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Brown v. Scott Paper Worldwide Co.12/13/1999
OPINION PUBLISHED IN PART
Beverly Brown appeals the dismissal on summary judgment of her claim of disability discrimination against her employer, Scott Paper Worldwide Company (Scott Paper) and against six of its managers, and her claim of sexual discrimination and sexual harassment against the six managers individually (the managers). Brown contends that the trial court erred in ruling as a matter of law (1) that the evidence was insufficient to establish that the defendants had notice of her alleged disability before Scott Paper took the adverse employment action and (2) that the managers could not be sued individually for employment discrimination. After the summary judgment ruling, Brown's claims of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination against Scott Paper were tried to a jury, which rendered a defense verdict. Brown does not appeal the judgment in favor of Scott Paper that followed the jury verdict. The managers contend that even if the trial court erred by dismissing the sexual discrimination and harassment claims against them, under the doctrines of res judicata and collateral estoppel the jury verdict finding Scott Paper not liable for sexual harassment and discrimination bars Brown from making identical claims against the managers. We affirm the summary dismissal of the disability discrimination claim, but reverse the summary dismissal of the sexual discrimination and harassment claims against the managers individually. Individual managers who meet the statutory definition of employers may be held liable for their own acts in violation of RCW 49.60. Brown is not barred from proceeding with her sexual discrimination and harassment claims against the managers by the doctrine of res judicata or collateral estoppel, because we cannot conclusively determine from the trial record whether the jury rendered a defense verdict based on a defense that was personal to Scott Paper.
FACTS
Beverly Brown began to work for the Scott Paper mill in Everett, Washington, in 1979. Over the years, although Brown progressed through the seniority system at the mill, her employment was not without problems. Brown filed three administrative charges of sexual discrimination with the EEOC during her employment with Scott Paper, none of which resulted in a "reasonable cause" finding by that agency. In 1991, Brown was temporarily disqualified from advancement in the paper mill on alleged grounds of her lack of technical knowledge and leadership skills, her inability to work as a team member, and her admitted overreaction to job-improvement counseling in response to which she alleged that certain Scott Paper managers were "setting her up" for termination. Scott Paper rescinded the disqualification after Brown filed a grievance with her union.
In June of 1994, Brown was suspended for kicking a co-worker. Following an investigation, Scott Paper offered to consider returning Brown to work if she acknowledged her difficulties in controlling her anger and emotions, coping with job stress, and working as a member of a team, and developed a plan to address those difficulties. In response, Brown submitted a letter from Donald Uslan, a psychotherapist and rehabilitation counselor with whom Brown consulted after her suspension, proposing a 6- month plan of psychotherapy, biofeedback, medical evaluation, and anger management therapy with his office. After meeting with Brown to evaluate her efforts to address her difficulties, Scott Paper rejected Brown's proposed plan and converted her suspension into a discharge, stating: Mr. Uslan's counseling plan, developed at the request of your attorney, is excellent. . . . {H}owever,} . . . Mr. Uslan is not the one who will have to interact with Scott
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