USCA1 Opinion

[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
____________________

No. 95-2339

SUSAN G. ISLES,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

WHC JR./COC, ET AL.,

Defendants, Appellees.

____________________

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

[Hon. Frank H. Freedman, Senior U.S. District Judge]

__________________________

____________________

Before

Torruella, Chief Judge,

___________
Stahl and Lynch, Circuit Judges.
______________

____________________

Susan G. Isles on brief pro se.

______________
Francis D. Dibble, Jr., Ellen M. Randle, Carol E. Kamm and
______________________ _______________ _____________
Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas on brief for appellees.
_______________________________

____________________

October 17, 1996

____________________

Per Curiam.
__________

Susan Isles

Three months after

was discharged from her

being hired, plaintiff

position as housekeeper

at the residence

Massachusetts.

which

she

L.

ch. 152,

inter alia,
___________

(1) sex

42 U.S.C.

of a worker's

2000e-2(a); (2)

her

termination

violation

of Title

retaliation for the filing

compensation claim, in violation of Mass. Gen.

75B(2);

contentions

defendants.

that

discrimination in

and (3)

completion of discovery, the

these

in Shelburne,

She responded by filing the instant action in

claimed,

constituted:

VII,

of William and Camille Cosby

and

contract.

Upon

district court rejected each of

granted

Having reviewed

breach of

summary

the record in

judgment

for

full, we affirm

substantially for the reasons recited by the district court.

We have little to

analysis.

add to Judge Freedman's comprehensive

As to the Title VII claim, we agree that plaintiff

has

failed

to

adduce

reasonable jury could

sufficient

evidence

from

conclude that defendants'

which

articulated

reasons for the firing were a pretext for sex discrimination.

See,
___

e.g., Udo
____ ___

v. Tomes,
_____

54

F.3d 9,

13 (1st

Cir. 1995).

Defendants explained, on the basis of abundant evidence, that

plaintiff was fired primarily because of an overly aggressive

attitude and

traits that

Such

a tendency

to criticize

proved disruptive to staff

concerns constitute a

See, e.g.,
___ ____

the work

of others--

cohesion and morale.

justifiable basis for discharge.

Johnson v. Allyn & Bacon, Inc., 731

_______
____________________

F.2d 64, 73

(1st Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1018 (1984).

_____________

Plaintiff's

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principal

during

evidence

her

to the

contrary--a vague

deposition--proves

insufficient

denial voiced

to

create

genuine dispute as to whether defendants' articulated reasons

were

pretextual.

Indus., Inc., 872

____________

judgment

is

evidence

if the

See,
___

e.g., Kaiser
____ ______

F.2d 512, 518 (1st

appropriate even

latter is

in

the

v.

Armstrong World
________________

Cir. 1989) ("[s]ummary

face of

insufficient to

conflicting

support

a jury

verdict in the nonmovant's

written

favor").

words (in the form

Indeed, plaintiff's own

of letters mailed

to the Cosbys

and to an earlier employer) only lend further credence to the

concerns cited by defendants.

Plaintiff's evidence, in any

inference of

explained, the

discriminatory animus.

specific factors on

minimal probative value.

allegedly

event, fails to support an

received

As the

district court

which she relies

For example, the male employees who

more lenient

treatment

in disciplinary

matters were not similarly situated to plaintiff.

Smith
_____

v. Stratus Computers, Inc.,

_______________________

1994), cert. denied,

____________

are of

115 S.

40 F.3d 11,

Ct. 1958 (1995).

See, e.g.,
___ ____

17 (1st Cir.

The

alleged

division

of

labor

in

the

household

staff

entailed

no

disadvantage to her with respect to conditions of employment.

And the alleged "breadwinner" remark was properly disregarded

as hearsay.

fired

by a

Moreover, it

is undisputed that

female, that she

was replaced by

-3-

plaintiff was

a female, and

that

the

only other

household employee

ever to

have been

discharged was a male.

As to

in

Byrd
____

plaintiff's claim of retaliation,

v. Bonayne,
_______

applies as

61 F.3d

well here:

"For the

discharge claim rests on

found

wanting above."

