Court Opinion

ID: 9481290
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 08:13:45.560078+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:48:12.227641
License: Public Domain

BOWNES, Senior Circuit Judge
(dissenting and concurring).
I dissent from the affirmance of the summary judgment on the age discrimination claim (Count I) and concur in the affirmance of the summary judgment on the retaliation claim (Count II).
My reason for dissenting on the age discrimination claim is that the majority has applied the wrong legal standard. At page 1175 of the opinion, it is stated: “Besides rebutting the employer’s proffered reasons for firing a plaintiff, the evidence must ultimately be sufficient to permit the fact-finder reasonably to infer that the plaintiff was fired because of his age.” The majority later concludes on page 1177: “Moreover, even if plaintiff’s evidence were sufficient to rebut the bank’s stated reasons for his dismissal, the evidence overall has to be sufficient for a factfinder reasonably to infer that the Bank’s actions were motivated by age animus.”
The requirement that a plaintiff rebut an employer’s articulated reasons and also directly prove age discrimination is contrary to the express teaching of the Supreme Court. All that is necessary to raise a genuine issue of material fact in an employment discrimination case is that the plaintiff make out a prima facie case and successfully rebut as pretextual the employer’s articulated reasons for the adverse action. As I shall demonstrate in more detail later, there can be little doubt that the plaintiff here has met this two-step test. That is all a plaintiff has to do to have a trier of fact consider his claim. There is no requirement that the plaintiff also prove that “the Bank’s actions were motivated by age animus.” I acknowledge that the majority has followed First Circuit precedent, but I believe that our precedent is contrary to the explicit teaching of Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981). A review of the relevant Supreme Court cases is in order.
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), is, of course, the seminal case on the order and allocation of proof in an employment discrimination case. The plaintiff carries the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case. If this is done, “[t]he burden then must shift to the employer to articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the employee’s rejection.” Id. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. If the articulation is made, plaintiff “must be given a full and fair opportunity to demonstrate by competent evidence that the presumptively valid reasons for his rejection were in fact a coverup for a [racially] discriminatory decision.” Id. at 805, 93 S.Ct. at 1826.
In Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters, 438 U.S. 567, 98 S.Ct. 2943, 57 L.Ed.2d 957 (1978), the Court explained the shifting burden as follows:
A prima facie case under McDonnell Douglas raises an inference of discrimination only because we presume these acts, if otherwise unexplained, are more likely than not based on the consideration of impermissible factors. See Teamsters v. United States, supra [431 U.S. 324], at 358 n. 44 [97 S.Ct. 1843, 1866 n. 44, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977) ]. And we are willing to presume this largely because we know from our experience that more often than not people do not act in a totally arbitrary manner, without any underlying reasons, especially in a business setting. Thus, when all legitimate reasons for rejecting an applicant have been eliminated as possible reasons for the employer’s actions, it is more likely than not the employer, who we generally assume acts only with some reason, based his decision on an impermissible consideration such as race.
Id. at 577, 98 S.Ct. at 2949-50 (emphasis in original).
In Texas Dep’t of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, the Court, speaking through Justice Powell, *1183the same Justice who had written McDonnell Douglas, further amplified and explained the McDonnell shifting burden. The Court reiterated the three McDonnell steps in an employment discrimination case, id. at 252-54, 101 S.Ct. at 1093-94 and then concluded its burden-shifting exposition by the statement that requires the elimination of the additional proof imposed by the majority on the plaintiff.
The plaintiff retains the burden of persuasion. She now must have the opportunity to demonstrate that the proffered reason was not the true reason for the employment decision. This burden now merges with the ultimate burden of persuading the court that she has been the victim of intentional discrimination. She may succeed in this either directly by persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely motivated the employer or indirectly by showing that the employer’s proffered explanation is unworthy of credence. See McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S., at 804-805 [93 S.Ct. at 1825].
Id. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095 (emphasis added). Neither the opinion of my brother Campbell nor that of Judge Torres’ concurrence comes to grips with the alternative language of Burdine. They dance all around it, or simply ignore it.
