Kidd v. MBNA America Bank, N.A.

93 F. App'x 399
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedMarch 25, 2004
Docket02-4011
StatusUnpublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 93 F. App'x 399 (Kidd v. MBNA America Bank, N.A.) 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
Kidd v. MBNA America Bank, N.A., 93 F. App'x 399 (3d Cir. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

MCKEE, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff, Alero Kidd appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendant, MBNA America Bank. Kidd sued her employer, MBNA, alleging that it denied her various promotions and transfers because of her race, 1 sex, age and/or in retaliation for having raised discrimination claims. Kidd also alleged discriminatory harassment and a hostile work environment.

I.

Because we write only for the parties, it is not necessary to recite the facts of this case in detail. Our review of the district court’s grant of summary judgment is plenary. We apply the same test the district court should have applied initially. Farrell v. Planters Lifesavers Co., 206 F.3d 271, 278 (3d Cir.2000). “We must review all of the evidence in the record, drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, but making no credibility determinations or weighing any evidence.” Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. 530 U.S. 133, 135, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (1986).

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).

II. Discrimination Claims

Disparate treatment claims brought under Title VII and the ADEA 2 are analyzed using the burden shifting analysis established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Under this analysis, the plaintiff must first make a prima facie showing of discrimination by establishing that (i) she belongs to a protected class; (ii) she applied for and was qualified for a job the employer was trying to fill; (iii) though qualified, she was rejected; and (iv) circumstances give rise to an inference of unlawful discrimination such as might occur when the position is filled by a person not of the protected class. Jones v. School District of Philadelphia, 198 F.3d 403 (3d Cir.1999).

Once the plaintiff has established a prima facie case of discrimination the burden shifts to the defendant “to articulate some *401 legitimate nondiseriminatory reason for the employee’s rejection.” McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. at 802. The burden then shifts back to the plaintiff who must show that the nondiseriminatory reason articulated by the defendant is in fact a pretext for discrimination. Id. at 804.

To avoid summary judgment in a Title VII or ADEA action after the employer has proffered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for an 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). 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.

We find that Kidd only established a prima facie in one instance of denial of promotion; the S.A. Coach position. We agree with the district court’s determination that Kidd failed to provide any evidence that similarly situated persons not in a protected class were treated more favorably in any of her other denials of promotion. Kidd is a member of a protected class, and was rejected for various positions, however, the circumstances do not give rise to an inference of discrimination even when viewed in a light most favorable to Kidd.

Although Kidd did establish a prima facie case of discrimination with regard to the S.A. Coach position, MBNA provided a legitimate nondiseriminatory business reason for its decision. Fuentes v. Perskie, 32 F.3d 759 (3rd Cir.1994). MBNA explains her disparate treatment by asserting that it merely made a mistake and forgot to check the corrective action status for the employee promoted to the S.A. Coach position. Kidd fails to respond to that explanation with anything that would create an issue of fact as to pretext for discrimination.

Left unrebutted, the fact that MBNA claims it made a mistake on one employee’s application does not suggest a weakness, implausability or incoherency in MBNA’s proffered explanation. Therefore, we find there is no genuine issue as to any material fact regarding MBNA’s failure to promote Kidd.

III. Retaliation Claim

Like discrimination claims brought under Title VII and the ADEA, in order to establish a prima facie case of retaliation, a plaintiff must demonstrate that: (i) she engaged in protected activity; (ii) the defendant took adverse employment action against her; and (iii) a causal link exists between the protected activity and the adverse action. Kachmar v. SunGard Data System, 109 F.3d 173 (3d Cir.1997). In support of her claim, Kidd asserts that she overheard managers discuss the complaint she made to the EEOC. However, she failed to present any evidence to link these managers to MBNA’s decision not to promote her. Accordingly, she did not show the required causal link between her complaint and MBNA’s subsequent denials of promotion.

IV. Hostile Work Environment

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93 F. App'x 399, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kidd-v-mbna-america-bank-na-ca3-2004.