Source: http://courts.mrsc.org/supreme/110wn2d/110wn2d0355.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 00:52:05+00:00

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of Puget Sound, Inc., Respondent.
 Judgment - Summary Judgment - Affidavit - Evidentiary Averments - Necessity. Making conclusory statements and expressing opinions as to the ultimate issue or the importance of other evidence does not constitute setting forth facts on personal knowledge that are admissible at trial, as required by CR 56(e) to raise a genuine issue of material fact to defeat a motion for summary judgment.
 Civil Rights - Age Discrimination - Burden of Proof - In General. After an employee has established a prima facie case of age discrimination and the employer has produced reasons explaining the action complained of, the burden of the employee in establishing an issue of fact is to persuade that the employer's reasons are merely a pretext for actual discrimination.
NAMES OF CONCURRING OR DISSENTING JUDGES: Pearson, C.J., and Utter and Dolliver, JJ., did not participate in the disposition of this case.
NATURE OF ACTION: An employee of a private university sought damages for termination of employment, alleging age discrimination, breach of contract, and wrongful discharge.
Superior Court: The Superior Court for Pierce County, No. 84 2-04163-9, Waldo F. Stone, J., on September 13, 1985, entered a summary judgment in favor of the defendant.
Court of Appeals: The judgment was AFFIRMED by unpublished opinion noted at 48 Wn. App. 1012.
Supreme Court: Holding that the plaintiff failed to establish a genuine issue of material fact, the court AFFIRMS the judgment.
COUNSEL: STEVEN L. LARSON, for petitioner.
EISENHOWER, CARLSON, NEWLANDS, REHA, HENRIOT & QUINN, by JAMES F. HENRIOT and JAMES M. HUSHAGEN, for respondent.
MAJORITY OPINION: This case involves an action for damages resulting from plaintiff's termination from employment by defendant University of Puget Sound, Inc. Plaintiff alleged: (1) age discrimination in violation of RCW 49.60.180(2); (2) breach of contract of employment; and (3) wrongful discharge. The trial court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment. The Court of Appeals affirmed by an unpublished opinion. GRIMWOOD v. UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND, INC., noted at 48 Wn. App. 1012 (1987). We affirm.
Plaintiff was first employed by defendant UPS in 1968; ultimately he became Director of Food Services. In March 1984, at age 61, UPS discharged him. Plaintiff challenged his termination through UPS personnel administrative procedures. He contended he was discharged without just cause and as a result of age discrimination. The appeal committee unanimously found no merit in either claim, affirmatively finding substandard job performance. Plaintiff subsequently filed suit in superior court.
UPS had given defendant a 2-page termination notice. It detailed plaintiff's efforts to terminate a special meal program which he had agreed to institute. Plaintiff's actions were described as a serious error causing negative student reaction, done without proper consultation with plaintiff's superior. The notice described the incident as a serious form of noncooperation. It referred to a September 1983 memorandum sent to plaintiff, which had also warned him of noncooperative behavior and other job performance deficiencies.
memorandum with you at your convenience.
memorandum and return it to me.
This memorandum had been preceded by a July 1983 supervisor's memorandum to plaintiff entitled "Cooperation." Before describing in detail a specific incident, it stated: "I have discussed your need to be cooperative at all times with students, faculty, and staff. I have cited examples of uncooperative behavior of yours in your appraisals." Clerk's Papers, at 100. These memoranda were made part of defendant's affidavit in support of defendant's summary judgment motion. In addition, defendant set forth relevant portions of plaintiff's deposition, described hereafter.
Plaintiff's counter affidavit did not dispute the factual contents of the defendant's affidavit or the deposition. Instead, plaintiff attached numerous letters of praise from users of food services, a copy of his June 1983 performance appraisal and a copy of portions of UPS's personnel manual. Referring to the memoranda and incidents described therein he stated: "Those incidents are nothing but pretexts." Clerk's Papers, at 121. One incident he described as "much ado about nothing"; another as "equally petty"; that another "exaggerates a minor misunderstanding" concluding that "[a] phone call to me would have solved the problem. Instead [the supervisor] blew the matter out of all proportion in an attempt to manufacture grounds for terminating my employment." Clerk's Papers, at 122. Plaintiff's affidavit further stated that "U.P.S. had no valid reason for being dissatisfied with my job performance," Clerk's Papers, at 120, "I was not 'uncooperative' and my job performance was not 'substandard,'" Clerk's Papers, at 121.
Because plaintiff challenges the trial court's grant of summary judgment in defendant's favor, we must measure the evidence which plaintiff contends raises a genuine issue of material fact for trial.
It is apparent that the emphasis is upon FACTS to which the affiant could testify from personal knowledge and which would be ADMISSIBLE IN EVIDENCE. Thus, there is a dual inquiry as to whether an affidavit sets forth "material facts creating a genuine issue for trial": does the affidavit state material facts, and, if so, would those facts be admissible in evidence at trial? If the contents of an affidavit do not satisfy both standards, the affidavit fails to raise a genuine issue for trial, and summary judgment is appropriate.