The last case bearing directly on the issue is United States Postal Serv. Bd. of Govs. v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 103 S.Ct. 1478, 75 L.Ed.2d 403 (1983). In Aikens, the Court added some gloss to Burdine:
Where the defendant has done everything that would be required of him if the plaintiff had properly made out a prima facie case, whether the plaintiff really did so is no longer relevant. The district court has before it all the evidence it needs to decide whether “the defendant intentionally discriminated against the plaintiff.” Burdine, supra [450 U.S.], at 253 [101 S.Ct. at 1093],
Id. at 715, 103 S.Ct. at 1482. Justice Black-mun’s concurrence restated the pertinent rule:
While the Court is correct that the ultimate determination of factual liability in discrimination cases should be no different from that in other types of civil suits, ante, at 716 [103 S.Ct. at 1482], the McDonnell Douglas framework requires that a plaintiff prevail when at the third stage of a Title VII trial he demonstrates that the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the employment decision is in fact not the true reason for the employment decision. .
Id. at 718, 103 S.Ct. at 1483 (emphasis added). As • I read the Supreme Court cases, especially Burdine, a plaintiff may prove employment discrimination either by direct evidence of discrimination or by successfully rebutting the employer’s articulated reasons. For some reason this circuit requires a plaintiff to meet three requirements, not two, to forestall summary judgment. In addition to making out a prima facie case, a plaintiff has the burden not only of proving that the articulated reasons of the employer were pretextual but also of adducing additional evidence of age discrimination:
We have often discussed the interplay between the Burdine burden-shifting framework for proving age discrimination and the imperatives of Rule 56. See, e.g., Menzel [v. Western Auto Supply Co.], 848 F.2d [327] at 328-30 [1st Cir.1988]; Menard, 848 F.2d at 284-85; Dea, 810 F.2d at 14-16. Generally speaking, the principles discussed above abide at the summary judgment stage. Most pertinent for our purposes, it remains true that when, as here, the employer has articulated a presumptively legitimate reason for discharging an employee, the latter must elucidate specific facts which would enable a jury to find that the reason given was not only a sham, but a sham intended to cover up the employer’s real motive: age discrimination. See generally Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-26, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-54, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (summary judgment opponent who bears burden -of proof on an issue must reliably demonstrate existence of genuine dispute as to material facts); Garside [v. Osco Drug, Inc.] 895 F.2d [46] at 48 [1st Cir.1990] (similar); Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).
*1184Medina-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 9 (1st Cir.1990). Our rule violates the explicit alternative method of proof as stated in Burdine.
At least nine circuits have held that the Burdine alternative language means that making out a prima facie case plus proving that the articulated reason for the discharge was pretextual is sufficient, without more, to raise a genuine issue of fact as to discrimination. See Ramseur v. Chase Manhattan Bank, 865 F.2d 460, 464-5 (2d Cir.1989) (summary judgment for employer reversed: “A showing that a proffered justification is pretextual is itself sufficient to support an inference that the employer intentionally discriminated.”); Fite v. First Tennessee Production Credit Ass’n, 861 F.2d 884, 890-91 (6th Cir.1988) (employer’s motion for directed verdict properly denied because jury could have found that employer’s reason for discharge was a mere pretext); Samarzia v. Clark County, 859 F.2d 88, 91-92 (9th Cir.1988) (directed verdict properly denied; a reasonable jury could have concluded that employer’s reasons were pretextual); Overgard v. Cambridge Book Co., 858 F.2d 371, 375-76 (7th Cir.1988) (plaintiff may prevail in one of two ways: either by directly proving that employer was more likely motivated by a discriminatory reason or by indirectly demonstrating that defendant’s proffered reason for the termination is not credible. “If the plaintiff can convince the trier of fact that the defendant did not act for the reason it offers as justification, then the defendant has not met its burden and the plaintiff may thus prevail.”); MacDissi v. Valmont Industries, Inc., 856 F.2d 1054, 1057-59 (8th Cir.1988) (“As a matter of both common sense and federal law, an employer’s submission of a discredited explanation for firing a member of a protected class is itself evidence which may persuade the finder of fact that such unlawful discrimination actually occurred.”); Carden v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 850 F.2d 996, 1000 (3d Cir.1988) (“A showing that a proffered justification is pretextual is itself equivalent to finding that the employer intentionally discriminated”); Sparks v. Pilot Freight Carriers, Inc., 830 F.2d 1554, 1562-64 (11th Cir.1987) (summary judgment for employer reversed; employee raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether employer’s articulated reason for discharge was pretextual); Thornbrough v. Columbus and Greenville R.R. Co., 760 F.2d 633, 646 (5th Cir.1985) (“In the context of a summary judgment proceeding, the question is not whether the plaintiff proves pretext but rather whether the plaintiff raises a genuine issue of fact regarding pretext.”); Krodel v. Young, 748 F.2d 701, 707-78 (D.C.Cir.1984), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 817, 106 S.Ct. 62, 88 L.Ed.2d 51 (1985) (At very least Burdine and Ai-kens “make clear that an ADEA plaintiff who has established a prima facie ease and has effectively discredited the employer's proffered justification need not, in all cases, submit additional evidence concerning the particular employment decision at issue in order to demonstrate that age was a determining factor in the employer’s action.”).
