Court Opinion

ID: 9487177
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 12:10:29.123546+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:52:08.425381
License: Public Domain

COFFEY, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
Initially, I am compelled to state that the conduct of some of the General Motors employees in this ease, including the plaintiff-appellant Mary Carr, is appalling, disgusting and has no place in the work environment. Nonetheless, I am unwilling to join in the majority opinion because I believe it overrules the precedent in our circuit concerning “unwelcomed” sexual harassment, Reed v. Shepard, 939 F.2d 484, 491 (7th Cir.1991) (a decision joined in by the author of today’s majority opinion).
As an initial matter, let us keep in mind that the standard of review is whether the trial court committed clear error. The U.S. Supreme Court recently stated that the clear error standard is “significantly deferential,” Concrete Pipe & Products v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust, — U.S. -, -, 113 S.Ct. 2264, 2280, 124 L.Ed.2d 539 (1993) (emphasis added), and requires a reviewing court to uphold the findings of the lower court unless there is a “definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” Id. at -, 113 S.Ct. at 2279 (quoting United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 542, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948)) (emphasis added). I remain convinced as this court has often stated, that the trial court is in the best position to resolve factual questions because it has “the best opportunity to observe the verbal and nonverbal behavior of the witnesses focusing on the subjects] reactions and responses to the interrogatories, their facial expressions, attitudes, tone of voice, eye contact, posture and body movements, as well as confused or nervous speech patterns in contrast with merely looking at the cold pages of an appellate record.” United States v. Duarte, 1 F.3d 644, 651 (7th Cir.1993) (citations omitted) (emphasis added), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 114 S.Ct. 724, 126 L.Ed.2d 688 (1994). Had I been the trier of fact, I may or may not have reached the same conclusion as the trial judge, but “it is not the junction of this court to reweigh the evidence or to substitute its judgment for that of the trier of fact.” Dugan v. United States, 18 F.3d 460, 463 (7th Cir.1994) (quoting United States v. Wisniewski, 741 F.2d 138, 144 (7th Cir.1984)) (emphasis added).
In Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 68, 106 S.Ct. 2399, 2406, 91 L.Ed.2d 49 (1986), a bank supervisor had regular sexual intercourse with a female bank employee often against her will. The U.S. Supreme Court stated that “[t]he correct inquiry is whether [the victim], by her conduct indicated that the alleged sexual advances were unwelcome, not whether her actual participation in sexual intercourse was voluntary.” Id. Relying on Meritor, we stated in Reed v. Shepard, 939 F.2d 484, 491 (7th Cir.1991), a case that is indistinguishable from the case before us, that “[t]he gravamen of any sexual harassment claim is that the alleged sexual advances were ‘unwelcome.’ ” Id. (quoting Meritor Sav. Bank, 477 U.S. at 68, 106 S.Ct. at 2406). In Reed, a discharged female civilian jailer sued the sheriff and the sheriff’s department alleging, among other things, sexual harassment. The alleged harassing conduct- in Reed was even more “egregious”1 than this case yet the court found for the defendants stating
*1014Much of the evidence at trial emphasized Reed’s enthusiastic receptiveness to sexually suggestive jokes and activities. The record of this case reveals numerous instances indicating that Reed’s preferred method of dealing with co-workers was with sexually explicit jokes, suggestions and offers.... From the foregoing, the district court is justified where it held: “The Court finds that language and sexually explicit jokes were used around plaintiff because of her personality rather than her sex.”
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Although Reed suggests that tolerating and contributing to the crudeness of the jail was necessary for her career, other female employees testified that the male jail employees did not behave in this manner around women who asked them not to. The trial court’s conclusion that Reed welcomed the sexual hijinx of her co-workers is strongly supported by the evidence presented at trial. This showing that she welcomed the activity is fatal to her claim, particularly where Reed admits that the “harassment” did not adversely affect her ability to do her job.... We agree with the trial court’s holding in this regard that, “[t]he defendants cannot be held liable for conditions created by [Reed’s] own action and conduct.”
Reed, 939 F.2d at 491-92 (footnotes omitted). The defendants cite numerous other lower court opinions adopting this approach. See Perkins v. General Motors Corporation, 709 F.Supp. 1487, 1500 (W.D.Mo.1989) (“Perkins was an active, encouraging participant in sexually explicit conversations and actions”), aff'd in relevant part, 911 F.2d 22 (8th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 920, 111 S.Ct. 1309, 113 L.Ed.2d 243 (1991); Weinsheimer v. Rockwell Int'l. Corp., 754 F.Supp. 1559, 1564 (M.D.Fla.1990) (“plaintiffs willing and frequent involvement in the sexual innuendo prevalent in her work area indicates that she did not find the majority of such conduct truly ‘unwelcome’ or ‘hostile’ ”); Loftin-Boggs v. City of Meridian, 633 F.Supp. 1323, 1327 (S.D.Miss.1986) (“plaintiff often made jokes about sex and participated in frequent discussions and bantering about sex”), aff'd, 824 F.2d 971 (5th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1063, 108 S.Ct. 1021, 98 L.Ed.2d 986 (1988); Gan v. Kepro Circuit Systems, 28 FEP Cases 639 (E.D.Mo.1982) (plaintiff actively contributed to the distasteful working environment).
