

The plaintiff Esther Ganthier testified that she was born in Haiti; and immigrated to the United States in 1981. Prior to 2001, she worked at a myriad of jobs, some of which were in the medical field. The Plaintiff became associated with the Grey-stone Staffing Company, an employment agency. On September 4, 2001, she reported to the defendant North Shore Hospital for an assignment as a medical biller. At this position the Plaintiff did “Medicare cash posting,” initially for the Franklin General Hospital, a division of the North Shore Hospital, and then, in addition, for North Shore Hospital itself and Southside Hospital, also an affiliate.

There is no doubt, and it is conceded, that at all times the Plaintiff was an employee of Greystone Staffing and not the North Shore Hospital. Her wages were paid by North Shore Hospital to Grey-stone who then paid the Plaintiff. However, she was under the supervision and control of the Hospital, and, therefore, the Hospital was subject to the employment discrimination laws.

The testimony revealed that the Plaintiffs work at North Shore Hospital was more than satisfactory. She was a good worker and a pleasant person. No complaints were made as to the quality of her performance.

The Plaintiffs chief contention is that she was not hired to fill a permanent medical biller position, which opened up at the North Shore Hospital when Robert Brooks, a white employee, left that position. Instead, apparently seeking to retain her services, the North Shore Hospital offered her the position of data entry clerk, which was a lower paid position. The Plaintiff alleges that one Louise Pico, a white woman, was given the position as medical biller. Actually, the uncontrovert-ed proof shows that the medical biller position at issue was given to Saundra Morgan, then a twelve-year black employee of the North Shore Hospital.

The Plaintiff was advised of this job selection on Tuesday, October 20, 2001, and, on that day, she left work at North Shore Hospital and never returned. She testified that she did not return to work because she did not want to work as a data entry clerk. The Plaintiff readily admitted the she voluntarily left her temporary job at the North Shore Hospital. In the vernacular, she “quit.”

II. DISCUSSION

A. RULE 50 JUDGMENT AS A MATTER OF LAW

Rule 50 of the Fed.R.Civ.P. provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

Rule 50. Judgment as a Matter of Law in Jury Trials
(a) Judgment as a Matter of Law.
(1) If during a trial by jury a party has been fully heard on an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for that party on that issue, the court may determine the issue against that party and may grant a motion with respect to a claim or defense that cannot under the controlling law be maintained or defeated without a favorable finding on that issue.
(2) Motions for a judgment as a matter of law may be made at any time before submission of the case to the jury. Such a motion shall specify the judgment sought and the law and the facts on which the moving party is entitled to the judgment.

“[T]he same standard that applies to a pretrial motion for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 also applies to motions for judgment as a mat *275 ter of law during or after trial pursuant to Rule 50.” Piesco v. Koch, 12 F.3d 332, 341 (2d Cir.1993); see also Advisory Committee Note to 1991 Amendment of Fed.R.Civ.P. 50 (recent adoption of term “judgment as a matter of law” to replace both the term “directed verdict” and the term “judgment n.o.v.” was intended to call attention to the close relationship between Rules 50 and 56). A district court may not grant a motion for a judgment as a matter of law unless “the evidence is such that, without weighing the credibility of the witnesses or otherwise considering the weight of the evidence, there can be but one conclusion as to the verdict that reasonable [persons] could have reached.” Cruz v. Local Union No. 3, Int’l Bhd. Of Elec. Workers, 34 F.3d 1148, 1154-55 (2d Cir.1994) (quoting Simblest v. Maynard, 427 F.2d 1, 4 (2d Cir.1970)) (internal quotation omitted). Weakness of the evidence does not justify judgment as a matter of law. As in the case of a grant of summary judgment, the evidence must be such that “a reasonable juror would have been compelled to accept the view of the moving party.” Piesco, 12 F.3d at 343. See This Is Me Inc. v. Elizabeth Taylor, et al., 157 F.3d 139 (2d Cir.1998).

B. THE TITLE VII — RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CAUSE OF ACTION

1. The Standards

In assessing whether judgment as a matter of law is proper, the court must view all evidence and draw all inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. See EEOC v. Ethan Allen, Inc., 44 F.3d 116, 119 (2d Cir.1994). The Court should grant a judgment as a matter of law only if no reasonable fact finder could return a verdict against the movant. See id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
345 F. Supp. 2d 271, 2004 WL 2651372, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ganthier-v-north-shore-long-island-jewish-health-system-inc-nyed-2004.