'Evolved' Circuit Sexual Orientation Protections Send Breitling Suit Back on Remand
A former employee's suit claiming he was fired by the watchmaker, in part, because he was gay was dismissed on summary judgment in 2016, when circuit law still held Title VII discrimination didn't cover sexual orientation.
September 10, 2018 at 04:12 PM
4 minute read
Recent substantive changes to sexual orientation discrimination law in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit resulted in a reversal and remand Monday of a 2016 summary judgment dismissing similar Title VII claims.
Frederick Cargian, who is gay, sued Swiss watch manufacturer Breitling for discrimination, after allegedly being fired from his position as sales representative following the hiring of a new president in 2010. Cargian claimed that the new president created a “boy's club” atmosphere in his inner circle—which meant the exclusion of Cargian.
Over the course of the next two years, Cargian says management continuously changed his sales goals and territory, leading to low results and decreased salary. After hiring a younger, less-experienced representative to handle area he'd previously covered, Cargian says he was fired in 2013.
Cargian filed suit in 2015, alleging, among other things, violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for being discriminated against based on his sexual orientation, among other claims. In September 2016, U.S. District Judge George Daniels of the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of Brietling. As noted, Title VII was not a recognized protection against private employers discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation in the circuit.
That changed in February, in the circuit's en banc decision in Zarda v. Altitude Express. The suit, brought by the estate of a former parachute instructor, challenged the ability to bring just such discrimination claims. The court in that case recognized the “changing legal landscape that has taken shape” since it last weighed in on the issue, two decades prior. The appellate court ruled that Title VII does, in fact, prohibit sexual discrimination, finding it fell squarely under the “because of … sex” protections in federal law.
“Because the legal framework for evaluating Title VII claims has evolved substantially in this circuit, we conclude the district court should have the opportunity to consider in the first instance whether Cargian's claims can survive a motion for summary judgment after Zarda altered that legal landscape,” wrote the panel of Circuit Judges Peter Hall and Raymond Lohier Jr., with Senior Judge Jane Restani of the U.S. Court of International Trade, sitting by designation.
The district court was also free to consider exercising supplemental jurisdiction over Cargian's other state claims, the panel added.
Cargian's lawyer, private attorney Janice Goodman, said in a statement that she and her client were very pleased the court recognized Cargian's claims under Title VII.
“We look forward to vindicating Mr. Cargian's rights at a trial,” she said.
Breitling's appellate legal team at Fox Rothschild was led by partner Glenn Grindlinger. In a statement, he said the company does not take a position on the recent changes to circuit law. However, he said, the company does not discriminate based on sexual orientation, noting its own internal policy against such actions.
“We are confident that if the district court gets an opportunity to examine the facts of this case against the new standard articulated by the Second Circuit, the outcome will remain the same—Breitling has not and does not discriminate,” Grindlinger said.
Related:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllBig Law Partner Presented With State Bar's Scheindlin Award
'A World of Credit': Ex-FTX Executive Gary Wang Sentenced to Time Served Following Cooperation
Manhattan Prosecutors Say They Will Oppose Efforts by Trump Legal Team to Dismiss Case
Trending Stories
- 1First California Zantac Jury Ends in Mistrial
- 2Democrats Give Up Circuit Court Picks for Trial Judges in Reported Deal with GOP
- 3Trump Taps Former Fla. Attorney General for AG
- 4Newsom Names Two Judges to Appellate Courts in San Francisco, Orange County
- 5Biden Has Few Ways to Protect His Environmental Legacy, Say Lawyers, Advocates
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250