The majority makes an attempt to distinguish the instant case from Reed by stating Carr did not manifest “enthusiastic receptiveness to sexually suggestive jokes and activities” as Reed had. Reed, 939 F.2d at 491. This distinction escapes me given the trial court’s explicit finding on the issue of Carr’s receptiveness to the crude conduct
Carr invited and encouraged the bad language, crude jokes, and constant sexual references which abounded in the tin shop, so that the tinners’ conduct, to the extent it may have constituted sexual harassment, was not unwelcome. See Reed, 939 F.2d at 491-92 (plaintiffs “enthusiastic receptiveness to sexually suggestive jokes and activities” indicated that harassing conduct was not unwelcome).
Mem. Op. at 32 (emphasis added). How can the majority claim that Carr is distinguishable from Reed in view of the fact that the district judge made a specific finding that Carr “invited” the crude behavior and cited the very language in Reed that the majority claims distinguishes the two cases? In contrast to the trial court’s findings, the majority insists that Reed was receptive to the crude behavior while Carr provoked the crudeness from her male co-workers. See ante at 1011. Such a distinction is implausible given the lower court’s clear and unambiguous holding, quoted above, which states Carr “invited and encouraged the bad language, crude jokes, and constant sexual references” and cites to the very language in Reed dealing with “enthusiastic receptiveness.” (Emphasis added).
The majority attempts to distinguish Reed on the grounds that she “never complained about sexual harassment” and she was fired for her misconduct on the job, ante at 1011, yet the court in Reed did not rely on her lack of complaint, rather the court based its decision on her participation in the sexual talk and pranks. See Reed, 939 F.2d at 491-92. Moreover, the fact that Reed was terminated *1015while Carr resigned is of no consequence for GM might very well have discharged Carr for her acute absenteeism. See infra at 1015. In an attempt to second guess and downplay the trial court’s unmistakable holding that Carr welcomed the conduct as Reed had, the majority insists that Carr, unlike Reed, manifested “violent resentment” toward the male tinners conduct and thus did not welcome it. Ante at 1011. From my review of this record, I have been unable to discover any evidence of Carr’s “violent resentment” of the crude conduct other than the two complaints she filed with management (several years after the alleged harassing acts and shortly before her resignation). What the record does reveal, as I discuss infra at 1015-16, is evidence that Carr was every bit as foul-mouthed, crude and willing to partake in pranks of a sexual nature as the men in the shop as well as the fact that Carr owned up to her responsibility for adding to the poor relationship she had with the male tinners.
I choose not to recite the language she used because I do not believe that quoting vulgar language contributes to the development of the body of law. However, the record does reveal fifteen specific references to the plaintiff Carr’s repeated use of crude/sexual language, crude behavior and obscene story-telling. Reed was decided by this court in August of 1991 and the present case was argued before the court in February of 1994. It certainly is a matter of concern, in the absence of any directive from the Supreme Court, that the majority has seen fit to change the Circuit’s law on harassment, for how is industry to implement new rules and regulations when the standards are ever-changing?
An example of the majority’s sugar coating the facts is the mischaraeterization of the district court’s holding and the defendant’s argument on the issue of “unweleomeness,” stating “[w]e have trouble even imagining a situation in which male factory workers sexually harass a lone woman in self-defense as it were; yet that at root is General Motors’ characterization of what happened here. It is incredible on the admitted facts.” Ante at 1011. The point is not that the male tinners were defending themselves from this “lone woman,” but rather that within the tinsmith shop there was a great deal of good-natured bantering, intermingled with unnecessary, repulsive, crude, sexual talk and innuendo. If Carr received more than her share of verbal abuse, a point I find very questionable based upon the record before us, it might very well have been due to factors other than her being a woman. For example, the majority glosses over the fact that she had an abysmal work attendance record that caused a great deal of consternation, discontent and even anger among the tinners who in all probability believed General Motors was overlooking her all-too-frequent absences from the workplace because she was a woman. The district court found that in Carr’s four-plus years on the job in the tinsmith shop she was absent over thirty percent of her scheduled work periods (she missed some 395 work days between 1984, and 1989). The trial judge clearly took note of the impact of her absenteeism, stating
