Lenart v. Coach, Inc.

131 F. Supp. 3d 61, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121757, 2015 WL 5319735
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 11, 2015
DocketNo. 15-CV-1922 (JMF)
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 131 F. Supp. 3d 61 (Lenart v. Coach, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lenart v. Coach, Inc., 131 F. Supp. 3d 61, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121757, 2015 WL 5319735 (S.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JESSE M. FÚRMAN, District Judge:

Plaintiff Todd Lenart brings this action against Coach Inc. (“Coach”), his former employer, alleging sex discrimination and a hostile work environment, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), N.Y. Exec. Law § 290 et seq.; and the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”), N.Y. City Admin. Code 8-101 et seq. Lenart now moves to stay all proceedings and to place the docket under seal; Coach cross-moves, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety. For the reasons stated below, Coach’s motion is granted in part and denied in part, and Lenart’s motion is denied.

BACKGROUND

The following facts, taken from the Complaint, are presumed to be true for the purposes of this motion. See Karmely v. Wertheimer, 737 F.3d 197, 199 (2d Cir.2013). Coach is a well-known manufacturer and distributer of high-end leather goods. (Compl. (Docket No. 1) ¶ 3). Lenart, a' male tax lawyer, was hired by Coach in February 2012 after being recruited by’ the Tax Department’s Vice President, Thomas Shcirtway. {Id. ¶ 13). Lenart served as Divisional Vice President of International Tax. {Id. ¶¶ 9,14). Lenart alleges that, while at Coach, he experienced a hostile work environment and was discriminated against “on the basis of his sex and gender” by the company and two female supervisors: Nancy A. Walsh, the Senior Vice’ President of Coach’s Treasury Department (of which the Tax Department was a sub-group), and Elizabeth Leete, who replaced Shortway as Vice President of the Tax Department in October 2012. (Id. ¶¶ 11-13). He claims that “Coach was permeated by gender/sex bias against men, which was reflected in the company’s (specifically the Treasury Department’s) hiring and promotion practices, discriminatory treatment of its male employees, and discriminatory comments about male employees in the work place.” {Id. ¶ 18).

More" specifically, Lenart alleges that men were subjected to a more rigorous hiring process than women and that Coach often favored women in its hiring over more qualified men. For example, although Lenart had to interview with fourteen people and undergo .psychological testing before he was hired, two women— Cheryl Norden and Valerie Kilbridge— interviewed with only four people and did not take any psychological tests. {Id. ¶¶ 14-22). Additionally, after the first person whom Coach approached to replace Shortway — a man — declined the position, [65]*65Coach chose Leete over two more qualified male candidates. (Id. ¶¶ 23-28). In addition to preferential, hiring, Lenart also claims that women were “given preferential treatment” once employed by Coach. (Id. ¶ 29). For example, he alleges that a female manager in the Treasury Department was given an office before “more senior male members” and that the female manager was “regularly invited” by Walsh to meetings with senior executives while her male colleagues were not given “similar access.” (Id.). Lenart also claims that his male eoworkers complained to him that they were victims of discrimination and that they “felt that the female gender bias at Coach would prevent them from receiving promotions.” (Id. ¶ 30). Further, one of Lenart’s male colleagues told him that Walsh had said “on numerous occasions” that she would “like to have a staff of all women.” (Id. ¶ 19).

Lenart was fired on April 5, 2013. (Id. ¶32). He was told at the time that “a decision had been made to reorganize the tax function ... which resulted in the elimination of his position.” (Id. ¶33). After Lenart’s termination, most of his responsibilities were taken over by a female employee, and Lenart’s former coworker informed him that Walsh had said at a meeting that she had created “a girl power team based in New York.” (Id. ¶¶ 31, 35). Lenart filed the instant case on March 13, 2015, alleging that-his termination was the-resült of sex discrimination and that he was subjected to a hostile work environment while at Coach. (Docket No. 1). As noted, Lenart now moves to stay the ease in light of ongoing proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), which also ' involve Lenart’s termination by Coach, and to seal the docket. (Docket No. 11). Coach opposes the stay, -and cross-moves to dismiss the Complaint under Rule 12(b)(6). (Docket No. 12).'

COACH’S MOTION TO DISMISS

The Court begins with Coach’s motion to dismiss. In evaluating a motion to dismiss, the Court must accept all facts set forth in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor. See, e.g., Burch v. Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc., 551 F.3d 122, 124 (2d Cir.2008). A claim will survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, however, only if the plaintiff alleges facts sufficient “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim is facially plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). A plaintiff must show “more .than a sheer .possibility that a defendant acted unlawfully,” id., and cannot rely on mere “labels -and conclusions”, to support a claim, Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. If the plaintiff’s pleadings “have not nudged [his or her] claims across the line from conceivable to plausible, [the] complaint must be dismissed.” Id. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

Discrimination claims brought under Title VII and the NYSHRL are evaluated under the burden-shifting framework, established by McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Although it is “unclear whether, and to what, extent, the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting analysis” applies,'-to NYCHRL , claims, Mihalik v. Credit Agricole Cheuvreux N. Am. Inc., 715 F.3d 102, 110 n. 8 (2d Cir.2013), courts in the Second Circuit generally apply the “liberal standards [of the NYCHRL] to the basic McDonnell Douglas -framework.” Farzan v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. [66]*6612-CV-1217 (RJS)(JLC), 2013 WL 6231615, at *15 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 2, 2013) (collecting cases). Under that framework, a plaintiff must first make out a prima facie case of discrimination. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817. If the plaintiff meets that “de minimis ” initial burden, Kerzer v. Kingly Mfg.,

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131 F. Supp. 3d 61, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121757, 2015 WL 5319735, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lenart-v-coach-inc-nysd-2015.