Lynda Stegall v. Citadel Broadcasting Company Citadel Communications Corporation Marathon Media Lp

350 F.3d 1061 Lynda STEGALL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITADEL BROADCASTING COMPANY; Citadel Communications Corporation; Marathon Media LP, Defendants-Appellees. No. 02-35399. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted June 2, 2003. — Seattle, Washington. Decided December 2, 2003. As Amended January 6, 2004. Laura B. Allen, Seattle, Washington, for the plaintiff-appellant. Courtney W. Wiswall (argued) and Paul Buchanan (briefed), Portland, Oregon, for the defendants-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington; Edward F. Shea, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-00-05064-EFS. Before: DONALD P. LAY, * WARREN J. FERGUSON, and RONALD M. GOULD, Circuit Judges. OPINION FERGUSON, Circuit Judge. 1 The issue in this case is: what showing of pretext must a plaintiff in a retaliation suit make in order to overcome a defendant's motion for summary judgment, where the defendant has alleged legitimate reasons for the plaintiff's termination. Appellant Lynda Stegall ("Stegall") appeals the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington ("District Court")'s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant…

The issue in this case is: what showing of pretext must a plaintiff in a retaliation suit make in order to overcome a defendant’s motion for summary judgment, where the defendant has alleged legitimate reasons for the plaintiffs termination. Appellant Lynda Stegall (“Stegall”) appeals the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington (“District Court”)’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant Marathon Media, L.P. (“Marathon”), which foreclosed a jury trial on Stegall’s retaliation claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”). The District Court held that, although Stegall established a prima facie claim of retaliatory discharge against Marathon, she was unable to demonstrate that Marathon’s nondiscriminatory reasons for terminating her were a pretext for retaliation. Stegall alleges that she was fired from KORD, a country music radio station, in retaliation for making complaints about gender discrimination and wage disparities between male and female employees at *1011 KORD. Because Stegall raises a triable claim with respect to her retaliation claim, we reverse the District Court’s grant of summary…

dissenting.

A summary judgment rejected plaintiffs employment retaliation claim, and we decide if trial is needed to determine whether the termination of an employee who was an on-air personality at a radio station, as part of a format change and overhaul of the radio station, was in reality a pretext for retaliation for her prior complaint about asserted gender-based wage discrimination at the radio station. I conclude that no genuine issue of fact is presented on pretext in the context of the station’s undisputably broad changes of on-air personalities after a new owner took control after an acquisition.

Marathon Media, L.P. (“Marathon”), defendant-appellee, acquired a group of radio stations and promptly thereafter changed the format of the flagship radio station that it acquired, KORD, from modern country music to more traditional country music. Lynda Stegall, plaintiff-appellant, an on-air personality at KORD before the Marathon acquisition and during a transition period of about six weeks thereafter, was terminated when Marathon changed KORD’s format and did a station overhaul that included replacement of every daily on-air personality. Stegall brought suit contending that…