1026,

what we stated

1033 (1st

most part,

Cir. 1995),

her retaliatory

the identical inferences of pretext

Id.
___

at 1033; accord,
______

e.g., Grant v.
____ _____

News Group Boston, Inc., 55 F.3d 1, 7 (1st Cir. 1995) (noting

_______________________

that showing

In

any

of pretext is essential

event,

we

agree

with

the

to retaliation claim).

district

court

that

plaintiff's evidence fails to support the inference that Mrs.

Cosby even knew of plaintiff's alleged head injury, much less

that

she

discharge

harbored

her.

See,
___

retaliatory

motive

e.g., Medina-Munoz
____ ____________

in

deciding

v. R.J. Reynolds
______________

Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir. 1990) (noting

___________

moving

party's

reliance

"improbable inferences"

judgment,

intent

are

even "where

at

on

is

"conclusory

issue") (quoted

defeat

concepts such

in

that non-

allegations"

insufficient to

elusive

to

Fennell
_______

and

summary

as motive

or

v. First Step
___________

Designs, Ltd., 83 F.3d 526, 535 (1st Cir. 1996)).

_____________

Finally, plaintiff's claim that she enjoyed a "lifetime"

contract, terminable only

As

the district

court

voiced by

Mrs.

Adams

construed

under

the

for cause, is equally

explained, nothing

or

Mrs. Cosby

circumstances

could

as

unavailing.

in the

be

creating

comments

reasonably

any

such

-4-

arrangement.

Mass. App.

and

See, e.g., O'Brien v.

___ ____ _______

Ct. 905, 906-07 (1993)

"particularly

establish lifetime

explicit

Analog Devices, Inc., 34

____________________

(requiring "strong proof"

expressions

contract); accord,
______

e.g.,
____

of

intent"

Smith v.
_____

to

F.W.
____

Morse & Co., Inc., 76 F.3d 413, 427 (1st Cir. 1996).
_________________

Mrs. Adams have the authority to commit

permanent contract.

Nor did

the Cosbys to such a

See, e.g., Simonelli

___ ____ _________

v. Boston Housing
______________

Auth., 334 Mass. 438, 440-41 (1956).

_____

Plaintiff also advances a trio of

on

appeal, each of which we reject.

discovery

ruling

This

First, she complains of

restricting

information concerning defendants'

procedural challenges

access

to

employment

past and present workers.

court will intervene in such matters "only upon a clear

showing

of

manifest injustice,

court's

discovery order

that

was plainly

is,

where the

wrong and

substantial prejudice to the aggrieved party."

lower

resulted in

Mack v. Great
____
_____

Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., 871 F.2d 179, 186 (1st Cir. 1989)

__________________________

(quoted in Ayala-Gerena v. Bristol Myers-Squibb Co., ___ F.3d

____________
________________________

___, 1996 WL 494221, at *2 (1st Cir. 1996)).

has been made.

order

strikes

Far from being plainly wrong,

us

as

balanced and

suffered minimal prejudice.

Indeed, we

the nine excluded employees ended

the payroll

fair.

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the discovery

And

plaintiff

note that seven

of

up being deposed, and that

information sought as to

have been of negligible relevance.

No such showing

such individuals would

Second, plaintiff challenges the court's award of costs.

Her

contention

that

the

costs of

depositions

cannot

be

taxable when a case is resolved at the summary judgment stage

is

Co.,
___

misplaced.

911

Wright,

Procedure
_________

See, e.g., Merrick

___ ____ _______

F.2d 426,

Arthur

434-35

Miller &

2676,

at 341

(10th

v. Northern Natural Gas

_____________________

Cir. 1990);

Mary

Kane,

&

n.17 (1983

10

Charles

Federal Practice and

_____________________

& '96

Supp.); see
___

generally Templeman v. Chris Craft Corp., 770 F.2d 245,

_________ _________
__________________

249

(1st Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1021 (1985).

____________

court acted within its

The district

discretion in taxing costs

only with

respect to those depositions on which it had relied in ruling

on the summary judgment motion.

Finally,

surrounding the

plaintiff

complains

district court's

attorney's motion to withdraw.

other

aspects of the case,

matter

in

discussion

an

equitable

is required,

of

allowance of

circumstances

her original

As with its handling

we think the

and

the

of all

court resolved the

conscientious

however, inasmuch as

fashion.

No

plaintiff has

not identified (and we do not discern) any legally cognizable

prejudice stemming therefrom.

Affirmed.
_________

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