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Hostetler v. Quality Dining, Inc.

Employer did not merit summary judgment where fact issues existed as to whether co-worker's unwelcome kissing and attempt to remove bra subjected plaintiff to hostile work environment.

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The full case caption appears at the end of this opinion.

ROVNER, Circuit Judge. Ann Hostetler alleges that a fellow supervisory employee at a South Bend, Indiana Burger King grabbed her face one day at work and stuck his tongue down her throat. On the following day, he tried to kiss her again and when she struggled to evade him, he began to unfasten her brassiere, threatening to “undo it all the way.” When Hostetler reported these incidents to her superiors, her district manager allegedly remarked that he dealt with his problems by getting rid of them. Days later, Hostetler was transferred to a distant Burger King location. She later filed this sex discrimination suit against her employer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. sec. 2000e-2(a)(1), contending that she had endured a hostile working environment as a result of the alleged harassment. See Meritor Sav. Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 66, 106 S. Ct. 2399, 2405 (1986). The district court granted summary judgment to the defendant, reasoning that the harassment Hostetler describes was not severe, see id. at 67, 106 S. Ct. at 2405; Saxton v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 10 F.3d 526, 533 (7th Cir. 1993), and that, in any event, her employer absolved itself of liability by responding to her complaint with steps reasonably designed to preclude further harassment, see, e.g., Adusumilli v. City of Chicago, 164 F.3d 353, 361 (7th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 120 S. Ct. 450 (1999). Hostetler v. Quality Dining, Inc., 1998 WL 456436 (N.D. Ind. April 23). Although a finder of fact might reach the same conclusions after a trial, we do not believe it appropriate to hold, as a matter of law, that the alleged harassment was not severe or that her employer’s response was non-negligent. We therefore reverse the grant of summary judgment.

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