Opinion ID: 790574
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Chris-Craft Records

Text: 51 Woodman fails to identify any Chris-Craft records disclosed to Fox prior to her termination that revealed her date of birth, her age, or her relative age. To the extent Chris-Craft supplied Fox with personnel lists identifying each employee at Chris-Craft's television stations, these lists stated the employee's job title; his or her department; and information necessary to calculate possible severance benefits, specifically, the employee's current salary, last three years' bonuses, and date of hire. But nothing in the record indicates that these lists included the age or birth date of any Chris-Craft employee. 52 Woodman does not contend otherwise. Instead, she submits that the personnel lists, by crediting her with 16.09 years of service at Chris-Craft, put Fox Group on notice that she was likely to be in the protected class. Appellant's Reply Br. at 14. We disagree. [A]n employee's age is analytically distinct from his years of service. Hazen Paper Co. v. Biggins, 507 U.S. 604, 611, 113 S.Ct. 1701, 123 L.Ed.2d 338 (1993). Thus, seniority is not a sufficiently accurate indicator of age to allow, as a matter of course, a defendant's knowledge of the former to substitute for knowledge of the latter. For example, in Ludovicy v. Dunkirk Radiator Corp., 922 F.2d 109, 111 (2d Cir.1990), a 53-year-old employee and a 34-year-old employee of the defendant company both had 14 years of service. So in this case, because Woodman could have attained 16 years of service and still been less than 40 years of age, her seniority is not probative of defendants' knowledge as to her age at the time of her discharge. More importantly, although von Ahrens, at age 43, was almost 20 years younger than Woodman, the two women's years of service — 12 for von Ahrens and 16 for Woodman — were sufficiently close that the women could easily have been the same age. 15 Their respective seniority levels, therefore, cannot give rise to an inference that defendants knew Woodman was the significantly older worker. 53 Woodman submits that Chris-Craft's disclosure of employee benefits information would likely have revealed her age to the defendants. In fact, the record indicates that this information, accompanied by various actuarial reports, contained only generic age information, for example, identifying the number of male and female employees within particular age groups. There is no evidence indicating that benefits information disclosed any specific employee's age or relative age. 54 Woodman nevertheless contends that overwhelming circumstantial evidence supports a conclusion that the defendants must have reviewed Chris-Craft documents containing employee-specific age information before ordering her termination. Appellant's Br. at 29. This evidence consists of Woodman's observation that Fox had a strong financial interest in learning the ages of individual Chris-Craft employees in order to evaluate the health and pension plans to which it would succeed through the merger, as well as to avoid age discrimination. Even if we were to agree with Woodman's characterization of Fox's interests, she can only speculate that Fox executives, in fact, reviewed employee-specific age information. The law is well established that `conclusory statements, conjecture, or speculation' are inadequate to defeat a motion for summary judgment. Opals on Ice Lingerie v. Body Lines, Inc., 320 F.3d 362, 370 n. 3 (2d Cir.2003) (quoting Kulak v. City of New York, 88 F.3d 63, 71 (2d Cir.1996)); see Byrnie v. Town of Cromwell Bd. of Educ., 243 F.3d at 101. 55 In fact, plaintiff herself has adduced evidence indicating that defendants did not review employee-specific age information before the merger. Norman Roth, WWOR's Business Manager at the time of Woodman's termination, in an affidavit filed in opposition to defendants' motion for summary judgment, stated that he responded to several pre-merger requests from defendants for employee information, that he could and would have supplied defendants with employees' ages if he had been asked, but that he did not remember defendants ever requesting such information. Similarly, Brian Kelly, Chris-Craft's former General Counsel, stated during his deposition that neither defendants nor any of their affiliates ever requested employee age information from him. 56 Woodman insists that her claim of age discrimination is not speculative because it is supported by the expert opinion of Edmund B. Piccolino, a human resources consultant, who in an affidavit states that, in his experience advising merging companies on personnel matters, officials of an acquiring company are generally given access to personnel records