Keener v. Universal Companies, Inc.

128 F. Supp. 3d 902, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116056, 2015 WL 5130866
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. North Carolina
DecidedSeptember 1, 2015
DocketNo. 1:14CV982
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 128 F. Supp. 3d 902 (Keener v. Universal Companies, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keener v. Universal Companies, Inc., 128 F. Supp. 3d 902, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116056, 2015 WL 5130866 (M.D.N.C. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

OSTEEN, JR., District Judge.

Presently before this court is Defendants’ Renewed Partial Motion to Dismiss, asserting defenses for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, and failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. (Doc. 18.) Defendants indicate that they seek dismissal of all claims against all Defendants, except for “one single claim of retaliatory discharge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (‘Title VII’), as to one Defendant: UFP Salisbury, LLC.” (Id. at 1.) Plaintiff has responded (Doc. 25), and Defendants filed a reply (Doc. 31). This matter is now ripe for adjudication.

The parties agree that Defendants’ motion to dismiss should be granted on several points, (see Defs.’ Reply (Doc. 31) at 1-2; Pl.’s Resp. (Doc. 25) at 6, 16, 24), and this court finds it appropriate to grant Defendants’ motion as to those issues. However, this court finds that several issues require further factual findings that cannot be made at this stage of the proceedings. Accordingly, for the reasons stated herein, this court will grant Defendants' partial motion to dismiss in part and deny the motion in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Donna A. Keener (“Plaintiff’) initiated this lawsuit asserting a cause of action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (“Title VII”), the Equal Pay Act of 1963, codified as amended at 29 U.S.C. § 206 et seq. (“EPA”), and several causes of action based on state law. (Amended Complaint (“Am. CompL”) (Doc. 15).) Plaintiff named four interrelated entities within her complaint: (1) The Universal Companies, Inc., f/k/a Universal Forest Products, Inc.; (2) Universal Forest Products, Inc. (“UFPI”); (3) UFP Eastern Division, Inc. ffk/a Universal Forest Products Eastern Company, Inc. (“UFP Eastern”); and (4) UFP Salisbury, LLC (“UFP Salisbury”).1 Each Defendant is organized under the laws of the State of Michigan. (Id. ¶¶ 5-10.)

Plaintiff attempts to proceed on several different theories under Title VII, includ[907]*907ing wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and retaliation. As the general basis for her Title VII claims based on wrongful termination along with her state law claim of wrongful termination in violation of public policy, Plaintiff contends that she was terminated from her position as a shipping and receiving clerk on March 28, 2013, based on her sex and “under a pretext of poor work performance.” (Id. ¶¶ 14-15, 93.) Plaintiff contends that she “consistently excelled in her work with the Defendants” and that she “received good performance evaluations every year and several evaluations that she was exceeding expectations in her employment.” (Id. ¶ 16.) She claims that Phillip Hightower, plant manager for UFP Salisbury, along with Kim Hildebrand who works in the human resources department at UFPI, make the hiring and firing decisions for UFP Salisbury, and as referenced below, Hightower made derogatory comments based on Plaintiffs sex. (See id. ¶¶ 56-63.)

As the basis for her Title VII claim based on sexual harassment and her state law claims of negligent hiring, retention, and supervision and negligent infliction of emotional distress, Plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to abusive treatment by a co-worker, John Corriher, who threw heavy objects such as paper weights in Plaintiffs direction, “spit pieces of chewed up pills” in Plaintiffs face, and was “otherwise offensive.” (Id. ¶¶ 40-43.) Additionally, Phillip Hightower, plant manager for UFP Salisbury, allegedly told Plaintiff that “a woman’s place should be barefoot and pregnant,” when Plaintiff asked to be considered for the shipping and receiving supervisor position. (Id. ¶¶ 56-59.) Additionally, Hightower “cussed the Plaintiff out over the telephone,” “harassed] the Plaintiff at any opportunity,” “picked up a chair and threw it across the room and started cussing,” addressed Plaintiff in “a disapproving manner,” stared a Plaintiff in “a demeaning way,” “sa[id] things like: ‘it’s time to clean the shack out, out with the old and in with the new’ or ... “we need some young blood in here’ referring to the Plaintiff working in the shipping and receiving department,” and forced Plaintiff to stop attending the morning production meetings due to this alleged abusive behavior. (Id. ¶¶ 70-75.)

Despite the fact that Plaintiff reported these incidents along with other incidents involving the harassing individuals, Plaintiff claims that no investigation was done and no remedial steps were taken. (Id. ¶¶ 47-48, 59-65, 77.) Based on these workplace conditions, Plaintiff contends that she “began developing severe anxiety and depression and sought treatment with medical professionals.” (Id. ¶ 66.)

As the basis for her EPA claims, Plaintiff claims she was “paid [a lower hourly wage] than any of her male counterparts in the shipping and receiving department, and was paid lower than even those male employees operating the forklift or loading the trucks” and that this “disparity in pay was due to Plaintiffs gender as a female.” (Id. ¶ 23.) Plaintiff contends that, despite her job title, she was expected to perform the work required of the shipping and receiving supervisor, namely, “run[ning] truck load reports based on number of man hours, run[ning] bonus reports, attending] safety meetings, ordering] the manifests to ensure loads were sent out on proper priority, and otherwise managing] employees in the shipping and receiving department,” but that she was not paid the appropriate amount for this position. (Id. ¶¶ 17, 20, 28.) Plaintiff alleges that, from October 7, 2012, until her termination in March 2013, she was paid $14.57 per hour. (See id. ¶ 18.)

Plaintiff names several comparators in support of her EPA claim. First, Plaintiff puts forward John Clark, who was a shipping and receiving clerk but worked on the [908]*908second shift. (Id. ¶21.) Based on information and belief, along with her knowledge gained from “often [running] bonus reports,” Plaintiff alleges that Clark was receiving between $17.00 and $18.00 an hour. (Id. ¶¶ 21-22.) Second, John Corri-her, who was a shipping and receiving clerk with Plaintiff on the first shift, and who was less experienced than Plaintiff, allegedly received $16.00 per hour. (Id. ¶¶ 40, 52-53.) Third, Richard Helms was hired as the shipping and receiving supervisor, and was paid $18.00 per hour. (Id. ¶ 67-68.) Again, Plaintiff did not hold the title of shipping and receiving supervisor, but she contends that she performed the duties without receiving the same pay.

Plaintiff claims she was “wrongfully terminated on the basis of her gender and in retaliation for reporting and opposing discrimination and harassment in the workplace.” (Id. ¶ 78.) After her termination, Plaintiff said she contacted a representative with the human resources department at UFPI and informed this representative of all incidents, including the harassment from Hightower and her termination. (Id. ¶ 77.) Plaintiff filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC Charge”) on May 10, 2013. (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
128 F. Supp. 3d 902, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116056, 2015 WL 5130866, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keener-v-universal-companies-inc-ncmd-2015.