Opinion ID: 673826
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Objective viewpoint

Text: 29 Although the district court rested its decision on the subjective aspect of our two-pronged inquiry, Colt also contends that Dey has failed to satisfy the objective prong. It argues that the incidents of harassment alleged here were too isolated and innocuous to be actionable. Colt's argument finds support in our cases. Indeed, in Saxton, we reaffirmed that  'relatively isolated' instances of non-severe misconduct will not support a hostile environment claim. 10 F.3d at 533; see also Rennie v. Dalton, 3 F.3d 1100, 1108 (7th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 1054, 127 L.Ed.2d 375 (1994); Weiss v. Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 990 F.2d 333, 337 (7th Cir.1993); Scott v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 798 F.2d 210, 214 (7th Cir.1986). Indeed, Harris itself makes plain that an offensive utterance alone would not give rise to a Title VII claim because it would not sufficiently affect the terms and conditions of the plaintiff's employment. --- U.S. at ----, 114 S.Ct. at 370; see also Meritor, 477 U.S. at 67, 106 S.Ct. at 2405-06. Yet a series of such statements, if sufficiently severe and pervasive, could give rise to an objectively hostile work environment under the Meritor standard. See, e.g., Steiner, 25 F.3d at 1463; Nash v. Electrospace Sys., Inc., 9 F.3d 401, 403 (5th Cir.1993); Daniels, 937 F.2d at 1270 (pervasive pattern of racial jokes sufficient to sustain a hostile environment claim); Brooms, 881 F.2d at 420. 30 In Colt's view, Dey's claim is limited to only five specific incidents of alleged harassment over a two-and-a-half year period, and the company therefore argues that those relatively isolated incidents were neither severe nor pervasive enough to establish a hostile and abusive work environment under Title VII. We might be inclined to agree if not for Dey's additional allegation that those were not the only examples of Chernoff's offensive behavior. But Dey maintains that she was subjected to almost daily comments, gestures, and innuendo of a sexual nature whenever Chernoff was in the office, which by all accounts was at least a majority of the time. Yet because Dey is unable to recite Chernoff's specific comment on each occasion, Colt contends that we are limited to the five incidents she has detailed. But we think there is sufficient evidence in the record to corroborate Dey's charge of ongoing conduct to require a trial on that issue. 31 Preliminarily, we have no difficulty concluding that the five were extremely offensive incidents and that they would be considered as such by a reasonable person in Dey's position. Chernoff's comments were overtly sexual, and most were directed specifically at Dey, although we do not suggest that more general, gender-related comments would not themselves be actionable under Title VII. Cf. Daniels, 937 F.2d at 1274; see also 58 Fed.Reg. 51266, 51269 (proposed 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1609.1(d) (Harassing conduct may be challenged even if the complaining employee(s) are not specifically intended targets of the conduct.)); Chambers, 17 F.3d at 1004 (citing proposed regulation). Moreover, the incident on the elevator, which allegedly occurred in March or April 1985, would no doubt be even more frightening to a reasonable woman in Dey's position who, prior to that incident, had endured more than two years of verbal harassment. We find it unsurprising, then, that Dey reacted to the elevator incident the way she did. Cf. King, 21 F.3d at 1581 (realistic picture of work environment is not obtained by viewing each incident in isolation); Rodgers v. Western-Southern Life Ins. Co., 12 F.3d 668, 675 (7th Cir.1993) (court must consider cumulative weight of several isolated racial comments); Daniels, 937 F.2d at 1274-75 (later acts of racial harassment must be considered in context of ten years of verbal taunting). If Chernoff in fact subjected Dey to similar comments and conduct each day he was in the office, we have no doubt that her work environment could be considered objectively hostile and abusive. 32 Yet Dey concedes that the aforementioned incidents were the most blatant of those she endured over the two-and-a-half year period, which suggests that Chernoff's daily banter may not have risen to the same level of severity. But at the same time, Dey indicates that Chernoff's comments were sometimes so severe that they caused her to leave his office. Moreover, although she is unable to remember precisely what Chernoff may have said or done on other occasions, she does recall aspects of those encounters that bear important similarities to the five she has identified. We think this evidence, although admittedly incomplete, may suggest a pattern of conduct which supports Dey's charge that Chernoff's behavior was consistently boorish. 33 For example, Dey recalls that Chernoff frequently made sexual or otherwise derogatory comments when they were in the presence of other men. She asserts that Chernoff once commented on her posterior when an insurance agent was in his office, although she cannot recall the specific content of the comment. Dey alleges that Chernoff made a similarly suggestive comment to her, again when another man was in his office, and this time asked the man to agree with his comment. Finally, on an occasion when Dey was getting lunch for Chernoff and two other attorneys, Chernoff made a derogatory comment to Dey, although she is unable to remember what he may have said. Furthermore, as evidenced by his comment about the female lawyer, it is clear that Chernoff's feelings for women were not exhibited to Dey alone. For instance, Dey states that she once overheard Chernoff say in a loud voice to someone over the telephone: Don't talk to the broad--girls are only good for one thing. Finally, in March or April 1985, Dey recalls that she asked Chernoff about the combination of the lock on his briefcase, and he stated that his numbers would be sixty-nine because if it were seventy-one, that is sixty-nine with two watching. In light of this and similar comments, it is not surprising that Dey would exclude Chernoff in describing Colt's office environment as professional. 34 Although Dey's case would certainly be stronger if she could remember more about these and other incidents, what she does recall supports her charge that Chernoff's conduct was consistently offensive and abusive. The credibility of that charge can only be assessed once the factfinder hears Dey's testimony along with all the other evidence. We thus reverse the grant of summary judgment on Dey's sexual harassment claim and remand for trial.