Villa v. Tex. Parks & Wildlife Dep't

LEOPOLDO VILLA, Plaintiff, v. TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT, Defendant.

Civil Case No. 2:19-CV-00256

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI DIVISION

ENTERED: March 29, 2021

March 27, 2021

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND FINAL JUDGEMENT

Leopoldo Villa worked as a maintenance mechanic and boat technician for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (the "Department") for over 45 years. In March 2018, the Department fired Villa. The Department found that Villa had failed to adequately perform his job duties and failed to comply with the Department's leave-of-absence policies. Over a year later, Villa filed a lawsuit in Texas state court against the Department alleging that the real reason for his firing was age discrimination in violation of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act ("TCHRA").¹ (Dkt. No. 1-4). The Department removed the case and the Parties engaged in discovery. The Department now moves for summary judgment. (Dkt. No. 19). After careful review, the Court GRANTS the Department's Motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Villa held multiple positions with varying degrees of responsibility during his tenure at the Department.² Villa's most recent position, as a Boat Technician IV, required the highest level of technical skill and autonomy. The Department claims to have ultimately fired Villa for, among other things, failing to perform tasks assigned to him on his work computer and repairs assigned to him on a specific boat (called the "SAFE boat" and used by the Department for special operations). In its Motion for Summary Judgment, the Department goes even further, contending that Villa's inability to independently use a computer and repair the SAFE boat meant he was not qualified to be a Boat Technician IV. Villa disagrees with some of the Department's specific accusations regarding his abilities, but he generally agrees that he lacked the requisite computer skills and the ability to repair the SAFE boat. Notwithstanding his concession, he argues that an age-related comment made by his most recent supervisor demonstrates that the Department's real reason for firing him was discriminatory.

A. CAREER OVERVIEW

Villa graduated high school in 1968 and was hired by the Department less than a year later as a mechanic's assistant. (Dkt. No. 19-2 at 7; Dkt. No. 19-6 at 21). Although he had no formal qualifications or certifications, he performed welding, mechanic, and painting duties. (Dkt. No. 19-2 at 7). At some point within the first few years of his employment, Villa was given the official title of "Maintenance Mechanic I" and was tasked with "assist[ing]" shop mechanics in repairs to boats and vehicles. (Dkt. No. 19-3 at 16). Villa worked in the maintenance shop for the next twenty years. (Dkt. No. 19-2 at 8). He then took a break from the Department altogether to workon a scallop boat off the coast of Virginia, where he learned how to "drag for scallop" but did not perform any mechanical duties. (Id.). After a year, Villa returned to the Department's maintenance shop in his old position. (Id.).

About ten years after his return to the Department, Villa became a Boat/Motor Vehicle Technician II ("Boat Technician II"). (Id.). As such, Villa was tasked with performing "entry level" maintenance of the Department's boats, trailers, and vehicles. (Dkt. No. 19-6 at 26). He further worked "under close supervision with limited latitude for exercise of independent judgment." (Id.). As before, Villa had no formal qualifications or training for this position. (Dkt. No. 19-2 at 8). After working as a Boat Technician II for a few years, however, the Department sent Villa to a one-week training course tailored specifically for boat technicians. (Id.). Villa attended this annual training course three times before the Department discontinued it. (Id.).

Villa was eventually promoted to a Boat Technician III. In that position, he was tasked with "complex and advanced" repairs and maintenance of the Department's boats, trailers, and vehicles. (Dkt. No. 19-7 at 13). This position required Villa to keep the Department's equipment in "'a ready to be used' condition to ensure divisional goals and objectives can be met," and to "[m]aintain a working knowledge of [his] assigned area." (Id.). He was further required to "[m]aintain records and files of completed maintenance inspections and repairs." (Id.). Regarding autonomy, Villa was expected to work under "general supervision, with moderate latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment." (Dkt. No. 19-4 at 18).

In 2004, Villa retired as a Boat Technician III. (Dkt. No. 19-3 at 6). Villa came out of retirement just five months later and returned to the Department. Upon his return, he accepted an offer to be a Boat Technician II, a lesser position than the one from which he had retired. (Id. at 4); (Dkt. No. 19-6 at 26). And in 2007 he was promoted to his old post as a Boat Technician III.(Dkt. No. 19-7 at 12). Notably, as a Boat Technician III in 2007, Villa was required to have skills in "using MS Word, Excel and Outlook." (Dkt. No. 19-4 at 19).

