Wenner v. CG Bretting Mfg. Co., Inc.

917 F. Supp. 640, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19960, 69 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 774, 1995 WL 795665
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedSeptember 6, 1995
Docket95-C-0006-C
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 917 F. Supp. 640 (Wenner v. CG Bretting Mfg. Co., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wenner v. CG Bretting Mfg. Co., Inc., 917 F. Supp. 640, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19960, 69 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 774, 1995 WL 795665 (W.D. Wis. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CRABB, District Judge.

This is a civil action for monetary and injunctive relief brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C.. §§ 2000e-2(a)(l), 2000e-3 and 28 U.S.C. § 1367. In his complaint, plaintiff raised a federal claim of retaliation for opposing sexual harassment in the workplace and supplemental state law claims for breach of contract and detrimental reliance. In his brief, he argued a claim of sexual harassment. (For completeness, all of the claims are addressed in this opinion.)

Presently before the court is defendant’s motion for summary judgment. I conclude that defendant is entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs claim of sexual harassment because plaintiff has not met his burden of showing that the behavior complained of rose to the level of actionable sexual harassment. Defendant is entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs claim of'retaliation under Title VII because plaintiff has not adduced evidence that could lead a reasonable jury to find that the person who terminated plaintiff was aware of plaintiffs protected conduct. Finally, since post-termination retaliatory conduct is not actionable, defendant is entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs breach of contract and detrimental reliance claims because they do not form part of the same case or controversy as plaintiffs federal retaliation claim.

To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must show that even when all inferences are drawn in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); McGann v. Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., 8 F.3d 1174, 1178 (7th Cir.1993). “Defeating summary judgment requires more- than just a swearing match,” Matter of Wade, 969 F.2d 241, 245 (7th Cir.1992); the opposing party must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Matsushita Electric Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). However, summary judgment may be awarded against the non-moving party only if the court concludes that a reasonable jury could not find for that party. Anderson v. Stauffer Chemical Co., 965 F.2d 397, 400 (7th Cir.1992) (citing Karazanos v. Navistar International Transportation Corp., 948 F.2d 332, 335 (7th Cir.1991)).

For the purpose of deciding this motion, I conclude from the parties’ proposed findings of fact that there is no genuine dispute over the following material facts.

UNDISPUTED FACTS

On or about November 15, 1992, plaintiff Paul Wenner was hired by defendant C.G. Bretting Mfg. Co., Inc. .to manage the company’s electrical engineering department. Defendant is a Wisconsin corporation doing business out of its facilities in Ashland, Wisconsin, and is engaged primarily in the manufacture of converting equipment for the paper tissue industry. In October of 1993, Tom Jehn was hired to be defendant’s manager of engineering. Plaintiff reported to Jehn. Tad Bretting was president of the company and also monitored plaintiffs job performance. David H. Bretting, vice-president of the company, oversaw all personnel matters, including making and implementing discipline and discharge decisions.

During his first three months with defendant, Jehn received complaints about plaintiff from a number of company employees. These complaints suggested that plaintiff was aloof and arrogant, talked down to individuals, did not cooperate with other employees, refused to take responsibility for his actions and did not communicate effectively with his co-workers. Also during his first few months, Jehn learned of customer complaints regarding plaintiffs conduct, which included unresponsiveness to customers and resistance to working with customers on their orders.

*644 In early January 1994, Jehn and David Bretting met to discuss plaintiffs job performance and agreed that the situation was serious enough that Jehn would “coach” plaintiff regarding his relationships with other employees and customers. On February 10, 1994, David Bretting met with plaintiff, expressed the concerns he had with plaintiffs job performance and told plaintiff he was being given a final chance.

Not all employees were dissatisfied with plaintiffs performance. Jeff Ginzl, a senior electrical engineer and relatively new employee, believed that plaintiff was a good manager who was honest and neither mistreated his co-workers nor talked in an arrogant manner toward his employees. Similarly, Tad Bretting, who worked with plaintiff on a daily basis, never found him to be either arrogant or aloof and never saw any reason to discipline him. Plaintiff never received any written warnings regarding his performance. Instead, he received several bonuses from Tad Bretting and a salary increase during his tenure at the company. Finally, Jehn indicated that some conflicts between plaintiff and other employees were the result of confusion as to what supervisory responsibilities plaintiff would have in relation to Jehn.

On May 10, 1994, four representatives of Kayserberg Corporation, a paper company located in France, came to Bretting to inspect an inter-folder machine Kayserberg had ordered. Among them were Gerald Langer, project manager for Kayserberg, and Roger Menetré, Kayserberg’s chief electrical engineer. The Kayserberg representatives were scheduled to visit the company through May 14,1994.

On the morning of May 10, Kayserberg representatives met with defendant’s representatives to discuss the inter-folder machine. Plaintiff met Langer for the first time at this meeting. During the meeting, Lan-ger looked adoringly at plaintiff and looked up and down plaintiffs body. Plaintiff found this conduct objectionable but did not respond. Other employees and Kayserberg representatives were present while this conduct was taking place. That evening, representatives of both companies met for dinner. Plaintiff sat directly across from Langer. Toward the end of dinner, Langer began to rub his feet and leg against plaintiffs leg under the dinner table while smiling at plaintiff and looking at him adoringly. Plaintiff did not excuse himself from the table because he thought it would be rude to leave. After dinner, Langer stated to plaintiff, “Mr. Wen-ner, you look very handsome this evening,” and told him that his eyes looked very nice with his tie.

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917 F. Supp. 640, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19960, 69 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 774, 1995 WL 795665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wenner-v-cg-bretting-mfg-co-inc-wiwd-1995.