DuChateau v. Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc.

822 F.Supp.2d 1325

Jeannine V. DuCHATEAU, Plaintiff,

v.CAMP DRESSER & McKEE, INC., Defendant.

Case No. 10–60712–CIV.

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

Oct. 4, 2011.

G. Ware Cornell, Jr., Cornell & Associates, Weston, FL, Thomas Holland Loffredo, Gray Robinson, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Plaintiff.

Ronald Joseph Tomassi, Jr., Thomas Holland Loffredo, GrayRobinson PA, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Defendant.

ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ROBIN S. ROSENBAUM, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant's Motion for Final Summary Judgment [D.E. 20]. The Court has carefully considered the Motion, Defendant's Statement of Undisputed Material Facts [D.E. 19], Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendant's Motion [D.E. 26], Plaintiff's Response to Defendant's Statement of Undisputed Material Facts [D.E. 26–2], and Defendant's Reply [D.E. 33], as well as the declarations and deposition transcripts of various witnesses in this case. After a full review, the Court finds that Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment should be granted in part and denied in part.

I. Material Facts ¹

Defendant Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc., (“CDM”) provides consulting, engineering, construction, and operation services for public and private clients in the United States and around the world. See D.E. 19 at 1, ¶ 1. As pertinent here, these services include developing renewable-energy management solutions. See id. at 1, ¶ 2. Plaintiff Jeannine V. DuChateau started working for CDM in 2007. See id. at 2, ¶ 3. DuChateau worked as a project lead in CDM's Management Consulting Division, first in Tampa and later in West Palm Beach. See id.

In early 2008, DuChateau and other CDM employees began working on “Go Green,” a proposed environmental project for long-time CDM client Lockheed Martin (“Lockheed”). See id. at 2, ¶ 5. Go Green involved plans for Lockheed to improve conservation of resources, engage in recycling efforts, and conduct other environmental activities at its domestic facilities. See id. Throughout 2008, DuChateau was being considered for a project-management role in Go Green, in which she would manage the overall project from CDM's side. See id. at 2, ¶ 6.

In August 2008, Plaintiff announced her intention to take maternity leave beginning in January 2009, the approximate time that Go Green would be implemented if everything went as planned. See id. at 2, ¶ 7. When DuChateau made this announcement, Go Green was still in the initial planning stages. See id. Upon learning of DuChateau's pregnancy, one of her supervisors, Stanley Plante, expressed support but mentioned that CDM did not have a good reputation for handling maternity cases. See D.E. 21–1 at 82–83; D.E. 26–2 at 3, ¶ 24.

Later that month, DuChateau overheard Steve Brewer, who managed CDM's client relationship with Lockheed, tell another CDM employee on a conference call that DuChateau was “irresponsible” for getting pregnant when she was supposed to be managing the Go Green contract. See D.E. 19 at 2, ¶¶ 8–9; D.E. 26–2 at 1, ¶¶ 8–9. Brewer further remarked that he had done “such a hard job to sell her to” Lockheed and “now she can't manage this contract like she agreed to.” See D.E. 19 at 2, ¶ 8; D.E. 26–2 at 1, ¶ 8.

DuChateau promptly called another of her supervisors, Phil Chernin, to complain about Brewer's comments. See D.E. 19 at 3, ¶ 10; D.E. 26–2 at 2, ¶ 10. She also spoke with Brewer, who did not apologize for the remarks but asked DuChateau to remain on the Go Green project. See D.E. 19 at 3, ¶ 10; D.E. 26–2 at 2, ¶ 10. Thereafter, Brewer made no comments that DuChateau found inappropriate. See D.E. 19 at 3, ¶ 11; D.E. 26–2 at 2, ¶ 11. He did, however, frequently ignore emails from DuChateau and sometimes failed to attend scheduled meetings with her. See D.E. 26–2 at 2, ¶ 11. Further, although Brewer told DuChateau that she was to serve as Go Green's project manager, he did not give her access to electronic project-management tools and entered his own name into the system as project manager. See id.

Because of DuChateau's planned maternity leave, CDM had to re-evaluate its proposed management team for Go Green. See D.E. 19 at 3, ¶ 12. In September 2008, CDM hired Nancy Wheatley into its Program Management Group. See id. at 3, ¶ 13. Wheatley, a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had many years of experience working on health, environmental, and safety projects in the public and private sectors. See id. CDM placed Wheatley into the role of project manager for Lockheed's remediation program, which included supervision of the Go Green project. See id. at 3, ¶ 14; D.E. 26–2 at 2, ¶ 14. Wheatley described the management structure of Go Green as “not particularly well formed” when she arrived. See D.E. 19 at 3–4, ¶ 14; D.E. 26–2 at 2, ¶ 14.

