Case: EEOC v. Whirlpool Corporation

3:06-cv-00593 | U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

Filed Date: June 1, 2006

Closed Date: June 12, 2012

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Case Summary

The Memphis District Office and Nashville Area Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought this lawsuit against Whirlpool Corporation on June 9, 2006, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Judge John T. Nixon was assigned to this case. The complaint alleged sexual and racial harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC sought injunctive and monetary relief for the individual complainant and attorneys fees for …

Specifically, the complaint was brought after an African-American employee of Whirlpool complained that a fellow employee had racially and sexually harassed her. The harassment eventually led to the harasser physically attacking the complainant. Prior to the attack, the complainant complained to her supervisors about the harasser’s racialized and sexualized comments toward her, but her supervisors did very little to address her concerns. At one point, she complained to the supervisor and he responded by saying: “why don’t you just go ahead and f#@k him and get it over with?” After constantly rejecting the harasser’s sexual advances, the harasser physically attacked the complainant. The complainant eventually quit her job with Whirlpool Corporation because her therapist and psychologist advised her to do so. The complainant intervened in the case on July 24, 2006.

For the next two years, the parties engaged in discovery.

On December 21, 2009, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The court awarded monetary relief in back pay, front pay, and compensatory damages in the amount of $1,073,261. The court did not award any punitive damages. The court also did not grant any injunctive relief, stating that "because the workplace at issue, Defendant’s LaVergne Division, closed as of August 15, 2008 and Plaintiffs did not renew their request for this relief in their post-trial papers, the Court will not now grant injunctive or declaratory relief."

On February 20, 2010, the plaintiffs moved for attorney fees and costs. The court granted the plaintiff $215,015 in attorneys fees and costs on August 2, 2011.

Meanwhile, on April 26, 2011, the defendant appealed the district court's December ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Without stating a reason, the parties then jointly moved to dismiss the appeal. The Sixth Circuit granted this joint motion on June 12, 2012, and the case is now closed.

Summary Authors

Kevin Wilemon (8/9/2008)

Sean Whetstone (6/4/2018)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4788432/parties/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-whirlpool-corporation/

Judge(s)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Anderson, Corbett L.

Dills, Steven W. (Tennessee)

Attorney for Defendant

Backus, Asilia S. (Illinois)

Christlieb, David (Illinois)

Expert/Monitor/Master/Other

Allman, Andy L. (Tennessee)

Judge(s)

Nixon, John Trice (Tennessee)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Anderson, Corbett L.

Dills, Steven W. (Tennessee)

Ramsey, Sally (Tennessee)

Smith, Deidre (Tennessee)

Williams, Faye A. (Tennessee)

Attorney for Defendant

Backus, Asilia S. (Illinois)

Christlieb, David (Illinois)

Garrett, Timothy K. (Tennessee)

Hult, Keith C. (Illinois)

Wit, Adam C. (Illinois)

Other

Allman, Andy L. (Tennessee)

Holmes, Martin D. (Tennessee)

Rogers, Helen Sfikas (Tennessee)

Shea, Siew-Ling (Tennessee)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Documents in this case

3:06-cv-00593	Docket [PACER]	June 12, 2012	June 12, 2012 Docket
1 3:06-cv-00593	Complaint	June 9, 2006	June 9, 2006 Complaint
9 3:06-cv-00593	Complaint [Intervenor]	July 24, 2006	July 24, 2006 Complaint
194 3:06-cv-00593	Memorandum Order	Dec. 21, 2009	Dec. 21, 2009 Order/Opinion 2009 WL 4975280
232 3:06-cv-00593	Order	Aug. 2, 2011	Aug. 2, 2011 Order/Opinion 2011 WL 3321291

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Resources

Resources related to this case
Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
Under the Radar: Visibility and the Effects of Discrimination Lawsuits in Small and Large Firms Carly Knight, Frank Dobbin, Alexandra Kalev	Research on how discrimination lawsuits affect corporate diversity has yielded mixed results. Qualitative studies highlight the limited efficacy of lawsuits in the typical workplace, finding that lit…	March 2022	April 1, 2022 https://cris.tau.ac.il/...

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4788432/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-whirlpool-corporation/

Last updated April 4, 2025, 11:16 a.m.