of the acquired company and frequently review documents containing employee age information before finalizing a merger. Piccolino, however, concedes that he has no basis to dispute the sworn contentions by Fox executives that they did not look at any document with age information regarding Woodman; he simply asserts that he do[es] not believe it is credible that the information was unavailable. Piccolino Aff. ¶ 13. Plainly, Piccolino's credibility assessment is not proper expert testimony. See Goodwin v. MTD Prods., Inc., 232 F.3d 600, 609 (7th Cir.2000) ([A]n expert cannot testify as to credibility issues. Rather, credibility questions are within the province of the trier of fact, in this case a jury.); 4 Weinstein's Federal Evidence § 702.06 (The credibility of witnesses is normally an issue left exclusively to the finder of fact, and is an improper subject for expert testimony.). In any event, even if we assume that his account of industry practices would cause a jury to question the credibility of Fox executives, that, by itself, would not constitute significant probative evidence raising a genuine issue of material fact as to defendants' knowledge of Woodman's relative age. As the Supreme Court emphasized in Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., `discredited testimony is not [normally] considered a sufficient basis for drawing a contrary conclusion.' Instead, the plaintiff must present affirmative evidence in order to defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment. 477 U.S. at 256-57, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (alteration in original) (quoting Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., 466 U.S. 485, 512, 104 S.Ct. 1949, 80 L.Ed.2d 502 (1984)) (emphasis added); see Goldhirsh Group, Inc. v. Alpert, 107 F.3d 105, 109 (2d Cir.1997) (following Dyer v. MacDougall, 201 F.2d 265, 269 (2d Cir.1952) (L.Hand, J.)); Martin v. Citibank, N.A., 762 F.2d 212, 217-18 (2d Cir.1985). 57 In sum, even when we review the record in the light most favorable to Woodman, we are obliged to conclude that it is devoid of affirmative evidence indicating that defendants reviewed any Chris-Craft records before her termination that made them aware of her age relative to that of the employee to whom her sales responsibilities were transferred. 58 (b) General Knowledge Within the Broadcast Community and by Defendants' Employees Not Involved in Woodman's Discharge Decision 59 Woodman submits that the district court, in concluding that she had failed to adduce adequate evidence of defendants' knowledge of her relative age, overlooked the fact that a jury could reasonably reject defendants' asserted ignorance on this point in light of circumstantial evidence demonstrating that her age was well known throughout the industry. Appellant's Br. at 27. As already noted, the possibility that defendants' proffered evidence will be discredited at trial cannot, by itself, permit a plaintiff to avoid summary judgment. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 256-57, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Goldhirsh Group, Inc. v. Alpert, 107 F.3d at 109; Martin v. Citibank, N.A., 762 F.2d at 217-18; Dyer v. MacDougall, 201 F.2d at 269. 60 It is unclear whether Woodman proffers her purported industry reputation as an older employee only to impeach defendants' denials of knowledge or as affirmative evidence of such knowledge. If the latter, we note that it is primarily Woodman herself who attests to her reputation, but she is hardly competent to testify to how others in the broadcast community perceived her age. See generally Fed.R.Evid. 602 (A witness may not testify to a matter unless evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the matter.); see also 3 Weinstein's Federal Evidence § 602.02 (The witness's testimony must be based on events perceived by the witness.). Further, her assertions of common knowledge are too conclusory to support a reasonable inference, even at the prima facie stage, that the defendants (specifically, the decision-makers who ordered her discharge) actually knew or consciously avoided knowledge of her age relative to that of her replacement. See generally Williams v. Borough of W. Chester, 891 F.2d 458, 466 (3d Cir.1989) (noting, in § 1983 action charging police indifference to prisoner's needs, that common knowledge evidence cannot defeat summary judgement unless (1) group of persons allegedly possessing information was sufficiently small, (2) disclosure of information was sufficiently recent, and (3) subject of information was sufficiently remarkable that jury could reasonably infer that named defendants actually shared in common knowledge); see also Hall v. Tollett, 128 F.3d 418, 426-27 (6th Cir.1997) (noting that § 1983 plaintiff who claimed discharge in violation of First Amendment could not defeat summary judgment by asserting that his political inclinations were common knowledge but that he was obliged to adduce some evidence that defendant actually knew of his support for rival candidate). 