Treat v. Tom Kelley Buick Pontiac GMC, Inc.

710 F.Supp.2d 762

Jill L. TREAT, Cody W. Treat and Tiffany L. Johnson, Plaintiffs,

v.TOM KELLEY BUICK PONTIAC GMC, INC., d/b/a Kelley Superstore, Kelley Automotive Group, Inc., and Daniel Henderson, Defendants.

Civil No. 1:08cv173.

United States District Court,

N.D. Indiana,

Fort Wayne Division.

April 30, 2010.

Jack R. Rochyby, Sara C. Rochyby, Rochyby Law Office, Fort Wayne, IN, for Plaintiffs.

Bonnie L. Martin, Brandon M. Shelton, Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC, Indianapolis, IN, Robert D. Moreland, Steven L. Jackson, Baker & Daniels, Fort Wayne, IN, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on a motion for summary judgment filed by the defendants Tom Kelley Buick Pontiac GMC, Inc. d/b/a Kelley Superstore and Tom Kelley Automotive Group, Inc., (collectively "the Kelley Defendants"), on December 4, 2009. The plaintiff, Cody Treat ("Mr.Treat"), filed his response on January 18, 2010, to which the Kelley Defendants replied on February 4, 2010.

Also before the court is a "Motion to Strike Evidentiary Submissions of Cody Treat" filed by the Kelley Defendants on February 4, 2010. Mr. Treat responded to the motion on February 18, 2010, to which the Kelley Defendants replied on February 25, 2010.

For the following reasons, the motion for summary judgment and the motion to strike will both be granted.

Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is proper "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). However, Rule 56(c) is not a requirement that the moving party negate his opponent's claim. Fitzpatrick v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 916 F.2d 1254, 1256 (7th Cir.1990). Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery, against a party "who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and in which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The standard for granting summary judgment mirrors the directed verdict standard under Rule 50(a), which requires the court to grant a directed verdict where there can be but one reasonable conclusion. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A scintilla of evidence in support of the non-moving party's position is not sufficient to successfully oppose summary judgment; "there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Id. In re Matter of Wildman, 859 F.2d 553, 557 (7th Cir.1988); Klein v. Ryan, 847 F.2d 368, 374 (7th Cir.1988); Valentine v. Joliet Township High School District No. 204, 802 F.2d 981, 986 (7th Cir.1986). No genuine issue for trial exists "where the record as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party." Juarez v. Ameritech Mobile Communications, Inc., 957 F.2d 317, 322 (7th Cir.1992) (quoting Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)).

Initially, Rule 56 requires the moving party to inform the court of the basis for the motion, and to identify those portions of the "pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admission on file, together with the affidavits, if any, which demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact," Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The non-moving party may oppose the motion with any of the evidentiary materials listed in Rule 56(c), but reliance on the pleadings alone is not sufficient to withstand summary judgment. Goka v. Bobbitt, 862 F.2d 646, 649 (7th Cir.1988); Guenin v. Sendra Corp., 700 F.Supp. 973, 974 (N.D.Ind.1988); Posey v. Skyline Corp., 702 F.2d 102, 105 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 960, 104 S.Ct. 392, 78 L.Ed.2d 336 (1983).

So that the district court may readily determine whether genuine issues of material fact exist, under Local Rule 56.1, the moving party is obligated to file with the court a "Statement of Material Facts" supported by appropriate citation to the record to which the moving party contends no genuine issues exist. In addition, the non-movant is obligated to file with the court a "Statement of Genuine Issues" supported by appropriate citation to the record outlining all material facts to which the non-movant contends exist that must be litigated. See, Waldridge v. American Hoechst Corp. et al., 24 F.3d 918 (7th Cir.1994). In ruling on a summary judgment motion the court accepts as true the non-moving party's evidence, draws all legitimate inferences in favor of the non-moving party, and does not weigh the evidence or the credibility of witnesses. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-251, 106 S.Ct. at 2511. Furthermore, in determining the motion for summary judgment, the court will assume that the facts as claimed and supported by admissible evidence by the moving party are admitted to exist without controversy, except to the extent that such facts are controverted in the "Statement of Genuine Issues" filed in opposition to the motion. L.R. 56.1

