Mertig v. Milliken & Michaels of Delaware, Inc.

923 F. Supp. 636, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6334, 1996 WL 249338
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedMay 1, 1996
DocketCiv.A. No. 95-58-MMS
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 923 F. Supp. 636 (Mertig v. Milliken & Michaels of Delaware, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mertig v. Milliken & Michaels of Delaware, Inc., 923 F. Supp. 636, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6334, 1996 WL 249338 (D. Del. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

MURRAY M. SCHWARTZ, Senior District Judge.

I. Introduction

Plaintiff Karen Renee Mertig (“Mertig” or “plaintiff’) has brought this action against defendants Milliken & Michaels, Inc. and Milliken & Michaels of Delaware, Inc. (“MMD” or “defendant”), alleging sexual harassment and constructive termination, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. This Court has jurisdiction over the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1381 and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. A Stipulation of Dismissal and Order dismissing Milliken & Michaels, Inc. was signed by the Court on April 18, 1995. Docket Item (“D.I.”) 17. Before the Court is defendant MMD’s motion for summary judgment, which was argued on April 2, 1996. For the reasons set forth below, MMD’s motion for summary judgment will be denied.

II. Facts

Because defendant has moved for summary judgment, the facts will be recited in the light most favorable to plaintiff. MMD is a commercial collection agency and employs approximately 85 people in Delaware. D.I. 29 at Exhibit (“Exh.”) G. Plaintiff was hired by MMD in October, 1993 as a sales trainee in the sales department of the Dover, Delaware office. D.I. 36 at B-19-B-20. Plaintiffs performance was outstanding in the beginning of her six-month tenure at MMD, far exceeding her monthly sales quota and earning the distinction of Sales Trainee of the Month in November, 1993. D.I. 36 at B-35.

Plaintiffs job in the sales department consisted of making telephone calls to companies to determine whether they had any outstanding, or “bad,” debts. If the company had bad debts, plaintiff then explained the debt collection services offered by MMD and attempted to sell those services to the company. D.I. 36 at B-76-B-77. Once a salesperson succeeded in placing an account with a company, the account would be transferred to collectors who made efforts to collect on the debts. Within seven days, the salesperson would contact the collectors to determine whether progress had been made to collect the debts. Id. at B-77. Each salesperson was given a period of thirty days in which to attempt to collect on the account, after which point, the account would be transferred to the Client Services Department (“CSD”) to handle. Id. The salesperson who handled the account had the option to transfer the account to CSD before the thirty day period elapsed. Id. An account which is “closed” by CSD after being transferred nonetheless generates secondary fees, or a percentage commis[640]*640sion, for the procuring salesperson. Id. at B-78.

In November, 1993, Freddie Travis (“Travis”) became plaintiff’s supervisor. From the beginning, he repeatedly used sexually explicit language and gestures. These were directed at times towards the entire sales staff, and at other times, directly towards plaintiff. Travis’ comments included comments about women’s “butts” and breasts, men’s genitals, sexual devices and erections. His gestures included sexual jerking motions with his hand and tongue and grabbing the front of his pants. His language was replete with profanity, such as “fuck me, fuck you,” “bite this,” “the only lady in the pit has more balls than all of you guys put together,” and frequent references to plaintiffs soda as “piss.” See generally, D.I. 35 and Exh. A. Travis denies these allegations. D.I. 36 at B-132-B-136. Comments were regularly made about the clothing plaintiff wore, id. at B-203, and on one occasion, male employees dangled a pair of woman’s panties for everyone to see, made loud comments about them, and sniffed them, id. at B-209. Comments were made in front of plaintiff about some of the male salespeople’s sexual exploits, id at B-228, and former male colleagues testified regarding frequent “900” pornographic telephone calls which were made from the office after work, id. at B-229. On one occasion, plaintiff made a sexual comment back to Travis, in the form of an insult, stating that “his memory is about as long as his pecker.” D.I. 35, ¶ 14. Travis’ conduct worsened to the point that plaintiffs work suffered, and she found it hard to concentrate on her job. She suffered physical disabilities as well, including migraine headaches for which she was forced to seek medical attention. Id. at B-101.

The general manager of MMD was William Savage (“Savage”), whose office was located adjacent to that of Travis. Id. at B-149 and B-117. Both Savage’s and Travis’ offices faced the sales area in which Mertig and the other salespeople worked. Id. Savage was aware of the conduct which occurred on the sales floor with respect to Travis, but made no effort to stop it. Id. at B-201-B-202. In December, 1993, plaintiff complained about Travis’ conduct and language to Greg McCoy (“McCoy”), a CSD manager, and asked for help, but specifically requested that he omit any reference to her individually. Id. at B-41-B-42. Travis’ conduct improved for a period of approximately one week subsequent to plaintiffs meeting with McCoy. Id. at B-47.

In February, 1994, plaintiff began discussions with Savage, Travis and McCoy regarding a transfer to CSD. Id. at B-50. The position contemplated for the transfer was what is referred to as “CSD with a file,” meaning a client services position with new clients.1 The position paid a salary of $2,250 per month, $250 more per month than what plaintiff had been earning in sales, and the transfer was to be effective March 1st. Id. Plaintiff did not discuss the reason she wanted the transfer. Id. Plaintiff continued to meet with different managers to discuss the transfer; she was first told by McCoy that she might not succeed in CSD, and later by Travis that she would not like working in CSD. Id. at B-51. On February 25th, plaintiff spoke with Patricia Wagner (‘Wagner”), another CSD manager, and in the course of those discussions, told Wagner about Travis’ conduct. Id. at B-52. Wagner advised plaintiff to speak to Ken Sliker (“Sliker”), a new CSD manager, about Travis. Id. Plaintiff followed Wagner’s advice, spoke with Sliker, and was assured by him that he would [641]*641take care of the situation. Id. at B-52-B-53. She made a similar request of Mr. Sliker that he keep her name out of any discussions he might have with Travis. Id. at B-53.

On March 2, 1994, plaintiff was summoned into Savage’s office for a meeting with Savage and Travis. Id. at B-55. Travis issued an apology to plaintiff for his behavior, although he later stated that he did not know exactly what he did or said that offended her, id. at B-130, and denied most of her allegations, id. at B-132-B-141; B-146-B-147. Plaintiff was cut off by Savage when she tried to discuss Travis’ conduct, and was told that “there’s no need to bring it all up again,” that she had her apology, and “[l]et’s leave it at that.” Id. at B-55. Savage said nothing to Travis in plaintiffs presence, although Savage testified that he reviewed a pamphlet on sexual harassment with Travis. Id. at B-170.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Paris v. CHRISTIANA CARE VISITING NURSE ASS'N.
197 F. Supp. 2d 111 (D. Delaware, 2002)
Preyer v. Dartmouth
D. New Hampshire, 1998

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
923 F. Supp. 636, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6334, 1996 WL 249338, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mertig-v-milliken-michaels-of-delaware-inc-ded-1996.