Michaelis v. Polk Bros., Inc.

545 F. Supp. 109, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13783
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJune 25, 1982
Docket79 C 3787
StatusPublished

This text of 545 F. Supp. 109 (Michaelis v. Polk Bros., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Michaelis v. Polk Bros., Inc., 545 F. Supp. 109, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13783 (N.D. Ill. 1982).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

LEIGHTON, District Judge.

I

Introduction

This is an age and sex discrimination action by Margo Michaelis, a woman who was born in 1922, against her former employer, Polk Bros., Inc., a family-owned corporation consisting of a chain of retail stores in the Chicago area which sell furniture and appliances. Michaelis filed a three-count complaint against Polk on September 12, 1979: Count One alleged a Title VII claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; Count Two alleged a claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 623 et seq.; and Count Three purported to state a claim for breach of contract under Illinois common law. By memorandum opinion dated March 16, 1982, this court granted Polk’s motion for summary judgment as to Count Three on the ground that the claim was barred by the Illinois Statute of Frauds, and denied its motion for summary judgment as to Counts One and Two.

On March 22, 1982, this court began a bench trial of the sex discrimination claim in Count One. A jury was impaneled simultaneously to hear evidence on Count Two, plaintiff’s age discrimination claim. On March 29, the jury returned a verdict for plaintiff on her age discrimination claim, and against defendant. Several post-trial matters are now before the court. They are the motion of Polk Bros., Inc. under Rule 50(b), Fed.R.Civ.P. for judgment notwithstanding the verdict [hereinafter judgment n. o. v.], or in the alternative, a motion for a new trial pursuant to Rule 59, Fed.R.Civ.P. as to the age discrimination claim. And, this court must also make findings of fact and conclusions of law as to the evidence it heard while conducting the simultaneous bench trial on plaintiff’s sex discrimination claim.

For the reasons set forth below, and in the following order, the court denies Polk’s motion for entry of judgment n. o. v. as to Count Two, and grants Polk’s alternative motion for a new trial. Finally, in accordance with the findings of facts and conclusions of law made as to plaintiff’s sex discrimination claim in Count I, the court enters judgment thereon in favor of defendant Polk, and against plaintiff.

II

Polk Brothers’ Motion for Judgment N.O.V.

The undisputed evidence presented at trial shows that plaintiff’s job, that of assistant to the merchandising manager, was eliminated by defendant on February 27, 1979. Defendant had employed the plaintiff since March 25, 1955, and she was 56 years old at the time she was discharged. *111 At the time, the number of non-clerical positions in the furniture merchandising department was reduced by one. Before elimination of her position, the following positions existed in her department in addition to plaintiff’s: merchandising manager, and two reorder buyers.

In order to establish her claim for relief under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, plaintiff was required to prove the following at trial:

(1) She was between the ages of 40 and 70; (2) her job was eliminated; (3) she was performing her job competently at the time it was eliminated; and (4) a fact or facts from which it could reasonably be concluded by the jury that but for defendant’s motive to discriminate against plaintiff because of her age, her position would not have been eliminated.

Kephart v. Institute of Gas Technology, 630 F.2d 1217 (7th Cir. 1980), cert, den., 450 U.S. 959, 101 S.Ct. 1418, 67 L.Ed.2d 383 (1981). Plaintiff and defendant agree that her age placed her within the purview of the class protected by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and they also agree that her position was eliminated on February 27, 1979. However, there is disagreement as to the caliber of plaintiff’s job performance, as well as whether or not plaintiff established facts at trial sufficient to support her claim that her age was the determining factor in abolishing the position she held with Polk.

A motion for judgment n. o. v. raises a question of law. Appleman v. United States, 338 F.2d 729, 730 (7th Cir. 1964), cert, den., 380 U.S. 956, 85 S.Ct. 1090, 13 L.Ed.2d 972 (1965). The standard for determining whether a judgment n. o. v. should be entered is:

Whether the evidence presented, combined with all reasonable inferences permissibly drawn therefrom, is insufficient to support the verdict when viewed in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is directed.

Syvock v. Milwaukee Boiler Mfg. Co., Inc., 665 F.2d 149,153 (7th Cir. 1981); Appleman v. United States, 338 F.2d at 730 (7th Cir. 1964), cert, den., 380 U.S. 956, 85 S.Ct. 1090, 13 L.Ed.2d 972 (1965). Permissible inferences must be drawn in favor of the party opposing the motion for judgment n. o. v., as must any conflicts in the evidence. Id., Syvock v. Milwaukee Boiler Mfg. Co., Inc., 665 F.2d at 153 (7th Cir. 1981); Wisconsin Liquor Co. v. Park & Tilford Distillers Corp., 267 F.2d 928, 930 n.l (7th Cir. 1959).

As is evident from the foregoing, the standards for granting such a motion are stringent; Syvock v. Milwaukee Boiler Mfg. Co., Inc., 665 F.2d at 153-54 (7th Cir. 1981); the Seventh Circuit has admonished that courts should enter judgments n. o. v. sparingly. Clemons v. Mitsui O. S. K. Lines, Ltd., 596 F.2d 746, 748 (7th Cir. 1979), cert, denied, 451 U.S. 969, 101 S.Ct. 2044, 68 L.Ed.2d 347 (1981). Indeed, it has been said that a motion for judgment n. o. v. should be denied when the evidence and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, viewed in the light most favorable to the non-movant, is such that reasonable men in the fair and impartial exercise of their judgments, may reach different conclusions. Id., Clemons v. Mitsui O. S. K. Lines, Ltd., 596 F.2d at 748; Hohmann v. Packard Instrument Co., Inc., 471 F.2d 815, 819 (7th Cir. 1973).

Application of the standards set forth above requires this court to conclude that Polk’s motion for judgment n. o. v. must be denied. First, plaintiff and defendant produced conflicting evidence at trial. Ernest Kaufer was plaintiff’s supervisor for 17 years, and he testified that she had always performed capably, and that her position was at least equal to that of officially designated reorder buyers.

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Bluebook (online)
545 F. Supp. 109, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michaelis-v-polk-bros-inc-ilnd-1982.