In 2011, Villa was promoted to a position he had never held: Boat Technician IV. (Dkt. No. 19-7 at 26). Villa's supervisor at the time of this promotion, Captain Henry Balderamas, noted in his memorandum of recommendation that Villa had been "satisfactorily performing at the level of [Boat Technician IV], including performing the job duties at that level." (Id.). Balderamas further noted that Villa, as a Boat Technician III, had "assumed higher level and additional responsibilities in that he now performs more complex repairs on technologically advanced boats, boat motors, and vehicles." (Id.). As for formal qualifications, Balderamas stated that Villa "has also received certifications from Mercury Marine showing his progress and proficiency." (Id.). By this, Balderamas was referencing the one-week training Villa had received three years in a row when he became a Boat Technician II. (Dkt. No. 19-2 at 11).

But Villa's new responsibilities as a Boat Technician IV differed significantly from his responsibilities as a Boat Technician II. As a Boat Technician IV, Villa was responsible for performing "advanced maintenance" of the Department's boats, vehicles, and trailers. (Dkt. No. 19-6 at 17). Such maintenance was to include, for instance, performing "major overhauls of outboard motors" and "complete 'rig out[s]' of boats (electrical, motor, radios and other accessories)." (Id. at 18). Villa's skills were to be so "advanced" in these things that he was meant to "[p]rovide[] guidance to less tenured technicians." (Id. at 17). Notably, unlike any of his previous positions, Villa was to perform his work "independently," and he was given complete "latitude for exercise of independent judgment." (Id.). Despite these unique aspects of his new role, some expectations were the same as his previous positions. For instance, Villa was expected to maintain the Department's "boats, outboard motors, boat trailers and vehicle in [r]eady to [u]secondition." (Id. at 18). He was also to "maintain[] records and files of performed maintenance inspections and repairs," and to have skills in "using MS Word, Excel and Outlook." (Id. at 17-19).

Villa held this Boat Technician IV position until he was discharged in March 2018. (Dkt. No. 19-7 at 32). A month prior to his firing, in February 2018, the Department issued Villa a "Letter of Intent" outlining numerous performance issues and leave-policy infractions. (Dkt. No. 19-4 at 57-59). The performance issues identified in the Letter of Intent that are most relevant here concerned his failure to accomplish computer-related tasks and his failure to adequately perform maintenance on the SAFE boat. (Id.). The Letter of Intent warned Villa that the Department was "considering taking formal corrective action, up to and including termination," and invited Villa to "provide . . . a detailed reply" before it took any such action. (Id. at 57, 59). Villa responded by disputing many of the Department's characterizations of his actions and previous conversations with his supervisor, by pinning the blame for some of the performance mishaps on his supervisor at the time, and by accepting the blame for some of the miscommunications regarding his leaves of absence. (Dkt. No. 19-7 at 28-30). The Department viewed Villa's response to have "demonstrated a lack of willingness to follow directives of his direct supervisor," and therefore fired him. (Id. at 31-32). Villa was 69 years-old when he was discharged and was replaced by a male in his early 40s. (Dkt. No. 22-3 at 5).

B. VILLA'S COMPUTER SKILLS

Villa began his career with the Department at a time when computers were not widely used. Beginning in the late 1980s, the Department put plans in place to implement a computer program to keep track of its inventory. (Dkt. No. 19-3 at 15). Anticipating this leap forward, Villa's performance evaluation for the period of 1987 to 1988 shows that he and his supervisor set a goal for Villa to "learn computer operations" by attending a basic computer school by May 1989. (Id.at 12, 15). Villa never attended a computer school that following year, or at any point during the rest of his career despite the fact that many of his annual performance evaluations made express reference to his need for computer training. (Dkt. No. 19-2 at 19-20, 25); (Dkt. No. 19-3 at 19, 23, 32, 39). That is not to say Villa never tried to obtain formal training: Villa once asked Balderamas to have the Department provide him with basic computer class. But when Balderamas scheduled one, Villa "couldn't go" for some reason that he can no longer recall. (Dkt. No. 19-2 at 19-20). The record does not show that Villa tried to reschedule that class during Balderamas's tenure. Nor does it show that Villa ever sought outside computer training, such as from a local high school or university. (Id. at 20).

Although he never obtained formal computer training,...