ECF Number	Date	Description	Link
1	June 9, 2006	Complaint	RECAP
2	June 9, 2006	Notice of Case Management Conference	RECAP
3	July 5, 2006	Waiver of Service Executed	RECAP
4	July 19, 2006	Motion to Continue 1 Proposed Order Proposed Order Granting Motion View on PACER	RECAP
5	July 20, 2006	Order	RECAP
6	July 21, 2006	Motion to Intervene	RECAP
7	July 21, 2006	Memorandum in Support	RECAP
8	July 24, 2006	Order on Motion to Intervene	RECAP
9	July 24, 2006	Intervenor Complaint	RECAP
10	Aug. 7, 2006	Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice 1 Exhibit Certificate of Good Standing View on PACER	RECAP
11	Aug. 7, 2006	Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice 1 Exhibit Certificate of Good Standing View on PACER	RECAP
12	Aug. 7, 2006	Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice 1 Exhibit Certificate of Good Standing View on PACER	RECAP
13	Aug. 7, 2006	Answer to Complaint	RECAP
14	Aug. 7, 2006	Proposed Case Management Order	RECAP
15	Aug. 7, 2006	Business Entity Disclosure Statement	RECAP
	Aug. 8, 2006	Note to Filer re DE #10 & #11: The Certificates of Good Standing should be filed as separate documents rather than as attachments. The "Certificate of Good Standing" event is found under the category "Other Documents". It is not necessary to refile the certificates. (gi, ) (Entered: 08/08/2006)	PACER
	Aug. 8, 2006	Docket Annotation
	Aug. 10, 2006	Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Juliet Griffin : Initial Case Management Conference held on 8/10/2006. (Tape #G2006−098.) (jwc, ) (Entered: 08/17/2006)	PACER
	Aug. 10, 2006	Case Management Conference
16	Aug. 11, 2006	Receipt	RECAP
17	Aug. 11, 2006	Receipt	RECAP
18	Aug. 11, 2006	Receipt	RECAP
19	Aug. 14, 2006	Appear Pro Hac Vice	RECAP
20	Aug. 16, 2006	Scheduling Order	RECAP
21	Aug. 16, 2006	Order Setting Case for Trial	RECAP
22	Aug. 16, 2006	Order Reassigning Case	RECAP
23	Aug. 24, 2006	Answer to Intervenor Complaint	RECAP
24	Nov. 8, 2006	Motion to Amend/Correct	RECAP
	Nov. 9, 2006	Note to Filer re DE #24: Each exhibit should be filed as a separate attachment to the main document and the mandatory description field used. It is not necessary to re−file these documents. (gi, ) (Entered: 11/09/2006)	PACER
	Nov. 9, 2006	Docket Annotation
25	Nov. 13, 2006	Order	RECAP
26	Nov. 13, 2006	Response to Motion 1 Exhibit 1-Correspondence to Helen Rogers View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2-Correspondence from Helen Rogers View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3-Correspondence from Helen Rogers View on PACER 4 Exhibit 4-Correspondence to Helen Rogers View on PACER 5 Exhibit 5-Correspondence from Helen Rogers View on PACER	RECAP
27	Dec. 14, 2006	Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery 1 Exhibit A - Order to Extend Scheduling Deadline View on PACER 2 Exhibit B - Backus Letter to Rogers 11-27-06 View on PACER 3 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 1 -15 View on PACER 4 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 16 - 31 View on PACER 5 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 32-45 View on PACER 6 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 46 - 62 View on PACER 7 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 63-79 View on PACER 8 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 80 - 97 View on PACER 9 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 98 - 105 View on PACER 10 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 106 - 119 View on PACER 11 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 120 - 135 View on PACER 12 Exhibit C - Response to RPD Pages 136 - 149 View on PACER 13 Exhibit D - Answers to Interrogatories View on PACER 14 Exhibit E - Backus Letter to Dills and Rogers 11-27-06 View on PACER	RECAP
28	Dec. 18, 2006	Response in Opposition to Motion 1 Exhibit 1-Correspondence View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2-Correspondence View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3-Correspondence View on PACER	RECAP