61 To the extent Woodman cites WWOR's December 13, 1999 press release announcing her promotion to General Sales Manager as evidence of community awareness of her position, we note simply that the document makes no reference to her age and, thus, hardly establishes defendants' knowledge as to that fact. To the extent Woodman relies on an affidavit from Douglas Land, former WWOR General Counsel, attesting to the fact that Woodman told him that personnel at other stations were aware from her appearance that she was over fifty years old, this proffer identifies no admissible evidence. Land cannot testify to Woodman's hearsay declaration, and, as already noted, Woodman cannot testify to how other unidentified individuals in the broadcast community perceived her. See Fed.R.Evid. 602; see also 3 Weinstein's Federal Evidence § 602.02. 62 In her own affidavit, Woodman reports conversations with two Fox sales managers, Cheryl Cox and Debbie von Ahrens, during which Woodman discussed her age. Assuming, as we must, that a jury were to credit Woodman's account, nothing in the record indicates that either of these Fox employees participated in the defendants' decision to terminate Woodman. To defeat summary judgment, Woodman was obliged to do more than produce evidence that someone at Fox knew her age. She was obliged to offer evidence indicating that persons who actually participated in her termination decision had such knowledge. See Dawson v. Bumble & Bumble, 398 F.3d 211, 224-25 (2d Cir.2005) (holding that plaintiff could not base a claim of sexual orientation discrimination on [coworkers'] alleged comments without evidence that supervisor consulted coworkers regarding termination decision); McLee v. Chrysler Corp., 109 F.3d 130, 137 (2d Cir.1997) (holding that evidence of one supervisor's racial bigotry provided no basis for imputing ... an invidious motivation to another supervisor who actually made the discharge decision). Because Woodman fails to offer any evidence indicating that Cox or von Ahrens ever communicated what they knew of her age to any Fox decision-maker, Woodman's account of their conversations cannot, by itself, support an inference that the circumstances of her discharge indicate age discrimination. 63 (c) Deficiencies in the Release Agreements 64 Woodman submits that the EEOC's findings of legal deficiencies in release agreements signed by herself and other Chris-Craft employees to secure severance benefits support an inference that defendants knew that she was in the ADEA protected class. We disagree. 65 Woodman's argument is based on the fact that an earlier version of these release agreements had specifically referenced ADEA claims among the statutory rights waived. She asserts that defendants' deletion of any reference to the ADEA in the final releases, as well as their failure to provide information required by the OWBPA, see 29 U.S.C. § 626(f), particularly a list of the job titles and ages of employees from whom releases were sought, see id. § 626(f)(1)(H)(ii), supports an inference that defendants knew the terminated employees' ages and wished to conceal from them facts pertinent to pursuit of ADEA claims. 66 Like the district court, we conclude that plaintiff's hypothesis is mere speculation ... too thin to support an inference that defendants knew plaintiff's protected status at the time of her discharge and discriminated against her on the basis of age. Woodman v. WWOR-TV, Inc., 293 F.Supp.2d at 387; see Bickerstaff v. Vassar Coll., 196 F.3d at 448 (recognizing court's obligation to distinguish evidence allowing for reasonable inference of discrimination and evidence that gives rise to mere speculation and conjecture). Neither OWBPA nor any other law requires employers to know or compile employee age information to effect a lawful discharge. It provides simply that an ADEA waiver cannot be valid unless the employer complies with specified statutory duties, including disclosure of the ages of the employees from whom waivers are sought. See Tung v. Texaco, Inc., 150 F.3d 206, 209 (2d Cir.1998) (holding employee's waiver of ADEA claim not knowing and voluntary because employer failed to comply with OWBPA requirements). In this light, the failure of the releases at issue to reference the ADEA or comply with the OWBPA is not significantly probative evidence that defendants knew that the discharged employees were protected by the ADEA. