Guzman v. WHM Carib, LLC

169 F.Supp.3d 304

Luis A. Figueroa Guzman, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.WHM Carib, LLC, Defendant.

Civil No. 14–1345 (SEC)

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

Signed March 14, 2016

Liliana Rodriguez–Rivera, Liliana Rodriguez-Rivera, Esq., Caguas, PR, Nicolas Nogueras–Cartagena, Nicolas Nogueras Law Offices, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiffs.

Ana B. Rosado–Frontanes, Carl E. Schuster, Michelle Lou Holley–Vazquez, Schuster & Aguilo LLP, San Juan, PR, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

SALVADOR E. CASELLAS, United States Senior District Judge

Before the Court is Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, Docket # 50, seeking to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims under the American with Disabilities' Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12102, et seq. (ADA), and his claims under Puerto Rico's wrongful dismissal and general torts statutes. Because Plaintiffs failed to establish prima facie claims for discrimination and retaliation under the ADA, Defendant's motion is GRANTED as to the federal claims. The Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction as to Plaintiffs' Commonwealth law claims.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

WHM Carib, LLC (Wyndham or Defendant) owns and operates the Wyndham Grand Resort Rio Mar in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Luis Figueroa (Figueroa or Plaintiff) started at Wyndham's Culinary Department on May 2009, as a Second Cook. Working his way up, he got promoted to First Cook, then Lead First Cook, and finally to Sous Chef.

Early in 2013, Figueroa suffered an accident while carrying supplies on a dolly from the storage room to one of the hotel restaurants. Weeks later, he sought medical assistance from the Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund (SIF). He was ordered to rest for ten days and then returned to work with continued treatment. Two days after his return, he received a favorable end-of-the-year job-performance evaluation that recognized him as a “Key Contributor” to Wyndham's Culinary Department. Docket # 50–15.

Plaintiff's employment relationship took a turn for the worse on April 30, 2013, after another Wyndham employee accused him of leaving the hotel premises through an unauthorized exit with hotel supplies. Figueroa was suspended a few days later pending an internal investigation on the potential theft. He was ultimately terminated for stealing a box of defrosted chicken breasts and for lying during the investigation process.

Between the suspension and termination, Figueroa filed a disability discrimination and retaliation charge before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The charge states that after returning to work from the SIF's leave, Luis Acevedo—Plaintiff's immediate supervisor—started discriminating against Figueroa because of his alleged disability. It also charges Acevedo with manufacturing the theft accusation to get Figueroa fired. Docket # 50–17.

Almost three months after the EEOC issued a Notice of Right to Sue, Figueroa and his wife filed this action against Wyndham¹ alleging discrimination and retaliation under the ADA; unjust dismissal under Act No. 80 of May 30, 1976, P.R. Laws Ann. Tit. 29 § 185a et seq. (Act 80); and general damages under Articles 1802 and 1803 of the Puerto Rico Civil Code, P.R. Law Ann. Tit. 31 §§ 5141–5142.² In due course, Defendant filed a well-supported motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff's belated response, on the other hand, devoted less than a page to discussing the merits of his case.

II. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is appropriate only if the “movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). A dispute is genuine if a “reasonable fact-finder could resolve in favor of either party and a material fact is one that could affect the outcome of the case.” Flood v. Bank of Am. Corp., 780 F.3d 1, 7 (1st Cir.2015). At this stage, it is axiomatic that courts “may not weigh the evidence,” Casas Office Machs., Inc. v. Mita Copystar Am., Inc., 42 F.3d 668 (1st Cir.1994), and must construe the record in the “light most flattering” to the nonmovant. Soto–Padró v. Public Bldgs. Authority, 675 F.3d 1 (1st Cir.2012). A court must similarly resolve all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Tolan v. Cotton, ––– U.S. ––––, 134 S.Ct. 1861, 1863, 188 L.Ed.2d 895 (2014) (per curiam).