Upon Wheatley's arrival, it was determined that DuChateau would serve as deputy program manager for Go Green and that Tom Pedersen, a veteran CDM employee with environmental expertise, would assist with strategy development for the project. See D.E. 19 at 4, ¶ 15; D.E. 26–2 at 2, ¶ 15. DuChateau's role as deputy program manager was a project assignment and did not affect her compensation, benefits, or terms of employment. See D.E. 19 at 4, ¶ 16. Another employee in CDM's Management Consulting Division, Andrew Brady, was assigned to work with DuChateau on Go Green. See id. at 4, ¶ 17. Brady was being considered to serve as interim deputy program manager while DuChateau was on maternity leave. See id.

Throughout the fall of 2008, Wheatley, DuChateau, Pedersen, and Brady worked with Lockheed on developing Go Green. See D.E. 19 at 4, ¶ 18; D.E. 26–2 at 3, ¶ 18. Wheatley and DuChateau often disagreed on work-related issues. See id. Wheatley was concerned about DuChateau's ability to serve in a team-management role for Go Green and repeatedly criticized DuChateau for her incompetence. See id. According to Wheatley, Lockheed's Go Green manager, Kevin Pearson, expressed the view that DuChateau lacked “big picture perspective” and thus was not the right person to be “managing the Go Green work” for CDM. See D.E. 19 at 4, ¶ 19. DuChateau, however, believes that she was not incompetent and that CDM brought in Wheatley (as well as Pedersen) to force DuChateau off the project because of her pregnancy. See D.E. 26–2 at 3, ¶¶ 18, 20. DuChateau testified that before Wheatley joined CDM, DuChateau had worked with Lockheed on other matters and that no one had ever expressed concerns about her work product. See D.E. 26–2 at 2, ¶ 14; id. at 3, ¶ 19. DuChateau also noted in her deposition that Pearson was the Lockheed manager “who named [DuChateau] as the person he wanted on the project.” D.E. 21–1 at 87.

On the morning of December 22, 2008, Plante informed DuChateau that she had been removed from the Go Green project. See D.E. 19 at 5, ¶ 24; D.E. 26–2 at 3, ¶¶ 24–25. Although DuChateau contends that Wheatley was the person who removed her from the project, Wheatley denies that she (or anyone else) had made a decision about DuChateau's future role in the project. See D.E. 19 at 5, ¶ 24; id. at 6, ¶ 28; D.E. 26–2 at 3, ¶ 24. Plante told DuChateau that she should resign from the project and that other work would be found for her. See D.E. 26–2 at 4, ¶ 28.²

Shortly after DuChateau's discussion with Plante, several CDM employees, including Brewer, Wheatley, and DuChateau, held a conference call regarding Go Green. See D.E. 19 at 5, ¶ 22. On this call, Brewer announced that Pedersen would serve as interim deputy program manager for Go Green while DuChateau was on maternity leave. See id. During the call, DuChateau interrupted Brewer and asked if she would be allowed to return to the project after her leave. See id. at 5, ¶ 23. DuChateau claims that Brewer did not respond to her question. See D.E. 26–1, ¶ 4. Wheatley found DuChateau's behavior on the call to be unprofessional. See D.E. 19 at 5, ¶ 23.

The next day, DuChateau had a scheduled phone conversation with Wheatley to discuss Go Green and DuChateau's role in the project. See D.E. 19 at 6, ¶ 27; D.E. 26–2 at 4, ¶ 27. Wheatley described the call as “unpleasant” and recalled DuChateau as being very upset and “ranting.” See D.E. 19 at 6, ¶ 27. According to Wheatley, DuChateau stated that she would never work on Lockheed projects again. See id. at 6, ¶ 28. Wheatley therefore considered DuChateau to have resigned from the Go Green project. See id. For her part, DuChateau denies that she ever voluntarily removed herself from the project. See D.E. 26–2 at 4, ¶ 28. She recounts that during their conversation, Wheatley raised numerous issues about DuChateau's performance and repeatedly asked whether she was going to resign from Go Green. See D.E. 21–1 at 138–39. DuChateau responded that she already knew that Wheatley had removed her from the project. See id. at 139.

In a December 29, 2008, e-mail to Plante, DuChateau stated that she no longer wished to work on the Go Green project. See D.E. 19 at 6, ¶ 29; D.E. 26–2 at 4, ¶ 29. DuChateau notes, however, that she wrote this e-mail after Plante had informed her that she had already been removed from the project and had instructed her to resign from it. See D.E. 26–2 at 4, ¶ 29.

In early January 2009, DuChateau started her maternity leave. See D.E. 19 at 6, ¶ 29. At the same time, CDM's Management Consulting Division began experiencing a significant decrease in its workload. See id. at 6, ¶ 30. As a result, CDM implemented layoffs, furloughs, and hour reductions for employees in that division. See id. Among those laid off was Brady, who had worked with DuChateau on Go Green and had been considered to serve as interim deputy program manager in her absence. See id. at 6, ¶ 31. Nevertheless, Pedersen, who did serve as interim deputy program manager before later being named as the permanent deputy program manager, was not laid off. See D.E. 21–3 at 20, 22, 24. In addition, CDM's role in the Go...