A fact is an event, an occurrence, or something that exists in reality. WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY 813 (1976). It is what took place, an act, an incident, a reality as distinguished from supposition or opinion. 35 C.J.S. FACT 489 (1960). The "facts" required by CR 56(e) to defeat a summary judgment motion are evidentiary in nature. Ultimate facts or conclusions of fact are insufficient. SEE HATCH v. BUSH, 215 Cal. App. 2d 692, 30 Cal. Rptr. 397 (1963). Likewise, conclusory statements of fact will not suffice. AMERICAN LINEN SUPPLY CO. v. NURSING HOME BLDG. CORP., 15 Wn. App. 757, 767, 551 P.2d 1038 (1976).
Here, defendant's affidavit sets forth facts leading to plaintiff's termination. The memoranda attached to the affidavits set forth specific events, occurrences, things that were claimed to exist in reality. They stated that plaintiff did this or did not do that. On the other hand, plaintiff's affidavit in opposition presented only his conclusions and opinions as to the significance of the facts set forth in defendant's affidavit, E.G., that was "petty," this was a "pretext," that was "an exaggeration," or a fact set forth was "much ado about nothing." It is apparent that these phrases do not describe an event, an occurrence, or that which took place.
Equally deficient are plaintiff's statements in his affidavit that he was not uncooperative, and that his job performance was not substandard. These are conclusions. As such, they do not counter defendant's statements of noncooperation based upon specific incidents. It would be different if plaintiff had claimed the incidents did not occur; for example, had he said that he had, in fact, completed all employee evaluation forms when defendant said he did not, an issue of fact would have existed. To describe the incident instead as "much ado about nothing" may express his sincere belief and conclusions as to the occurrences at issue, but does not set forth "facts." An analogy is found in SMITH v. FLAX, 618 F.2d 1062, 1067 (4th Cir. 1980), an age discrimination case in which the employee testified in conclusory form as to his competence. The court said: "[the employee's] perception of himself . . . is not relevant. It is the perception of the decision maker which is relevant."
Mr. Grimwood: What is the basis for that claim?
an that reason must be age; is that what you're saying?
A. That's what I'm saying.
An almost factually identical case is SIMMONS v. MCGUFFEY NURSING HOME, INC., 619 F.2d 369 (5th Cir. 1980). There, plaintiff stated in his deposition that age must have been the reason for his termination "'because I could see no other reason I could have been'" terminated. SIMMONS, at 371. The court held: "[plaintiff's] statement is conclusory and unsupported by any specific evidence." SIMMONS, at 371. The employer's summary judgment was affirmed. So it is here.
Plaintiff's age discrimination claim is based upon RCW 49.60.180: "It is an unfair practice for any employer . . . (2) [t]o discharge . . . any person from employment because of age . . ."
«1» For a comparison of the state and federal acts see AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT: A COMPARISON OF THE FEDERAL AND WASHINGTON STATE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, 16 Gonz. L. Rev. 637 (1981).
The federal courts have attempted to establish the elements of an employee's prima facie case, to allocate the resulting procedural burdens of production, and to allocate the ultimate burden of persuasion. In MCDONNELL DOUGLAS CORP. v. GREEN, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 36 L. Ed. 2d 668, 93 S. Ct. 1817 (1973), the Supreme Court sets forth elements by which a prima facie case may be established under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e (1981) and allocated the resulting procedural burdens. Because of the similarity in purposes and substantive provisions in both the civil rights act and the ADEA, the federal courts have employed the MCDONNELL DOUGLAS test and procedures in age discrimination cases. SEE Annot., PROVING THAT DISCHARGE WAS BECAUSE OF AGE, FOR PURPOSES OF AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT (29 U.S.C. 621 ET SEQ.), 58 A.L.R. Fed. 94 (1982).
In ROBERTS v. ARCO, SUPRA, and BRADY v. DAILY WORLD, 105 Wn.2d 770, 776, 718 P.2d 785 (1986), we touched upon the nature of the elements of a prima facie age discrimination case and the allocation of the resulting, shifting burdens. ROBERTS and BRADY set forth four elements sufficient to make out a prima facie age discrimination case: (1) that the employee was within the statutorily protected age group; (2) was discharged; (3) was doing satisfactory work; and (4) was replaced by a younger person. ROBERTS, at 892; BRADY, at 777; SEE ALSO MCDONNELL DOUGLAS, at 804. We note that these four elements are not absolutes.
him in making out his case with circumstantial evidence.
and logic, FURNCO [CONSTR. CORP v. WATERS,] 438 U.S.
burden of production, but not otherwise.
TEAMSTERS, 431 U.S. at 358, 97 S.Ct. 1843.
In LOEB, the court also points out that the element of replacement by a younger person or a person outside the protected age group is not absolute; rather, the proof required is that the employer "sought a replacement with qualifications similar to his own, thus demonstrating a continued need for the same services and skills." LOEB, at 1013.