Once the movant properly configures a summary-judgment motion, the burden shifts onto the nonmovant—or “the party who bears the burden of proof at trial,” Geshke v. Crocs, Inc., 740 F.3d 74, 77 (1st Cir.2014) —to “point to competent evidence and specific facts to stave off summary judgment.” Tropigas de P.R., Inc. v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London, 637 F.3d 53, 56 (1st Cir.2011). So the nonmovant cannot rest on conclusory allegations and improbable inferences. Advanced Flexible Circuits, Inc. v. GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies GmbH, 781 F.3d 510, 516 (1st Cir.2015). Neither “effusive rhetoric,” Cadle Co. v. Hayes, 116 F.3d 957, 960 (1st Cir.1997), nor “arguments woven from the gossamer strands of speculation and surmise,” RTR Technologies, Inc. v. Helming, 707 F.3d 84, 93 (1st Cir.2013), suffice to forestall the entry of summary judgment. Failure to shoulder this burden “allows the summary judgment engine to operate at full throttle.” Lawton v. State Mut. Life Assur. Co., 101 F.3d 218, 223 (1st Cir.1996).

III. Applicable Law and Analysis

Wyndham moves for summary judgment arguing that the evidence on record reveals that Plaintiff: 1) was not disabled within the meaning of the ADA; 2) did not request a reasonable accommodation; 3) did not engage in protective conduct under the ADA that could lead to a retaliation claim; and, in any event, 4) Wyndham offered a non-discriminatory reason for Plaintiff's termination. The Court agrees with Defendant on its first and third arguments.

Because these are case-dispositive, the Court need not reach the merits of the second and fourth arguments. Further, as the federal claims falter before trial, the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff's Commonwealth law claims. See Gonzalez–De–Blasini v. Family Dep't, 377 F.3d 81, 89 (1st Cir.2004) (“As a general principle, the unfavorable disposition of a plaintiff's federal claims at the early stages of a suit ... will trigger the dismissal without prejudice of any supplemental state-law claims.” (quoting Rodriguez v. Doral Mortgage Corp., 57 F.3d 1168, 1177 (1st Cir.1995) )

The ADA forbids employers from discriminating against qualified persons in “job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment” because of a person's actual or perceived disability. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). Where, as here, direct evidence of discrimination is absent, a plaintiff must rely on circumstantial evidence to establish a prima facie case under the ADA through the burden-shifting framework outlined in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Under this analysis, a plaintiff must offer evidence sufficient to establish that he “(i) has a disability within the meaning of the [ADA]; (ii) is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodations; (iii) was subject to an adverse employment action by a company subject to the [ADA]; (iv) was replaced by a non-disabled person or was treated less favorably than non-disabled employees; and (v) suffered damages as a result.” Id.

If the plaintiff succeeds in establishing a prima facie claim, “the burden shifts to the defendant to articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for its action.” Ramos–Echevarria v. Pichis, Inc., 659 F.3d 182, 186–87 (1st Cir.2011). “If the employer offers a non-discriminatory reason, the burden then shifts back to the plaintiff to show that the employer's justification is mere pretext cloaking discriminatory animus.” Id.

Wyndham further argues that unlike Title VII claims, where plaintiffs have to prove only that discrimination was a “motivating factor” behind the employer's adverse action, see Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 241, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989), the ADA requires proof that discrimination was the “but-for” cause of the adverse employment action. It is true that in Serwatka v. Rockwell Automation, Inc., the Seventh Circuit held that under the 2008 version of the ADA—which provided that “[n]o covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual,” 591 F.3d 957, 962 (7th Cir.2010) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a) (2008))—a plaintiff had to prove that his disability was the sine qua non cause of his termination. That case relied on Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs., Inc., where the Supreme Court observed that the ADEA's language prohibiting an employer to take an adverse action “because of such individual's age,” 557 U.S. 167, 176, 129 S.Ct. 2343, 174 L.Ed.2d 119 (2009) means that a plaintiff bringing a disparate treatment claim under that statute must prove that age was the “but-for” cause of the adverse action. Id. at 180, 129 S.Ct. 2343. The Sixth Circuit reached the same conclusion in Lewis v. Humboldt Acquisition Corp., 681 F.3d 312, 318 (6th Cir.2012) (ADA), and the First Circuit cited these cases with approval in Palmquist v. Shinseki, 689 F.3d 66, 74 (1st Cir.2012) (holding that a “but-for” standard applies to discrimination claims under the Rehabilitation Act).

But Serwatka and Lewis, were decided under the previous version of the ADA. In 2008, Congress enacted significant amendments to the ADA. In Silk v. Bd. of Trustees, Moraine Valley Cmty. Coll., the Seventh Circuit noted that “the language prohibiting discrimination ‘because of ’ a disability was amended to prohibit discrimination ‘on the basis of a disability .’ ” 795 F.3d 698, 705 (7th Cir.2015). Because the issue was not adequately before it...