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (noting that, [i]f the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted). Omission could as easily reflect defendants' lack of knowledge as to the ages of Woodman and the other discharged employees' and defendants' willingness to forego ADEA waivers rather than delay finalization of the merger while they compiled the necessary information and afforded discharged employees the consideration times required by OWBPA. 67 In any event, as we have already observed, evidence that defendants generally knew that Woodman was in the ADEA protected class would not, by itself, give rise to an inference of discriminatory intent. For the circumstances of Woodman's discharge to support such an inference, Woodman was obliged to adduce some admissible evidence indicating defendants' knowledge as to a significant disparity between her age and that of the employee to whom her duties were transferred. Neither the release omissions nor any other evidence in the record indicates such knowledge. 68 Accordingly, like the district court, we conclude that Woodman has failed to demonstrate that the circumstances of her discharge give rise to a reasonable inference of age discrimination as necessary to establish a prima facie case. 69 c. Chris-Craft's Knowledge of Woodman's Age Cannot Be Imputed to Defendants Either on a Joint-Employer or Successor-Liability Theory 70 Woodman submits that Chris-Craft and Fox are appropriately viewed as her joint-employer in the weeks preceding the merger, so that Chris-Craft's undisputed knowledge of her age at the time of termination can properly be imputed to Fox. We agree that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, could support a finding of a joint-employer relationship. See NLRB v. Solid Waste Servs., Inc., 38 F.3d 93, 94 (2d Cir.1994) ( per curiam ) (holding that [a] joint employer relationship may be found to exist where there is sufficient evidence that [one entity] had immediate control over the other company's employees and identifying commonality of hiring, firing, discipline, pay, insurance, records, and supervision as relevant factors) (citing Clinton's Ditch Coop. Co. v. NLRB, 778 F.2d 132, 137 (2d Cir.1985)); see also Zheng v. Liberty Apparel Co., 355 F.3d 61, 66 (2d Cir.2003) (directing district court to apply economic reality test to determine whether independent entities function as plaintiff's joint employer under FLSA). Nevertheless, Chris-Craft's knowledge of Woodman's age cannot reasonably be imputed to Fox unless Chris-Craft communicated that information to the Fox decision-makers who actually made the discharge decision or unless Chris-Craft itself played a decision-making role in that discharge. As we recently explained in Dawson v. Bumble & Bumble, 398 F.3d at 224-25, an employer's intent to discriminate must be evaluated by reference to the decision-maker actually ordering the adverse employment action, not to other persons in the company. See also McLee v. Chrysler Corp., 109 F.3d at 137. For reasons already discussed, we conclude that Woodman has failed to adduce evidence of any communication from Chris-Craft to Fox decision-makers that revealed her age. Further, no record evidence supports a finding that Chris-Craft played a decision-making role in Woodman's termination. As Woodman herself acknowledges, Chris-Craft's actions were limited to do[ing] Fox Group's bidding. Appellant's Br. at 21 n. 5. 71 Alternatively, Woodman submits that Chris-Craft itself violated the ADEA when it carried out Fox's termination order and that Fox assumed this liability as Chris-Craft's successor following the merger. The argument merits little discussion. For Chris-Craft's effectuation of Fox's discharge order to constitute an ADEA violation, plaintiff must produce some evidence to support inferences (1) that Fox acted with age discriminatory intent in ordering Woodman's termination and (2) that Chris-Craft knew or should have known of Fox's unlawful motivation. See generally America's Best Quality Coatings Corp. v. NLRB, 44 F.3d 516, 523 (7th Cir.1995). For reasons already discussed, Woodman's case fails at the first step. Indeed, if she could satisfy this burden, she would not need to carry the second, because she would have established a prima facie case of age discrimination directly against Fox, without need to consider its successor liability for Chris-Craft's conduct. 72 Accordingly, we conclude that neither a joint-employer nor successor-liability theory permits Woodman to satisfy her burden at the prima facie stage in the absence of some evidence that defendants' termination decision was made with knowledge of the fact that she was substantially older than the WNYW employee to whom her job responsibilities were transferred.