 We agree with the LOEB court's analysis and its conclusion that the burden of PERSUASION remains at all times upon the plaintiff. Once a plaintiff has made out a prima facie case, the employer must articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for termination. The employer's burden at this stage is not one of persuasion, but rather a burden of production. To go forward, the employer need only articulate reasons sufficient to meet the prima facie case. SEE INTERNATIONAL BHD. OF TEAMSTERS v. UNITED STATES, 431 U.S. 324, 360 n.46, 52 L. Ed. 2d 396, 97 S. Ct. 1843 (1977) (discussing nature of evidence necessitated by the employer's burden of production.) Once the employer fulfills his burden of production, to create a genuine issue of material fact the plaintiff must satisfy his ultimate burden of persuasion and show that the employer's articulated reasons are a mere pretext for what, in fact, is a discriminatory purpose. SEE LOEB, at 1011 12.
Here, we assume that plaintiff made out a prima facie case. The employer's affidavit articulated legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for plaintiff's termination consistent in manner and content with its internal personnel manual. Defendant thus met its burden of production. Plaintiff did not, however, meet his burden to create a genuine issue of fact that defendant's articulated reasons were a pretext for a discriminatory purpose.
Initially, the letters from various users of food services expressing satisfaction, which were part of plaintiff's affidavit in opposition to summary judgment, created a prima facie case as to plaintiff's satisfactory performance of his job. None of these letters, however, came from anyone charged with the direct supervision and evaluation of his overall performance. The letters were insufficient to overcome the reasons for plaintiff's termination articulated by defendant, particularly where the reasons were supported by statements from plaintiff's direct supervisors as to his substandard performance and lack of cooperation in his job.
Moreover, defendant's articulated reasons for terminating plaintiff were substantial. Over a long period of time the employer had called job deficiencies to plaintiff's attention in writing, suggested ways he could improve his performance, and expressed a willingness to assist him in correcting the problems. The legitimacy of defendant's reasons for discharging plaintiff are bolstered by the fact that the complaints were stated in writing long before plaintiff's termination, by the fact that some complaints about his performance came from those under plaintiff's supervision rather than only from the person with authority to discharge, and by the fact that defendant relied, in part, on objective events, such as plaintiff's repeated failure to complete personnel evaluation forms for employees under his supervision, as reasons for discharging him. Defendant had also warned plaintiff 6 months before his termination that continued substandard performance in the designated areas would be cause for dismissal.
Facing these long-standing, documented reasons, contained in defendant's affidavit in support of summary judgment, plaintiff had the burden to show a sufficient factual basis to support a genuine issue of material fact that his discharge was motivated by a discriminatory purpose rather than the reasons articulated by the defendant employer. He did not do so. He did not challenge the factual contents of any of the several memoranda. Instead, plaintiff countered only with his opinions that the incidents at issue were "nothing but pretexts", "much ado about nothing", "equally petty" and an exaggeration of "a minor misunderstanding." Plaintiff's conclusory opinions do not amount to material facts admissible in evidence showing there is a genuine issue for trial as to his age discrimination claim. We conclude that summary judgment for the defendant was proper.
contract? WHAT DO YOU BASE THAT UPON?
Q. That is a gut feeling you had, sort to speak?
them to provide services to the University?
Q. Did anyone ever provide you with a contract form?
of misconduct, an employee may be dismissed immediately.
Clerk's Papers, at 118-19. Commenting on this policy, plaintiff stated in his affidavit that the "implication of that policy was that permanent employees whose job performance was satisfactory had job security." Clerk's Papers, at 119. We note that plaintiff's conclusory statement as to the effect of the policy is of no consequence. It is a conclusion of law and, thus, is not the proper subject of an affidavit on a summary judgment motion. SEE ORION CORP. v. STATE, 103 Wn.2d 441, 462, 693 P.2d 1369 (1985).
Nevertheless, the portion of the Manual quoted by plaintiff does satisfy one holding of THOMPSON, to wit: "we hold that employers may be obligated to act in accordance with policies as announced in handbooks issued to their employees." THOMPSON, at 229. We conclude here, however, that the employer complied with the policies of its Manual. Memoranda to plaintiff clearly informed him of his deficiencies; he was given opportunities to correct those deficiencies. Six months prior to his discharge, plaintiff was notified that he had "been warned repeatedly about . . . substandard performance in personnel management and about the unacceptability of noncooperative behavior." Clerk's Papers, at 105. He was warned that continued substandard performance would be cause for dismissal. Clerk's Papers, at 105. Plaintiff received all that was promised by UPS in its Manual. Summary judgment was proper.
Plaintiff claims that because his discharge violated RCW 49.60.180(2), it supports a claim of wrongful discharge in violation of a clear mandate of public policy. We note that THOMPSON did adopt a tort liability theory as a "narrow public policy exception". THOMPSON, at 232. However, it is inapplicable here because we have held that plaintiff has failed to prove his discrimination claim. Thus, plaintiff's tort claim necessarily fails. We expressly do not decide whether a cause of action exists for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy when the declaration of public policy is declared in a statute already providing a remedy.
CONCURRING JUDGES: Dore, Andersen, Callow, Goodloe, and Durham, JJ., and Baker, Cunningham, and Hamilton, JJ. Pro Tem., concur.

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