The Fourth Circuit seems to follow the “additional” evidence test: “If the presumption is rebutted, the burden of production returns to the plaintiff to show that the defendant’s proffered nondiscriminatory reasons are pretextual and that the employment decision was based on a sexually-discriminatory criterion.” Spencer v. General Elec. Co., 894 F.2d 651, 659 (4th Cir.1990) (emphasis added). Spencer, however, was decided after trial, not on summary judgment. Hence, the plaintiff was given the opportunity to prove his case at trial, an option denied under the rule followed in our circuit. Our circuit seems to be the only one that puts an extra burden of proof on the plaintiff for avoiding summary judgment. It must be noted that neither of my brothers refer to a single circuit case outside of this circuit.
I now turn to an assessment of how the facts fit into the framework of the burden-shifting analysis. The majority finds two reasons for plaintiff’s discharge: “the reorganization of the bank resulting in the elimination of the unit in which plaintiff worked and plaintiff’s poor performance relative to his peers, particularly in regard *1185to his work as a municipal account officer.” Op. at 1174-1175. I agree with the statement of'the first reason, but I think it more accurate to split the second statement in two. I would find three articulated reasons: bank reorganization, plaintiffs poor performance relative to his peers, and that plaintiff had mishandled two important municipal accounts.
I first consider the “reorganization” reason. Although not expressly so finding, the majority’s analysis of the reorganization facts, Op. at 1175, effectively demonstrates that this reason had nothing to do with plaintiffs discharge. The elimination of the unit in which he had worked was accomplished by transferring virtually every employee, except plaintiff, to a new or pre-existing work unit. In fact, there was no reorganization, except as to plaintiff.
I have no quarrel with the majority’s exposition of plaintiff’s rebuttal of the “mishandling of municipal accounts” reason. Op. at 1174-1175. I do not know what more the plaintiff could have done to rebut this alleged flaw in his work. Not only did he submit specific affidavits of the municipal officers in charge of the alleged mishandled accounts stating their approval of plaintiff’s performance, but the same bank official who had charged him with mishandling the municipal accounts also told plaintiff, after he had been discharged, that he was very popular with municipalities and other banks. Yet for some reason my brothers refrain from specifically finding that plaintiff successfully rebutted the municipal-accounts-mismanagement reason.
On the only proffered reason not rebutted conclusively, however, the majority finds that plaintiff “has not offered any evidence to show that the bank’s other reason, his relatively lack-luster performance evaluations was pretextual.” Op. at 1176. I pass for the moment the question whether rebutting two out of three articulated reasons ought to be sufficient to surmount a summary judgment hurdle and focus on the performance evaluations. The phrase “lackluster performance evaluations” paints with too broad a stroke. The facts show that the bank evaluated plaintiff as a competent employee. Plaintiff started with the bank as a teller, then became a head note teller at a branch bank and finished his teller career as teller-in-charge at the South Boston branch. His performance appraisals ranged from fair to good.
Plaintiff was promoted to be an officer of the bank in 1978. We can fairly infer that the bank felt his performance as teller warranted this promotion. His performance evaluations as an officer varied from competent to commendable. He never received an unsatisfactory or fair rating. Although plaintiff’s evaluations did not mark him for the higher echelons of the bank, there is nothing in his employment record to suggest that he was not doing his work competently. It can be fairly argued that the job performance evaluation reason was, like the other two reasons, pretextual.
I disagree with the majority’s analysis of the Ellington and Browne affidavits because I do not think my colleagues viewed them in the light most favorable to plaintiff. These affidavits are, however, beside the point; they should not enter the summary judgment mix. Under the law as set forth in Burdine, 450 U.S. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095, plaintiff is entitled to have his claim of age discrimination determined by a trier of fact. He has successfully rebutted two of the three reasons for his discharge articulated by the Bank and raised a question of fact as to the third. This is sufficient, without more, to ground a finding that the bank discriminated against plaintiff because of his age.
I respectfully dissent.