Opinion
Civil Action No. 11-cv-00741-RPM
04-26-2012
OSLAINE DESIR, Plaintiff, v. ROSMIK, INC., Defendant.
Senior District Judge Richard P. Matsch
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Upon review of the papers filed supporting and opposing the defendant's motion for summary judgment [14], the motion is denied because there are genuine issues of material fact to be resolved by a jury. The plaintiff is from Haiti, speaks Creole, does not read or write that language, speaks very limited English, and worked for the defendant at Denver International Airport, making eggs for the restaurant. She testified in her deposition that on March 8, 2010, her supervisor, Cortez Johnson, abruptly fired her by demanding her security badge and instructing her to leave. She further testified that in doing so, Cortez Johnson made derogatory and demeaning comments concerning people from Haiti. The defendant denies that plaintiff's employment was terminated by Cortez Johnson and asserts that she voluntarily left her employment with the defendant. The defendant also seems to assert that other Haitians were employed at the same time and have not made complaints.
On summary judgment, the Court is required to accept the credibility of the plaintiff's testimony and that testimony is sufficient to support a claim for national origin discrimination in her termination. While the plaintiff also makes a claim of a hostile work environment based upon national origin, that is not recognized in this case as a separate claim but that the evidence offered in support of that claim will be admissible to support the plaintiff's contention that Cortez Johnson had a discriminatory bias against people from Haiti. It is
ORDERED that the defendant's motion for summary judgment is denied as to the plaintiff's claim for discriminatory termination of her employment.
BY THE COURT:
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Richard P. Matsch, Senior District Judge