James v. FRANK'S WESTATES SERVICES, INC.

747 F. Supp. 2d 1264, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108042, 2010 WL 3981835
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedOctober 8, 2010
DocketCase 2:07-cv-00937-CW
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 747 F. Supp. 2d 1264 (James v. FRANK'S WESTATES SERVICES, INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
James v. FRANK'S WESTATES SERVICES, INC., 747 F. Supp. 2d 1264, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108042, 2010 WL 3981835 (D. Utah 2010).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

CLARK WADDOUPS, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Monica S. James, Bernadette Hoffman, Lorrie Moore, and Tiara Prisbrey allege that Gene McFarland — President of Frank’s Westates Services, Inc. *1269 (“Frank’s”) — sexually harassed them on various occasions during their time of employment by Frank’s. Plaintiffs now seek redress on the four causes of action stated in their complaint. Defendants move for summary judgment on all claims. The court denies the motion for the first cause of action for hostile work environment, and the third cause of action against Mr. McFarland for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The court grants summary judgment in favor of Defendants on all other causes of action for the reasons discussed below.

MOTIONS TO STRIKE

Plaintiffs have moved to strike various portions of the affidavits submitted by Defendants. “The court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.” 1 However, on this motion the court “did not apply or consider the complained-of affidavit evidence when ruling on the motion for summary judgment.” 2 Therefore, because the court finds that the evidence “is not material to the outcome,” the motions to strike are denied as moot. 3

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Frank’s Westates Services, Inc. provides casing running services to the oil industry. Plaintiffs Monica S. James, Bernadette Hoffman, Lorrie Moore, and Tiara Prisbrey were all employees of Frank’s working in various capacities, and Defendant Gene McFarland was Frank’s president during the time of the alleged harassment. 4 Plaintiffs’ complaint alleges that during their employment they had each been subjected to sexual harassment by Mr. McFarland. Each Plaintiff has previously filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Utah Anti-Discrimination & Labor Division and E.E.O.C., and has also been provided a Notice of Right to Sue.

Regarding the particular instances of harassment specific to Ms. James, the record indicates that Mr. McFarland had invited her to sit on his lap and talk about the first thing that comes up. He called her a hot-blooded Mexican and told her that she would need a large coat to cover her big “bumps.” He had pulled her hair, called her sexy, and talked to her about lesbians. Ms. James has stated that Mr. McFarland’s treatment led directly to a loss of sleep, caused her to become edgy, and feel depressed and angry. Ms. James has also testified that as part of the harassment, the type of work she was assigned was changed and that her rate of payment was lowered.

Ms. Hoffman has testified that Mr. McFarland harassed her by pretending to take a strand of her hair and laying it across his chest said “all I need is just one to make people wonder.” When she was sick, Mr. McFarland told her that that she should “drink a hot toddy and get under four blankets and sweat it out with an old man” like him. Ms. Hoffman has also testified that Mr. McFarland would tell her that he took Viagra, and had on occasion tried to look down her shirt. Al *1270 though Ms. Hoffman thought she could handle it initially, the record indicates that Mr. McFarland’s treatment caused Ms. Hoffman to cry, gain weight, and lose sleep. As a result of Mr. McFarlan’s treatment, Ms. Hoffman also became abrupt with people, paranoid, withdrawn, and suffered headaches. Ms. Hoffman has also testified that she tried to find help but found none, and had finally had enough.

Ms. Moore has testified that Mr. McFarland sexually harassed her by telling her that she did her best work on her back and said on another occasion that he’d rather be under her than have her run over him. He told a co-worker that Moore needed “a good horse F-ing.” The record indicates that McFarland had told stories that made her feel “uneasy and uncomfortable,” and that the stress due to his harassment resulted in Ms. Moore having sleeping trouble, headaches, depression, and taking up smoking again. Moreover, Ms. Moore testified that Mr. McFarland’s granddaughter had caused Ms. Moore and her son problems in collecting their checks and dealing with payroll.

Ms. Prisbrey testified that after Mr. McFarland had walked in on her in the bathroom he would not leave. She has also testified that Mr. McFarland had also looked down her blouse, asked where she got those “bumps” on her shirt, and had talked to her about his sex life. Mr. McFarland’s harassment resulted in her being unable to sleep, gaining weight, and feeling both depressed and anxious. Ms. Prisbrey has also testified that she was forced to quit because of the treatment that she received.

Other general evidence of a harassing environment includes Mr. McFarland hitting men in the groin, calling another worker “Chesty,” and trying to grab the same worker’s breast. Other employees at Frank’s watched pornographic films, and one of the employees, Val Francisco, had been seen by Ms. Hoffman lying across McFarland’s desk with her dress down and her breasts hanging out. This evidence is offered to show that Frank’s work place was one of frequent sexual innuendo and sexually pervasive discussion.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Defendants’ motion for summary judgment will be granted, only “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” 5 In moving for summary judgment, “[t]he movant has the burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of fact;” however, “the plaintiff is not thereby relieved of his own burden of producing ... evidence that would support a jury verdict.” 6 Likewise, the role of the Court is not to weigh the evidence, but to “determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial.” 7

I. FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION — TITLE VII HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT

The Supreme Court has held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it,

“an unlawful employment practice for an employer ... to discriminate against *1271 any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, condition or privileges of employees, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.... ’ [T]his language is not limited to economic or tangible discrimination, but also prohibits employers from requiring people to work in a discriminatory hostile or abusive environment — When the workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an abusive working environment, Title VII is violated.” 8

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747 F. Supp. 2d 1264, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 108042, 2010 WL 3981835, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/james-v-franks-westates-services-inc-utd-2010.