Substantive law determines which facts are material; that is, which facts might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Irrelevant or unnecessary facts do not preclude summary judgment even when they are in dispute. Id. The issue of fact must be genuine. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), (e). To establish a genuine issue of fact, the non-moving party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348; First National Bank of Cicero v. Lewco Securities Corp., 860 F.2d 1407, 1411 (7th Cir.1988). The non-moving party must come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. A summary judgment determination is essentially an inquiry as to "whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251-252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Finally, the court notes that, "[i]t is a gratuitous cruelty to parties and their witnesses to put them through the emotional ordeal of a trial when the outcome is foreordained" and in such cases summary judgment is appropriate. Mason v. Continental Illinois Nat'l Bank, 704 F.2d 361, 367 (7th Cir.1983).

Discussion

Defendant Tom Kelley Buick Pontiac GMC ("TKBPG") maintains a superstore of used cars, commonly referred to as the "Superstore." TKBPG is part of a group of separate dealerships, commonly known as the "Kelley Automotive Group" (hereinafter "Kelley"). Mr. Treat was employed by TKBPG from July 2006 until his termination on October 12, 2006. Mr. Treat believed TKBPG acted violation of his federal civil rights and state law, and thus he instituted the instant action ¹.

The Kelley Defendants are seeking summary judgment on all of Mr. Treat's remainingclaims. The following facts, which are supported by the record, are relevant to the motions under consideration.

In 2006, Kelley's owner and managers, including Tom Kelley, President and Owner of Kelley, Gary Thelen, Chief Financial Officer of Kelley, and Fred Grote, Kelley General Manager, decided to create a new department within TKBPG to help customers with special finance needs.² Previously, TKBPG had used its finance and insurance managers for special financing on a case by case basis.³ Kelley planned for the new Special Finance Department to service the TKBPG's "Superstore," and later it expanded to other stores. ⁴ Special Finance Department deals were contracted through TKBPG. ⁵

To open the department, based upon the recommendation of an industry colleague, Grote hired defendant Daniel Henderson ("Henderson") to manage the Special Finance Department in June 2006.⁶ Henderson then interviewed and hired Jill Treat ("Ms.Treat") to serve as Assistant Manager/Assistant Co-Director of the Special Finance Department.⁷ Ms. Treat subsequently recommended that her adult children, Mr. Treat and Tiffany Johnson ("Johnson") work in the Special Finance Department, and Henderson hired Mr. Treat and Johnson as well.⁸ In early July, Mr. Treat began working as a salesperson in the Special Finance Department and reported to Henderson and his mother.⁹ A few weeks after beginning with Kelley, Henderson promoted Mr. Treat to Special Finance Manager over the salespeople at the Superstore, effective August 1, 2006.¹⁰ Mr. Treat's office was in the Superstore, which was the same building where Henderson's office was located until mid August 2006, when Henderson moved his primary office to the TKBPG building. ¹¹ From the time Henderson moved his primary office to the TKBPG building, Mr. Treat only recalled seeing Henderson face-to-face at the weekly manager meetings.¹² Mr. Treat was also out of the office from September 22, 2006 until October 2, 2006, for his wedding and honeymoon. ¹³

Johnson was hired as the Special Finance Department Funding Manager. ¹⁴ Johnson also reported directly to hermother and Henderson. ¹⁵ When Johnson began working in the Special Finance Department, Mr. Treat, Andy Bowman, Amber Folkner, Tom Seat, Rob Pargeon, Ron Lytle, Bret Gump and Josie Johnston worked as salespeople in the department.¹⁶

In the course of its operations, the Special Finance Department received sales leads from numerous sources. Focus, Inc. was one source, which sent most of its leads to the Superstore location.¹⁷ DOLLAR was another source of sales leads, and typically the leads would be assigned in a "round robin" manner.¹⁸ Once an employee received a lead, they would continue to work the lead to attempt to achieve a sale, even if their attempts during...