“[tjhese missed days had a very negative impact on shop morale. Tinners work together and rely on each other (including apprentices) to get particular jobs done. Regular, uninterrupted attendance is therefore quite important to smooth shop operation and to morale as a whole. The truth of this statement is evidenced by Routh’s alleged comment to Carr, made after one of her numerous complaints, that the tinners ‘would treat you better if you’d come to work.’ ”
Mem. op. at 14-15. If General Motors is to be criticized, it is for not discharging an employee whose acute absenteeism syndrome was causing severe morale problems within the tinshop. At the same time, GM should be commended for going out of the way to accommodate Carr during her absences due to her alleged health and/or psychological problems stemming from her stepson’s execution.
In addition to her absenteeism, the record, considered as a whole, offers ample support for the conclusion of the experienced trial judge that Mary Carr was a participant in *1016the ribald antics of the tinshop.2 For years she actively participated in the vulgarities of life in the tinsmith’s shop. She now claims that she was a victim of the uninvited antics but as in Reed, Carr’s words and conduct belie her argument. The trial judge summarized her conduct as follows
“The problem for Carr is that she was not merely the recipient of crude behavior and abusive language — she also dished it out_ In short, she contributed just as much abusive language and crude behavior as did the male tinners, and therefore was just as responsible for any hostile sexual environment that consequently arose.”
Mem. op. at 31 (emphasis added). When testifying about Carr’s foul language, the other females who worked in the tinshop, Rebecca Hornocker and Karen Johnson, explained that Carr was ojien the instigator of the coarse sexual talk and antics.3
As the court stated in Reed, the “language and sexually explicit jokes were used around plaintiff because of her personality rather than her sex.” Reed, 939 F.2d at 491-92. The trial record makes it eminently clear and I am thus forced to agree that Mary Carr actively participated in foul, vulgar shop talk with a rough crowd of tinners, thus “[t]he defendants cannot be held liable for conditions created by [the plaintiffs] own action and conduct.” Reed, 939 F.2d at 492 (quoting lower court opinion).
In regard to Carr’s active participation in the crude sexual behavior at the plant, the majority fails to explain the lower court’s finding that “Right after the August 1988 meeting, Carr thanked management for its efforts on her behalf, and she admitted to [Don] Stoehr that her own behavior had brought the poor shop situation about. To the Court, this appears to be a clear recognition by Carr that she bore responsibility for her problems, and that she had been dealt with fairly by management. It does not seem to be the statement of a person who has complained continually for four years and gotten nowhere.” Mem. op. at 37-38 (emphasis added). Not only did Carr confess that “her own behavior had brought the poor shop situation about, ” but furthermore she admitted that GM had responded to her complaint fairly. Again, this factual finding by the trial court is entitled to great deference on review. See Concrete Pipe & Products, — U.S. at -, 113 S.Ct. at 2280 (stating that the clear error standard is “significantly deferential ”).
Finally, I am disturbed by the majority’s apparent disregard for the district court’s findings concerning General Motors’ alleged failure to respond to Carr’s complaints. The majority states “we are dealing here with a situation in which for more than four years one of the nation’s largest enterprises found itself helpless to respond effectively to an egregious campaign of sexual harassment directed at one woman. No reasonable person could imagine that General Motors was genuinely helpless, that it did all it reasonably could have done.” Ante at 1012. I seriously question whether the majority’s argument is supported by the record, for General Motors was not aware of the alleged harassment against Carr for “more than four years.” From 1984 until 1988, Carr never once entered a formal complaint about the alleged abusive treatment. In August of 1988, and again in November of 1988, less than a year before she left General Motors after being employed there for twelve years, Carr registered her initial formal complaints and GM responded immediately.4 As we discussed *1017above, after the August 1988 complaint, Carr expressed in a letter to Don Stoehr her appreciation with the way GM handled her complaint and that she (Carr) was in part responsible for the problems in the tinshop.5 It is rather obvious that Carr was satisfied with GM’s response to her complaint in 1988 (a year before she resigned), thus her present dissatisfaction with General Motors might well be a post-event creation to avoid dismissal of her sexual harassment claim. Whatever the reason for her present allegations of GM’s ineffective response, I do not believe the trial court’s findings are clearly erroneous.

