Gerdin v. Ceva Freight, L.L.C.

908 F. Supp. 2d 821, 19 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1575, 2012 WL 5464966, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160135, 116 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 883
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 8, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. H-11-3567
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 908 F. Supp. 2d 821 (Gerdin v. Ceva Freight, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gerdin v. Ceva Freight, L.L.C., 908 F. Supp. 2d 821, 19 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1575, 2012 WL 5464966, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160135, 116 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 883 (S.D. Tex. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SIM LAKE, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Katie Gerdin, brings this action against defendants, CEVA Freight, L.L.C, and CEVA Logistics U.S., Inc. (CEVA), for employment discrimination based on gender and pregnancy in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (Title VII), and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code, and for violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. (FMLA). Pending before the court is Defendants’ CEVA Freight, LLC, and CEVA Logistics US, Inc’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket Entry No. 14). For the reasons set forth below defendants’ motion for summary judgment will be denied.

I. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is authorized if the movant establishes that there is no genuine dispute about any material fact, and the law entitles it to judgment. Fed. R. Civ.P. 56(c). Disputes about material facts are “genuine” if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The Supreme Court has interpreted the plain language of Rule 56(c) to mandate the entry of summary judgment “after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A party moving for summary judgment “must ‘demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact,’ but need not negate the elements of the nonmovant’s case.” Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir.1994) (en banc), (quoting Celotex, 106 S.Ct. at 2553-2554 (emphasis in original)). “If the moving party fails to meet this initial burden, the motion must be denied, regardless of the nonmovant’s response.” Id. If, however, the moving party meets this burden, Rule 56(c) requires the nonmovant to go beyond the pleadings and show by affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, or other admissible evidence that specific facts exist over which there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. (citing Celotex, 106 S.Ct. at 2553-2554). In reviewing the evidence “the court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, and it may not make credibility [825]*825determinations or weigh the evidence.” Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 2110, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000). Factual controversies are to be resolved in favor of the nonmovant, “but only when there is an actual controversy, that is, when both parties have submitted evidence of contradictory facts.” Little, 37 F.3d at 1075.

II. Undisputed Facts

Plaintiff was hired by CEVA in September 2008 as an Administrative Assistant.1 Plaintiff worked in the Corporate Truckload Department for Jim Duff, Vice-President of Ground Operations.2 Plaintiffs job duties included timekeeping; assisting with human resource paperwork; scheduling leave, training, meetings, and conference calls; making travel arrangements, preparing expense reports; recording overhead payables; ordering office supplies; preparing reports; Sprint invoicing; and researching special projects as requested by department managers.3

In March of 2009 Duff left CEVA,4 and plaintiff began reporting to Bob Livingston, Ground Products Director for the Pick-Up & Delivery Department, and performed administrative duties for various other managers.5 6 Following Duffs departure CEVA renamed the Corporate Truckload department as the “Domestic” department and reorganized by moving the Safety & Compliance Department to another division of the company.6 This reorganization eliminated thirty employees.7

In the summer of 2009 plaintiff informed defendants that she was pregnant.8

In October 2009 Senior Vice-President Nelson Bettencourt transferred from the Corporate HR department to the Domestic department.9 Bettencourt brought with him his long-time administrative assistant Margarita Rodriguez.10 Before taking maternity leave plaintiff trained Rodriguez to perform some of plaintiffs duties so that Rodriguez could perform those duties while plaintiff was on leave.11

[826]*826On March 15, 2010, plaintiff took FMLA-covered maternity leave for the birth of her second child.12 On May 24, 2010, plaintiff returned to work.13 Plaintiffs job title remained the same, but plaintiff contends that her job duties changed, and that the only job duty returned to her was Sprint invoicing.14 On June 9, 2010, CEVA terminated plaintiffs employment.15

III. Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment

Defendants argue that they are entitled to summary judgment because plaintiff is unable to' present evidence in support of one or more of the essential elements of each of plaintiffs claims.

A. Federal Law Claims

1. Title VII

Plaintiff alleges that defendants terminated her employment because of her sex and her pregnancy in violation of rights protected by Title VII.16 Defendants argue that they are entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs Title VII claims because plaintiff was discharged as part of a reduction-in-force (RIF), and because plaintiff has not presented any evidence that her discharge was a pretext for sex discrimination based on pregnancy.

(a) Applicable Law

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in federal and private employment. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978(PDA) “amended Title VII by explicitly including discrimination based on pregnancy and related medical conditions within the definition of sex discrimination.” Stout v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 282 F.3d 856, 859 (5th Cir.2002).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
908 F. Supp. 2d 821, 19 Wage & Hour Cas.2d (BNA) 1575, 2012 WL 5464966, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160135, 116 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 883, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gerdin-v-ceva-freight-llc-txsd-2012.