Opinion ID: 691962
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: LaFond's Prima Facie Case

Text: 23 LaFond's first burden under the McDonnell Douglas scheme is to establish a prima face case of retaliatory discharge under Sec. 31-51m(b). To establish a prima facie case, LaFond must show (1) that he engaged in a protected activity as defined by Sec. 31-51m(b); (2) that he was subsequently discharged from his employment; and (3) that there was a causal connection between his participation in the protected activity and his discharge. See, e.g., Wolcott v. Champion Int'l Corp., 691 F.Supp. 1052, 1058 (W.D.Mich.1987) (stating elements of prima facie case under the Michigan Whistleblowers Protection Act); Melchi v. Burns Int'l Sec. Servs., Inc., 597 F.Supp. 575, 582 (E.D.Mich.1984) (same). The nature of LaFond's burden of proof at the prima facie stage is de minimis. Dister v. Continental Group, Inc., 859 F.2d 1108, 1114 (2d Cir.1988). 24 There is no dispute herein that LaFond established the first two elements of his prima facie case. He reported suspected violations of federal law to the NUSC and CDOL, and he was subsequently discharged. We pass then to whether LaFond demonstrated that his discharge occurred in circumstances giving rise to an inference that he was discharged because he reported the suspected violations to the NUSC and CDOL. See Gallo, 22 F.3d at 1225. Since the trial court is not to resolve issues of fact in deciding a motion for summary judgment, the determination of whether the circumstances give rise to an inference of retaliatory discharge must be a determination of whether the proffered admissible evidence shows circumstances that would be sufficient to permit a rational finder of fact to infer a [retaliatory] motive. It is not the province of the summary judgment court itself to decide what inferences should be drawn. Chambers, 43 F.3d at 38 (emphasis supplied); accord Cronin, 46 F.3d at 204. 25 The district court found that LaFond had not established a prima facie case because he failed to even minimally establish that his act of reporting alleged violations of law to a public body was the cause of his termination. LaFond, No. 2:92CV571, slip op. at 14. Rather, the court found that the evidence compel[led] the conclusion that [General Physics] fired [LaFond] for his behavior, both in attempting to improperly extort [General Physics] and in thwarting [General Physics'] legitimate attempts to determine the truth of [LaFond's] complaints. Id. at 13. The court noted that at the conclusion of his investigation, it was clear to Thames that [LaFond] was a disaffected employee who wanted a more senior employee to be fired, id., and that to accomplish this end, LaFond had chosen to blackmail Thames by threatening to disclose information of purported violations of law ... to both government agencies and valued clients, id. The court also cited Thames' testimony in which he stated that the reason why he terminated LaFond was because LaFond had sent him an extortionate letter that was unsubstantiated. It further found that LaFond led Thames to believe that he was intentionally withholding evidence of Urso's purported wrongdoing, thereby continuing to exhibit reckless behavior and poor judgement. Additionally, the court found that neither [LaFond] nor any other employee interviewed by Thames provided proof of [LaFond's] allegations against Urso. Id. 26 Upon carefully reviewing the record herein, we conclude, contrary to the district court, that LaFond presented sufficient evidence to support an inference that he was discharged in retaliation for reporting suspected violations of federal law to the NUSC and CDOL. The district court was not free to credit as true as a matter of law Thames' testimony that LaFond was discharged because he sent what Thames deemed an extortionate and unsubstantiated letter. See Chambers, 43 F.3d at 38 (The [trial] court was not free to accept ... [an] affidavit as true as a matter of law.). The evidence was such that a reasonable inference to the contrary could have been drawn. Bunty specifically mentioned LaFond's reporting of his claims to a public body in the discharge letter, stating: The fact that you threatened to mail these unsupported charges to the [NUSC] and other parties in an attempt to coerce [General Physics] into discharging [Urso], and did in fact eventually mail these unsubstantiated allegations to at least the [NUSC], causes to [sic] question your judgement and reliability. (emphasis supplied). Thames testified at a deposition that LaFond would not have been discharged at all had he come to him directly with his claims, stating: 27 Had [LaFond] done this in the manner that we encourage in this company, had [LaFond] come to me directly and said [Thames], I got real concerns against this fellow named [Urso] and I got these allegations I'm going to make about him between you and I, would you please investigate them, had he done it in that manner, [LaFond] would probably be employed here today. 28 A finder of fact could certainly draw an inference from this evidence that LaFond's reporting of the suspected violations to public bodies was the actual cause of his discharge. To be sure, it is not within the province of the trial court at the summary judgment stage to resolve ambiguities and draw inferences in favor of the movant. See Gallo, 22 F.3d at 1223; Donahue, 834 F.2d at 57. 29 We conclude that LaFond satisfied his de minimis burden of presenting evidence from which a rational inference of retaliatory discharge under Sec. 31-51m(b) could be drawn. Hence, LaFond presented adequate evidence so that summary judgment could not be granted on the basis of failure to make out a prima facie case.