Noble v. Norteast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad

130 F. Supp. 3d 1166, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123588, 2015 WL 5467588
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedSeptember 16, 2015
Docket10-cv-6821
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 130 F. Supp. 3d 1166 (Noble v. Norteast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad) 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
Noble v. Norteast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad, 130 F. Supp. 3d 1166, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123588, 2015 WL 5467588 (N.D. Ill. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

John Z. Lee, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Randall Noble asserts claims under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 against Defendant Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, d/b/a/ Metra (“Metra”), alleging that Metra has discriminated against him in his employment based on his race. Noble also claims that Metra retaliated against him when he complained about the discriminatory actions. Metra now has filed a motion for summary judgment with respect to these claims. For his part, Noble contends that the record precludes summary judgment and; alternatively, asks to reopen discovery. For the reasons provided below, the Court grants Metra’s motion for summary judgment and denies Noblete motion to reopen discovery.

I. Factual Background1

Noble, an African-American, began working for Metra in April 2009 as a Laborer. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶¶ 1, 4. Noble last worked for Metra on August 13, 2010. See id. ¶ 4. Noble generally concedes that, during his time at Metra, he was never subjected to termination, reprimand, discipline, demotion, wage diminution, a loss of benefits or job responsibilities, or seniority loss. See id. ¶ 6. Noble also concedes that he was never subjected to racially-charged comments or jokes, and was never told that any actions taken at work were due to his race. See id. Noble, however, does believe that he experienced incidents of racial bias at the hands of Metra, see Pl.’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶6, and identifies four incidents he believes support his claims.

A. May 31, 2010, Incident

On May 31, 2010, Noble was scheduled to work the 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. shift at Metra’s Western Avenue Yard. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 7. Noble, however, was ordered to go to the Elgin Yard and work an overnight shift. See id. ¶ 8. The parties dispute precisely who gave the order to work and the wording of the order. According, to Metra, Noble’s supervisor ordered him to work the 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift. See id. Noble believes that. Dominick Russo, a junior coworker, ordered him to work the 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift. See PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)B) Stmt. ¶ 8.

In any case, Noble refused to work the night shift, stating that the shift was “not his responsibility” and that he had not received the “necessary training.” _See Def.’s LR 5¿.l(a)(3) -Stmt. ¶ 9. According to Noble, he had only received two days of training, which (at least, according to Noble) was insufficient to perform the tasks required on the night shift. See PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶9. In particular, Noble believes that he should have been provided training at an electrician school, because some of the tasks he performed for Metra involved handling electrical equipment, See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 10; PL’s .LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶ 10. That said,'it is undisputed that Noble never worked as an electrician for Metra. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 10.

Noble’s supervisor threatened to write him up for his refusal to work the night shift at Elgin Yard. See id. ¶ 11. Noble never bore any ádverse consequences after this threat, however. Seé id. ¶ 12. After protesting, Noble proceeded to work the night shift at the Elgin Yard. See PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶ 12.

[1171]*1171B. June 1, 2010, Incident

On June 1, 2010, Noble was working the night shift at the Elgin Yard when a train, was delayed for nineteen minutes. According to Metra, Noble admitted that he caused the delay because he did not know what he was doing. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. If 13. Noble was threatened with a write-up for causing the delay. See id. ¶ 14. Nevertheless, Noble never bore any adverse consequences as a result of this incident. See id. ¶ 15. Noble was sent home early, two hours before the end of his shift, at 5 a.m. See id. ,¶ 16.

Noble remembers the incident slightly differently. According to him, the train delay incident must have occurred on a day other than June 1, 2010, because he had left the yard at 2 a.m. that day and recalls that the confrontation with his supervisor over the train delay took place at approximately 9 a.m. See PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶ 13. Noble agrees that he was sent home two hours early, but believes the incident occurred on a third shift on a third day based upon the shift times. See id. ¶ 16.

In any event, Noble filed a written complaint against the foreman who sent him home. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) ¶ 17; PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶ 17. Metra investigated Noble’s complaint, determined that the foreman had sent Noble home early without justification, and compensated Noble for the two hours he had missed. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) 1Í18. After Noble filed his complaint, another unidentified foreman approached him and told him he was a “marked man.” See id. ¶ 19. Noble found this comment to be unsettling, but was unsure what exactly the foreman meant by it. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) ¶ 20; PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶20. Aside from this comment, however, Noble did not suffer any adverse consequences after filing the written complaint. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) ¶¶ 21-22.

C. June 11; 2010, Incident

The third incident occurred on June 11, 2010, while Noble was working at the Elgin Yard. See Def.’s L 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 23. He developed an upset stomach and took approximately forty to sixty minutes for his lunch break, exceeding his allotted twenty minutes. See id. ¶ 24. Noble did not have authorization to spend more than twenty minutes for lunch, and hé did not notify a supervisor that‘:he would be out longer than twenty minutes. See id. ¶25. A foreman finally located’ Noble; Noble claims he was “interrupted” by-the foreman and that the foreman threatened to write him up. See id. ¶26. No.ble does not ■ dispute that he. suffered no adverse employment consequences as a result of this incident. See id. ¶ 27; PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt.-¶ 13..

After the lunch confrontation, Noble’s supervisor, Mark Simos, ordered him to attend a meeting with.another foreman, Ben- Robles, to account for his unauthorized absence. See. Def.’s L . 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 28; see also PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶ 28. At this meeting, Noble claims that Robles and another foreman, Darren Crouch, were abusive, used threatening language, and . threw a hard hat at him, which nearly struck him. See Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶¶ 29, 31; see also PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶ 29. According to Noble, while he was preparing a written account of his absence, Crouch made increasingly abusive comments towards him, telling him to “hurry up” to write his report and “get out of this office,” finally stating, “You motherf# # ker, I’ll kick your ass.” See generally Def.’s LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt.' ¶30 (detailing conversation); see also PL’s LR 56.1(b)(3)(B) Stmt. ¶30.

Noble called the Metra Police Chief and demanded that the .police come to arrest the foreman for verbal assault. See Def.’s [1172]*1172LR 56.1(a)(3) Stmt. ¶ 32.

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Bluebook (online)
130 F. Supp. 3d 1166, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123588, 2015 WL 5467588, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/noble-v-norteast-illinois-regional-commuter-railroad-ilnd-2015.