CONCLUSION

Because I am of the opinion that today’s holding is in conflict with Reed,
I DISSENT.

. The appellate court opinion quoted the district court’s findings as follows:
"Plaintiff contends that she was handcuffed to the drunk tank and sally port doors, that she was subjected to suggestive remarks ..., that conversations often centered around oral sex, that she was physically hit and punched in the kidneys, and that her head was grabbed and forcefully placed in members [sic] laps, and that she was the subject of lewd jokes and remarks. She testified that she had chairs pulled out from under her, a cattle prod with an electrical shock was placed between her legs, and that they frequently tickled her. She was placed in a laundry basket, handcuffed inside an elevator, handcuffed to the toilet and her face pushed into the water, and' maced.
Reed, 939 F.2d at 486. When questioned why she tolerated such behavior, Reed responded not unlike Carr in the case before us, "Because it was real important to me to be accepted. It was important for me to be a police officer and if that was the only way that I could be accepted, I would just put up with it and kept [sic] my mouth shut.” Id. at 492. If Carr's allegations were true, I doubt she would have waited over three years to make them known.

.The majority seems to have put a different spin on the facts in favor of Carr. For example, the majority insists two exposures occurred during her five-year tenure at the tinshop, while the district court made a finding of only one exposure incident and even in that incident, "several tinners” testified Carr was not in a position to see anything. Mem.Op. at 9 & 30. As to the second alleged exposure incident, the court stated that no one corroborated her story. Id. at 9.

. Hornocker considered Carr to be a "tramp" because of her "manner, her gestures, and the way she talked.” Karen Johnson heard Can-using profanity and vulgar language in the classroom setting. Referring to Carr, Johnson testified that "I saw that there was only a limited amount of time we could spend together without me feeling uncomfortable...." (Emphasis added).

. It is interesting to note that she filed her EEOC complaint in July of 1989 shortly before she quit.

. The letter is not part of the record, but both Don Stoehr and Mary testified at trial that she had sent the letter expressing her appreciation with GM’s response to her complaint.