Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca3-19-01249/USCOURTS-ca3-19-01249-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 

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1 

NOT PRECEDENTIAL 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT 

________________ 

No. 19-1249 

________________ 

YVONNE RALEY, 

 Appellant 

v. 

FELICIAN COLLEGE 

________________ 

On Appeal from the United States District Court 

for the District of New Jersey 

(D.N.J. No. 2:15-cv-06626) 

District Judge: Honorable Madeline Cox Arleo 

________________ 

Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) 

March 5, 2020 

Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, HARDIMAN, and KRAUSE, Circuit Judges 

(Opinion filed: March 16, 2020) 

________________ 

OPINION*

________________ 

KRAUSE, Circuit Judge. 

*

 This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not 

constitute binding precedent. 

Case: 19-1249 Document: 73 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/16/2020
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Yvonne Raley appeals the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of 

her former employer, Felician College, on her Title VII gender discrimination claim. Raley 

argues the District Court erred in holding, first, that she had not established a prima facie 

case of discrimination,1

 and second, that she failed to demonstrate Felician’s reason for her 

termination was pretextual. We resolve this case on the second ground: Raley’s failure to 

demonstrate that Felician’s reason for her termination was pretextual is fatal to her case. 

For the reasons that follow, we will affirm. 

I. Discussion2

We review the grant of summary judgment here de novo and will affirm if “there is 

no genuine dispute as to any material fact” and, viewing the facts in the light most favorable 

to Raley, Felician is nonetheless “entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 

56(a); Burton v. Teleflex Inc., 707 F.3d 417, 425 (3d Cir. 2013). 

Felician asserts that it had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for terminating 

Raley’s employment: a drop in student enrollment precipitated a schoolwide reduction-inforce and Raley was selected for termination based on a holistic assessment of criteria, 

1

 Specifically, Raley asserts that she established her prima facie case by identifying 

at least two similarly situated comparators, Drs. Khawaja and Abaunza, who had less 

seniority and were not terminated. Felician argues that the District Court correctly 

concluded that neither comparator was similarly situated because, unlike Raley, they both 

had administrative duties in addition to their classroom responsibilities. In view of our 

disposition on alternative grounds, we need not resolve that dispute. 

2

 The District Court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367(a), and we 

have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. 

Case: 19-1249 Document: 73 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/16/2020
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including “academic prioritization; essentiality to the program; teaching effectiveness; 

service to the university; credentials; scholarship, and seniority.” Def.’s Statement of 

Material Facts ¶¶ 35–36, ECF No. 50-21. To defeat summary judgment, Raley must show 

that Felician’s proffered reason was pretextual by “point[ing] to evidence that would allow 

a factfinder to disbelieve the employer’s reason[s].”3

 Willis v. UPMC Children’s Hosp. of 

Pittsburgh, 808 F.3d 638, 644 (3d Cir. 2015) (citing Fuentes v. Perskie, 32 F.3d 759, 765 

(3d Cir. 1994)). On appeal, Raley advances two principal arguments. Neither is 

persuasive. 

First, she argues that two Felician administrators disputed Felician’s claim that it 

was in dire economic straits. These administrators stated Felician’s enrollment projections 

were “trending upward” and that the financial strain Felician faced at the time of Raley’s 

termination was not “materially different” from prior dips in enrollment that the college 

weathered successfully. See Kubersky Aff. ¶ 12, ECF No. 56-3; Back Aff. ¶ 8, ECF No. 

56-4. But those same administrators testified that they either were not privy to discussions 

about Felician’s financial condition or had not reviewed the college’s financial data. 

Without any substantial ground for challenging Felician’s description of its financial state, 

these administrators’ comments do not suffice to demonstrate that Felician’s proffered 

reason for Raley’s termination was pretextual. 

3

 Raley does not point to evidence that “an invidious discriminatory reason was 

more likely than not a motivating or determinative cause” as an alternative way to show 

pretext. Willis, 808 F.3d at 645 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 

Case: 19-1249 Document: 73 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/16/2020
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Second, Raley points out that prior to her termination, a Felician taskforce had 

ranked her department in the top quintile of its departments, and she was teaching more 

students than any other faculty member in her department. This evidence does not discredit 

Felician’s economic motive for Raley’s termination. The question before us “is not whether 

the employer made the best, or even a sound, business decision; it is whether the real reason 

is [discrimination].” Willis, 808 F.3d at 647 (alteration in original) (citation omitted). 

Considered alongside the other steps Felician took to cut its operating budget—including 

firing at least fifteen other professors, half of whom were men, and decreasing 

administrative positions schoolwide—this evidence is insufficient to support an inference 

that Felician’s reason for terminating Raley’s contract was pretextual. 

II. Conclusion 

For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the District Court’s grant of summary 

judgment in Felician’s favor.

Case: 19-1249 Document: 73 Page: 4 Date Filed: 03/16/2020