Mehr v. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

72 F. App'x 276
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJuly 23, 2003
DocketNo. 02-5013
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 72 F. App'x 276 (Mehr v. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mehr v. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., 72 F. App'x 276 (6th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

DUGGAN, District Judge.

In this employment discrimination case, Plaintiff-Appellant Ethy Mehr (“Mehr”), who is Iranian, claims that her employer, Defendant-Appellee Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (“Starwood”), discriminated against her, based on her gender and national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., by not promoting her and by terminating her. In the alternative, Mehr alleges that she was retaliated against in violation of the Tennessee whistle-blower statute for reporting that her co-workers were drinking on the job. Mehr argues that the district court improperly granted summary judgment on these claims.

In addition, Mehr argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying her second motion to amend the complaint. In that motion, she attempted to add a retaliation claim under federal and state law. Mehr also contends that the district court abused its discretion in denying her first motion to amend the complaint to add claims of age and disability discrimination. Finally, Mehr argues that the district court abused its discretion in granting attorney’s fees on a motion to compel against her.

Background

Mehr’s employment with Starwood began in 1994, when she began working for the Sheraton Music City Hotel1 in Nashville, Tennessee. Mehr worked as a cashier first, then was transferred to a part-time banquet server position. Banquet servers set tables, serve food and drinks during events at the Sheraton, and serve as bartenders. Mehr’s status as a banquet server was an on-call position, meaning that once banquet management determined the number of employees needed for a particular night, management would call banquet servers to fill the positions. Once management determined which employees were able to work, banquet managers would determine which employees would work in each position (either bartender or server). According to Hamid Asgari-Rad, a banquet manager, Mehr worked almost every week at the hotel. In addition to her on-call position with [279]*279Starwood, Mehr also worked as a substitute teacher.

In March 1999, Mehr told banquet captain Pius Imafidon to tell Asgari-Rad that she wanted to become a full-time banquet server. Mehr never went to Asgari-Rad directly with her request, even though hotel policy was for Mehr to speak directly to Asgari-Rad about a full-time position. Mehr never became a full-time employee with Starwood.

On April 21, 1999, Mehr came to work and discovered that her assignment had been switched from bartending to floor work because the hotel was short staffed.2 She then went to Asgari-Rad to complain about her assignment being switched. According to Mehr, when Asgari-Rad refused to change her assignment back, she “thanked him and left.” She then claims that he came into the banquet hallway and screamed at her that he would not assign her as bartender anymore. Mehr stated by way of affidavit that she told him “if he did not want me to work, then I would go home,” to which Asgari-Rad replied, “Go home!”

That day, Mehr went to see Cindy Moradipour, Director of Human Resources, to complain about Asgari-Rad’s “harassment and discrimination.” According to Mehr, on April 23, 1999, Moradipour called her and said “everything had been resolved” and that Asgari-Rad would call her. Star-wood’s account of what happened on April 21, 1999, varies significantly from Mehr’s. Asgari-Rad denies screaming at Mehr. In addition, Moradipour claims that during their phone conversation on April 23, 1999, Mehr said she only wanted to work the bar. Moradipour then told Mehr that the hotel “did not employ banquet servers who only worked on the bar.” When Moradipour informed Mehr of this policy, Mehr became angry and stated that if she could not work as a bartender only, she did not want to work at the hotel. Moradipour then agreed to mail Mehr her last paycheck. Mehr denies that she ever insisted on being a bartender and maintains that she never quit her job.

On May 1, 1999, Mehr was mistakenly called into work by an employee who was unaware that Mehr no longer worked at the hotel. Although Mehr did finish her shift that day, she was informed that she would not be called for future shifts. On May 5, 1999, Moradipour and Asgari-Rad filled out Mehr’s separation paperwork. The separation paperwork states that Mehr was voluntarily terminated and that “[Mehr] decided she only wants to work bartender [sic]. We don’t employ Banquet Service staff to perform only one function.”

Procedural History

Mehr filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on or about May 18, 1999. The EEOC found no evidence of discrimination. Plaintiff initially filed a complaint pro se on or about March 2, 2000. In that complaint, Mehr alleged that she was discriminated against in violation of Title VII on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, and “being short.” (J.A. at 17-23).3 The alleged discriminato[280]*280ry acts were the termination of Mehr’s employment and failure to promote. Subsequently, Mehr hired an attorney and on November 22, 2000, Mehr filed a motion to amend her complaint to add claims of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination and Employment Act (ADEA), disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), failure to promote and discriminatory discharge claims under the Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA), and a claim under the Tennessee whistle-blower statute for having been discharged for reporting the “public intoxication” of fellow employees. Starwood filed its first motion for summary judgment on December 15, 2000.

A magistrate judge granted the motion to amend in part, and denied it in part. The district court affirmed the magistrate judge’s order and denied Starwood’s first motion for summary judgment as moot. Specifically, the magistrate judge denied Mehr’s motion to add a claim under the ADEA based on futility because Mehr never included an age discrimination charge in her EEOC complaint; therefore, the court would have no jurisdiction over such a claim. Similarly, the magistrate judge found that Mehr’s disability claim under the ADA based on her height (4'10") would also be futile because height is not a disability under the ADA. The magistrate judge did grant Mehr’s motion to amend her complaint to add a claim under Tennessee’s whistle-blower statute, based on Mehr’s allegation that she was discharged for complaining about fellow employees drinking on the job. The magistrate judge also granted leave to amend on the failure to promote and discriminatory discharge claims under the THRA.

In August 2000, Starwood filed a motion to compel Mehr’s deposition testimony, based on her refusal to answer questions during her deposition. Mehr had not yet hired an attorney at the time of this deposition. A hearing was held on September 25, 2000, and the magistrate judge granted Starwood’s motion to compel. Subsequently, Starwood filed a motion for attorney’s fees pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(4)(A), in the amount of $2,945.00. The district court affirmed the order of the magistrate judge granting attorney fees to Starwood based on the motion to compel.

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Bluebook (online)
72 F. App'x 276, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mehr-v-starwood-hotels-resorts-worldwide-inc-ca6-2003.