Ruby Holiday v. New Hanover County Registrar o, No. 07-2120 (4th Cir. 2009)
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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 07-2120 RUBY M. HOLIDAY, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. NEW HANOVER COUNTY REGISTRAR OF DEEDS; REBECCA TUCKER SMITH, in her individual capacity, and in her capacity as New Hanover County Registrar of Deeds, Defendants - Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Wilmington. W. Earl Britt, Senior District Judge. (7:05-cv-00204-BR) Submitted: February 11, 2009 Decided: March 13, 2009 Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and KING, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Angela Newell Gray, GRAY NEWELL, LLP, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellant. James R. Morgan, Jr., Mary Craven Adams, WOMBLE CARLYLE SANDRIDGE & RICE, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellees. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Ruby Holiday filed the instant action against New Hanover County Registrar of Deeds Rebecca Tucker Smith, in her official and individual capacities, alleging violations of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e to 2000e-17 (2000); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-422.2; and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2000), arising from Holiday s employment termination. The motion for summary judgment. district court granted Smith s We affirm. We review a district court s order granting summary judgment de novo, drawing reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. F.3d 953, 958 (4th Cir. 2008). See Nader v. Blair, 549 Summary judgment may be granted only when there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and . . . the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). To survive summary judgment, Holiday must come forth with either direct evidence of discrimination or establish a prima facie case of discrimination under McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802 (1973). Holiday submitted no direct evidence of racial discrimination. To establish a prima facie case of discriminatory termination under Title VII, § 1983, or N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-422.2, Holiday must show that: (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she was qualified for her job and performing at a satisfactory level; (3) she was 2 terminated; and (4) she was replaced by a similarly situated applicant outside her protected class. See St. Mary s Honor Center (1993); v. Hicks, Cerberonics, 509 Inc., U.S. 871 502, F.2d 506 452, 455 Williams (4th Cir. v. 1989). Establishment of this prima facie case of discrimination in effect creates discriminated a presumption against the that the employee. employer Texas Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 254 (1981). unlawfully Dep t of Cmty. Where a plaintiff makes such a showing, the burden shifts to the defendant to articulate a legitimate, employment action. nondiscriminatory reason McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802. for the If the employer produces a legitimate reason for the action, the burden once again shifts to the plaintiff to show that the employer s rationale is just a pretext for discrimination. Id. at 804. Here, it is not clear that Holiday established a prima facie case of discriminatory termination. agree that Holiday is a member of a Though both parties protected class, was terminated, and was replaced by someone not in her protected class, the parties differ as to whether Holiday was performing at a satisfactory level. Smith presented evidence that Holiday made slanderous statements about a co-worker s husband, abused attendance policies, engaged in insubordinate behavior, and repeatedly engaged in conversations of a personal nature, in violation of office policy. 3 Even assuming that Holiday was able to establish a prima facie case of discriminatory termination, however, Smith articulated ample legitimate, Holiday s termination. nondiscriminatory reasons for In so doing, Smith successfully rebutted any discriminatory presumptions raised by Holiday. Though Holiday had the full and fair opportunity to demonstrate . . . that the proffered reason[s] [were] not the true reason for the employment decision, Burdine, 450 U.S. at 256, she failed to do so. previous written issues, this While Holiday contends [s]he had no reprimands assertion is or documented belied by the work performance record. Holiday further argues that Smith exhibited a pattern and practice of disparate treatment toward black employees. However, evidence of systematic discrimination alone cannot prove the elements of See, e.g., Scarlett v. Seaboard Coast a discrimination claim. Line R. Co., 676 F.2d 1043, 1053 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982) (holding that one proceeding as an individual under Title VII must prove the elements McDonnell of a Douglas ). [discrimination] A plaintiff claim must as provide discrimination she has personally experienced. unsubstantiated, conclusory allegations set of forth in evidence of Id. racial insufficient to survive a summary judgment motion. Holiday s animus are See, e.g., Thompson v. Potomac Elec. Power Co., 312 F.3d 645, 649 (4th Cir. 4 2002) (noting that [c]onclusory or speculative allegations do not suffice to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact). Accordingly, we affirm the district court s order granting Smith s motion for summary judgment. We dispense with oral contentions argument adequately because presented in the the facts and materials legal before the court are and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 5
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