THOMAS LIN, APPELLANT,
v.
JERRY L. DEMINGS, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS SHERIFF OF ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2017-04-28
No. Case No. 5D15-4271
BERGER and EDWARDS, JJ., and JACOBUS, B.W., Senior Judge, concur.
219 So. 3d 124 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2017) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.


Holding

The court held that disputed issues of material fact exist regarding pretext in the employer's stated reasons for adverse employment actions, precluding summary judgment.


Headnotes

[1] Summary judgment is inappropriate when the record raises even the slightest doubt that a genuine issue of material fact might exist, and such doubt must be resolved again…

[2] In age discrimination cases under the Florida Civil Rights Act, after an employer provides a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for an adverse employment action, the em…

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Deputy Lin sued Sheriff Demings alleging age discrimination under the FCRA, citing a suspension and transfer as adverse employment actions. The trial …

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Deputy Thomas Lin appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Sheriff Jerry L. Demings in this age discrimination case filed under the Florida *125Civil Rights Act (“FCRA”).1 Lin joined the Orange County Sheriffs Department in 1988 and was assigned to the marine unit in 1993. In 2009, Lin turned fifty years old. Lin complained that the Sheriff subjected him to several adverse employment actions because of his age including, among other things, a ten-hour suspension without pay and a transfer out of the marine unit back to road patrol duties. Because disputed issues of material fact exist on the issue of pretext, we reverse.

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions, affidavits, and other materials as would be admissible in evidence on file 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.” Estate of Githens ex rel. Seaman v. Bon Secours-Maria Manor Nursing Care Ctr., 928 So.2d 1272, 1274 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (quoting Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510(c)); accord Koresko v. Coe, 683 So.2d 602, 603 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996) (quoting Snyder v. Cheezem Dev. Corp., 373 So.2d 719, 720 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)). In analyzing a motion for summary judgment, the trial court and the appellate court are not permitted to weigh the evidence nor may they determine the credibility of the witnesses. Jones v. Stoutenburgh, 91 So.2d 299, 302 (Fla. 1956) (citing Yost v. Miami Transit Co., 66 So.2d 214 (Fla. 1953)); Alvarez-Mejia v. Bellissimo Props., LLC, 208 So.3d 797, 799 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016) (citing Hernandez v. United Auto. Ins. Co., 730 So.2d 344, 345 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)).

The burden is on the movant to demonstrate the absence of genuine issues of material fact. See Holl v. Talcott, 191 So.2d 40, 43-44 (Fla. 1966); Taylor v. Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC, 74 So.3d 1115, 1116-17 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) (citing Estate of Githens, 928 So.2d at 1274). “[I]f the record raises even the slightest doubt that an issue might exist, that doubt must be resolved against the moving party and summary judgment must be denied.” Taylor, 74 So.3d at 1117 (quoting Nard, Inc. v. DeVito Contracting & Supply, Inc., 769 So.2d 1138, 1140 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)); accord Sierra v. Shevin, 767 So.2d 524, 525 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) (citing Hancock v. Dep’t of Corr., 585 So.2d 1068 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)).

In age discrimination cases under the FCRA, the employee must establish a prima facie case for age discrimination before the burden of production, but not the burden of persuasion, will shift to the employer to produce a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse employment action. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Valenzuela v. GlobeGround N. Am., LLC, 18 So.3d 17, 21 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009).2 The existence of a prima facie case creates a rebuttable presumption of unlawful discrimination. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 411 U.S. at 802-03, 93 S.Ct. 1817; Valenzuela, 18 So.3d at 22. After the employer produces a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for the adverse employment action, the rebut-table presumption of discrimination ceases to exist, and the employee must demonstrate that the reasons offered by the employer were pretextual. Texas Dep’t of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 258, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981); Valenzuela, 18 So.3d at 22 (citing Reeves v. *126Sanderson Plumbing Prods. Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 152, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000)). The. employee must show that the reasons given by the employer are false and that age discrimination was the real reason for the adverse employment action. St. Mary’s Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 516, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993), overruled on other grounds by Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs., Inc., 557 U.S. 167, 169-70, 129 S.Ct. 2343, 174 L.Ed.2d 119 (2009); Burdine, 450 U.S. at 258, 101 S.Ct. 1089; Valenzuela, 18 So.3d at 25.

Although the Sheriff presented evidence suggesting that Lin’s ten-hour suspension without pay and transfer out of the marine unit were the result of legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons, and, thus, not pretextual, Lin presented conflicting evidence that was susceptible to a reasonable inference that the Sheriffs reasons for instituting the adverse employment action against him were, in fact, pre-textual.3 As such, it was error to enter summary judgment in this case. See Feizi v. Dep’t of Mgmt. Servs., 988 So.2d 1192, 1193 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008).

Accordingly, we reverse the order granting summary judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

BERGER and EDWARDS, JJ., and JACOBUS, B.W., Senior Judge, concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Penton Bus. Media Holdings, LLC v. Orange Cnty., 236 So. 3d 495 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018)
    …iting Sierra v. Shevin , 767 So. 2d 524, 525 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000) ), and if the record raises the possibility of any genuine issue of material fact or "even the slightest doubt that an issue might exist," summary judgment is improper. Lin v. Demings , 219 So. 3d 124, 125 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) ; accord Snyder v. Cheezem Dev. Corp. , 373 So. 2d 719, 720 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). In ruling on a summary judgment motion, the trial court may not weigh the evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses. Lin , 219 So. 3d a…
  • Penton Bus. v. Orange Cnty. (Fla. 5th DCA 2018)
    …ting Sierra v. Shevin, 767 So. 2d 524, 525 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)), and if the record raises the possibility of any genuine issue of material fact or “even the slightest doubt that an issue might exist,” summary judgment is improper. Lin v. Demings, 219 So. 3d 124, 125 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017); accord Snyder v. Cheezem Dev. Corp., 373 So. 2d 719, 720 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). In ruling on a summary judgment motion, the trial court may not weigh the evidence or determine the credibility of witnesses. Lin, 219 So. 3d…

Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited (24 total)

View all 24 cited authorities →

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw