Judge Richard McDermott

Noted for 9:00 am February 7, 2002

  

 

SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON

COUNTY OF KING

 

LARRY E. PITTMAN and SYLVESTER        )

PITTMAN, MICHAEL PITTMAN,                )           No.  99-2-52345-8 KNT

TERRANCE A. DAVIS, KEITH KERN,        )

YOLANDA ESKRIDGE, MICHAEL             )           RESPONSE IN OPPOSITION TO

DAVIS, GREGORY CODY, DAVID             )           DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR

LISTIOWEL ABRUQUAH, ARTHUR           )           SUMMARY JUDGMENT TO DISMISS

FOREST, NATHAN A. KILCREASE,           )           PLAINTIFF LARRY PITTMAN

JOSEPH A. DONKOR, DARREL CODY,     )

MARY COLEMAN, ERIC ARHIN,               )

SHABAE DIQUAN, SIDNEY LANIER,        )

RE-LASHIA SEARLES, JAMES GOODE,    )

CURTIS HOLLIS, and BENJAMIN               )

BARNES, individually,                                     )

                                                                        )

                                    plaintiffs,                       )

            v.                                                         )

                                                                        )

KING’S COMMAND FOODS, INC.,           )

a Washington business corporation,                   )

                                    defendant.                    )

____________________________________)

 

            Plaintiffs LARRY E. PITTMAN, et al, through their undersigned attorney, respond in opposition to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment to Dismiss Plaintiff Larry Pittman.  The plaintiff hereby incorporates by reference, the facts set forth and the legal authorities cited and argued in the Standards for Summary Judgment, the Material Facts, and the Relevant Substantive Law sections of the Response in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment to Dismiss Plaintiffs Michael Pittman, Sylvester Pittman, Relashia Searles and James Goode, in Opposition to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment to Dismiss Plaintiffs Abruquah, Barnes, Forest, Kilcrease, and Hollis; and in Opposition to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment to Dismiss Plaintiffs Michael Davis, Joe Donker, Yolanda Eskridge and Sidney Lanier (Plaintiffs’ Response I); the facts set forth and legal authorities cited and argued in the Material Facts with Respect to Plaintiffs Mary Coleman, Darrel Cody, and Gregory Cody and the Relevant Substantive Law sections of the Response in Opposition to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment to Dismiss Plaintiffs Mary Coleman, Darrel Cody and Greg Cody (Plaintiffs’ Response II); and the facts set forth and legal authorities cited and argued in the Material Facts with Respect to Plaintiffs Terrance Davis, Shabae Diquan, Keith Kern, and Eric Arhin; the New Non-Plaintiff Declarations; Other Non-Plaintiff Declarations; and the Relevant Substantive Law sections of the Response in Opposition to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment to Dismiss Plaintiffs Terrance Davis, Shabae Diquan and Keith Kern, and to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Eric Arhin and Request for Sanctions (Plaintiffs’ Response III).

THE MATERIAL FACTS WITH RESPECT TO PLAINTIFF LARRY PITTMAN

             There are more specific facts set forth to establish that Larry Pittman was the target of discrimination on the job and in the final application of the occurrence policy to dismiss him from employment at King’s Command Foods than there are for any other plaintiff in this case.

            These facts are summarized as follows:

            Plaintiffs’ Response I page 9 lines 17-22, Nathan Kilcrease witnessed Kirk McCoy assault Mr. Pittman and call him racially inappropriate terms in the presence of Pete DeWitt.

            Plaintiffs’ Response I pages 16-18.  Dave Horn and Terry Smith told Mr. Pittman that he was not going to get any raises, promotions, or transfers.  Terry Smith threw his applications away.  He was not paid at the higher rates of pay for work which the union contract provided higher rates of pay.  The union grievance procedure was ineffective and he was assessed occurrences and fired in retaliation to filing the grievance with the union.  Terry Smith told him that he had no rights three days before he was fired.  Previously Kirk McCoy taunted Mr. Pittman into quitting after having him perform a particularly degrading task.  Kirk McCoy repeatedly physically assaulted Mr. Pittman and called him racially offensive names in the presence of Terry Smith, Mark Wallace, Tom Butler, Doug Nance, and numerous other employees.  Mr. Smith and Mr. Wallace told Mr. Pittman that he would be fired if he fought back. Pete DeWitt and Dave Horn refused to do anything about it.

            Plaintiffs’ Response II page 5 lines 26-27.  Greg Cody witnessed Kirk McCoy tell Larry Pittman that he not getting a job in the red meat department that was posted.  At page 6 lines 2-3, Mary Coleman witnessed herself, Larry Pittman and Keith Kern apply for jobs in the red meat department.  All the black employees were turned down, the white employees got these positions.  At page 8 lines 12-13, documents indicate that Larry Pittman received 1 1/2 occurrences for only one absence.

            Plaintiffs’ Response III page 6 lines 16-22.  In the presence of Kirk McCoy and Larry Pittman, Terry Smith rudely told Shabae Diquan, “We’ll hire another nigger when we want one.”  At page lines 21-22, Larry Shockley, a former employee who is white, observed Robert Thomas treat Larry Pittman and Keith Kern disrespectfully.  At page 10 lines 16-17 Ron Goodar observed hostility to blacks but no hostility to whites and Asians.  They were particularly harsh with Larry Pittman.  Both Mr. Smith and Mr. McCoy called him and Mr. Pittman “boy” and other demeaning terms.  At page 1 lines 18-22, Denise Haines witnessed a number of adverse employment actions taken against Larry Pittman and other black employees.  And at the pages 11-12, Terry Cramer declared that a white woman, Shirley Grennan, was forced to take a machine operator job she did not want while this same position was denied to Larry Pittman who wanted it.

            In his new Declaration of Larry Pittman in Response to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment to Dismiss Larry Pittman he declares facts under penalty of perjury that directly contradicts some of the facts set forth by the defendant and he confirms the relevant facts set forth previously.

GIVEN THE ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE, THIS MOTION IS FRIVOLOUS

             Based on all of the legal authorities cited in the Plaintiffs’ Responses herein, and all of the specific facts set forth, the Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Larry Pittman is frivolous and should be denied.

CONCLUSION

            For these reasons, the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment to Dismiss Plaintiff Larry Pittman should be denied.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, January 28, 2002,

 

                                                            ____________________________________

                                                            Paul H. King                             WSBA #7370

                                                            Attorney for Plaintiff

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