Opinion ID: 71953
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the telephone transcripts issues

Text: 57 In its order granting summary judgment, the district court also struck, as hearsay, transcripts of telephone conversations Merritt had with ten of his former female coworkers at Dillard. Merritt contends that these transcripts are not hearsay and that the district court erred in striking them. Merritt submitted the transcripts in support of his argument that Dillard's legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for firing him was pretextual. Because Merritt submitted direct evidence of discrimination sufficient to survive summary judgment, we have not addressed Merritt's McDonnell Douglas pretext argument. We accordingly decline to answer the question of whether the transcripts, submitted only in support of the pretext argument, are admissible at the summary judgment stage, see McMillian v. Johnson, 88 F.3d 1573, 1583-85 (11th Cir.), amended in unrelated part, 101 F.3d 1363 (1996) (on rehearing), and express no view on whether the transcripts are admissible for any purpose. 2