Banks v. Service America Corp.

952 F.Supp. 703

Lee Ray BANKS and Marcus L. Horton, Plaintiffs, v. SERVICE AMERICA CORP., Defendant.

Civil Action No. 96-2083-KHV.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

November 21, 1996.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Timothy R. Brownlee, Crews, Waits, Brownlee & Berger, Kansas City, MO, for plaintiffs Lee Ray Banks, Marcus L. Horton.

Stanley D. Davis, Michael W. Atchison, Stinson, Mag & Fizzell, P.C., Kansas City, MO, for defendant Service America Corp.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

VRATIL, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, food service employees at a manufacturing plant in Kansas City, Kansas, expressed their sincerely held Christian religious beliefs by greeting customers with phrases such as "God bless you" and "Praise the Lord." They disregarded express instructions to cease these religious greetings and their employer, Service America Corporation, fired them. Plaintiffs responded with the instant lawsuit, alleging religious discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2. This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Service America Corporation's Motion For Summary Judgment (Doc. # 10) filed July 19, 1996.

For reasons set forth more fully below, the Court finds that said motion must be overruled.

Summary Judgment Standards

Summary judgment is appropriate if the "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); accord Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2509, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Vitkus v. Beatrice Co., 11 F.3d 1535, 1538-39 (10th Cir.1993). A factual dispute is "material" only if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. A "genuine" factual dispute requires more than a mere scintilla of evidence. Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.

The moving party bears the initial burden of showing that there is an absence of any genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Hicks v. City of Watonga, 942 F.2d 737, 743 (10th Cir.1991). Once the moving party meets its burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to demonstrate that genuine issues remain for trial "as to those dispositive matters for which it carries the burden of proof." Applied Genetics Int'l, Inc. v. First Affiliated Securities, Inc., 912 F.2d 1238, 1241 (10th Cir.1990); see also Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Bacchus Industries, Inc. v. Arvin Industries, Inc., 939 F.2d 887, 891 (10th Cir. 1991). The nonmoving party may not rest on its pleadings but must set forth specific facts. Applied Genetics, 912 F.2d at 1241.

"[W]e must view the record in the light most favorable to the parties opposing the motion for summary judgment." Deepwater Investments, Ltd. v. Jackson Hole Ski Corp., 938 F.2d 1105, 1110 (10th Cir.1991). Summary judgment maybe granted if the nonmoving party's evidence is merely colorable or is not significantly probative. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250-51, 106 S.Ct. at 2511-12. "In a response to a motion for summary judgment, a party cannot rely on ignorance of facts, on speculation, or on suspicion, and may not escape summary judgment in the mere hope that something will turn up at trial." Conaway v. Smith, 853 F.2d 789, 793 (10th Cir.1988). Where the nonmoving party fails to properly respond to the motion for summary judgment, the facts as set forth by the moving party are deemed admitted for purposes of the summary judgment motion. D.Kan. Rule 206(c). Essentially, the inquiry is "whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to the jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." Anderson at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. at 2512. Ever mindful of these summary judgment standards, we now turn to the merits of defendant's motion.

Undisputed Facts

D.Kan. Rule 56.1 provides in relevant part as follows:

The memorandum or brief in support of a motion for summary judgment shall begin with a section that contains a concise statement of material facts as to which the movant contends no genuine issue exists. The facts shall be numbered and shall refer with particularity to those portions of the record upon which movant relies.

A memorandum in opposition to a motion for summary judgment shall begin with a section that contains a concise statement of material facts as to which the party contends a genuine issue exists. Each fact in dispute shall be numbered by paragraph, shall refer with particularity to those portions of the record upon which the opposing party relies, and, if applicable, shall state the number of movant's fact that is disputed. All material facts set forth in the statement of the movant shall be deemed admitted for the purpose of summary judgment unless specifically controverted by the statement of the opposing party. The statements required by this subsection shall be in addition to the material otherwise required by these rules and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Plaintiffs have not specifically controverted defendant's statement of undisputed facts in a manner sufficient under D.Kan. Rule 56.1. Accordingly, the Court deems all such facts to be admitted for purposes of this motion.

For purposes of this motion, the Court has disregarded all facts not set forth in compliance with D.Kan. Rule 56.1, and affords plaintiffs the benefit of all inferences favorable to their case. The undisputed facts are therefore as follows:

Pursuant to a contract with General Motors, Service America Corporation operates a cafeteria at the Fairfax automobile manufacturing plant in Kansas City, Kansas. Service America employees serve meals to GM employees in an operation similar to a fast food business.¹ Customers walk in, order their meals, receive prompt service, and pay for their meals. The Fairfax operation is a significant piece of business for Service America; consequently, it is important that Service America's customers — GM and its employees — be satisfied.

Service America hired Lee Ray Banks on March 12, 1994, and six weeks later, on April 26, 1994, it hired Marcus Horton. Before they were hired, neither Banks nor Horton informed Service America that they intended to say "God bless you," "Praise the Lord," or similar phrases to food service customers at the plant.

During the period of plaintiffs' employment, Service America had approximately 18 employees who served meals to approximately 3,000 GM employees each day. Initially, plaintiffs' duties as food service workers primarily included washing dishes, but they also served food to customers during mealtimes. Throughout the entire period of plaintiffs' employment, all Service America employees (including management) were required to serve food during mealtimes.

During the period of plaintiffs' employment, Service America and the United Auto Workers were parties to a collective bargaining agreement that governed the relationship between Service America and its employees. Pursuant to this agreement, employees with greater seniority were given preference over employees with less seniority in advancement to open jobs within Service America's food service operation. During his employment with Service America, Banks had less seniority than all but two Service America employees at the Fairfax Plant. Horton had less seniority than all other Service America employees there.

Prior to plaintiffs' employment and continuing to the present, Service America's policy has been to train food service workers to greet customers in an appropriate and friendly fashion by saying things such as "Hello. What can I get for you today?". Plaintiffs frequently said "God bless you," "Praise the Lord," and/or other similar phrases to GM food service customers. At certain times, because they felt that the Holy Spirit moved them to bless all with whom they came into contact, plaintiffs extended such blessings to all of their food service customers. Service America deemed plaintiffs' greetings to be inappropriate and contrary to its policy.

A number of food service customers, including the employee who served as GM's liaison with Service America, complained to Service America about plaintiffs' religious speech.² On a number of occasions, Service America directed plaintiffs not to say "God bless you," "Praise the Lord" or other similar phrases to food service customers. On July 26, 1994, Banks received a formal warning to cease such comments. On August 25, 1994, Service America warned each plaintiff that he would be terminated if he refused to stop. Even after being warned, however, plaintiffs refused to comply. Therefore, that very day, Service America terminated plaintiffs' employment.

Plaintiffs are Christians who feel strongly that because of what God has done for them and the joy He has given them by changing their lives dramatically, they must say things that are positive, uplifting and inspirational to people with whom they speak,³ and their religious greetings emanate from this belief. Plaintiffs intended to convey their greetings in a polite, pleasant and non-confrontational manner, and the record contains no evidence that they did otherwise. Honoring God through their speech, through such greetings, was a deep seated sincerely held religious belief and plaintiffs could not stop the practice without violating their beliefs.

Analysis

Service America claims that it could not have accommodated plaintiffs' practice of blessing customers absent undue hardship to the conduct of its business and that therefore, as a matter of law, it is entitled to summary judgment.

Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer to "discharge...