29	Jan. 24, 2007	Motion to Compel 1 Exhibit Defendants Answers and Objections to Intervening Plaintiffs First Set of View on PACER 2 Exhibit Defendants Responses and Objections to Intervening Plaintiffs First Requ View on PACER 3 Exhibit Collective Exhibit C; Two Letters; dated November 1 and 6, 2006 View on PACER 4 Exhibit Courts Order of December 15, 2006 View on PACER 5 Exhibit Letter of November 27, 2006 View on PACER 6 Exhibit Carlota Freeman's Whirlpool Records View on PACER 7 Exhibit Letter dated December 7, 2006 View on PACER 8 Exhibit Joint Written Statement Pursuant to Local Rule 37.01 View on PACER 9 Exhibit Letter dated December 7, 2006 to Helen S. Rogers from Littler Mendelson View on PACER 10 Exhibit Defendants First Supplemental Answers and Objections to Intervening Plai View on PACER 11 Exhibit Defendants First Supplemental Responses and Objections to Intervening Pl View on PACER	RECAP
30	Feb. 8, 2007	Notice (Other)	RECAP
31	Feb. 9, 2007	Motion to Continue 1 Proposed Order Agreed Order View on PACER	RECAP
32	Feb. 14, 2007	Order on Motion to Continue	RECAP
33	March 2, 2007	Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery	RECAP
34	March 2, 2007	Motion for Protective Order 1 Exhibit 1 View on PACER	RECAP
35	March 13, 2007	Order on Motion for Protective Order	RECAP
36	March 13, 2007	Protective Order	RECAP
37	March 15, 2007	Order	RECAP
38	March 15, 2007	Order on Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery	RECAP
	April 2, 2007	Minute Entry for proceedings held before Magistrate Judge Bryant: Telephone conference held on 4/2/2007 re discovery. Order to enter. (tm) (Entered: 04/02/2007)	PACER
	April 2, 2007	Discovery Hearing
39	April 3, 2007	Order	RECAP
40	July 13, 2007	Subpoena	RECAP
41	July 13, 2007	Subpoena	RECAP
42	Aug. 7, 2007	Subpoena	RECAP
43	Aug. 29, 2007	Order on Motion to Compel	RECAP
	Aug. 30, 2007	Emailed a copy of 43 Order to all counsel. (jb) (Entered: 08/30/2007)	PACER
44	Aug. 30, 2007	Motion for Miscellaneous Relief 1 Exhibit Deposition Page 50 of Stephen Montgomery, M.D. View on PACER	RECAP
	Aug. 30, 2007	Docket Annotation
	Aug. 31, 2007	Note to Filer re DE #44−This document has been scanned. Scanning should be used only for documents that are not created on your computer. This document does not need to be re−filed unless otherwise directed by the Court. (jb) (Entered: 08/31/2007)	PACER
45	Aug. 31, 2007	Amended Document	RECAP
	Aug. 31, 2007	Docket Annotation
	Sept. 4, 2007	Note to Filer re DE #45−Pursuant to Rule 5(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1) or (2) must not be filed until they are used in the proceeding or the court orders filing. (jb) (Entered: 09/04/2007)	PACER
	Sept. 4, 2007	Docket Annotation
46	Sept. 11, 2007	Response in Opposition to Motion 1 Exhibit 1-Stephen A. Montgomery, M.D. Deposition Transcript Pages View on PACER	RECAP
47	Sept. 11, 2007	Response to Motion	RECAP
	Sept. 20, 2007	Note to Filer re DE Nos. 48−50 −These documents have been scanned. Scanning should be used only for documents that are not created on your computer. Signed declarations should be filed as separate events, not as attachments to other pleadings. These documents do not need to be re−filed unless otherwise directed by the Court.(jb) (Entered: 09/20/2007)	PACER
48	Sept. 20, 2007	Notice of Appearance	RECAP
49	Sept. 20, 2007	Motion in Limine 1 Exhibit Notice of Subpoenaed Deposition View on PACER 2 Exhibit Defendants Amended Rule 26 Initial Disclosures View on PACER 3 Exhibit Declaration of Catina Renea Bolden View on PACER 4 Exhibit Catina Renea Bolden's Prior Statement View on PACER	RECAP
50	Sept. 20, 2007	Memorandum in Support 1 Exhibit Notice of Subpoenaed Deposition View on PACER 2 Exhibit Defendants Amended Rule 26 Initial Disclosure View on PACER 3 Exhibit Declaration of Catina Renea Bolden View on PACER 4 Exhibit Catina Bolden's Prior Statement View on PACER	RECAP
	Sept. 20, 2007	Docket Annotation
51	Sept. 21, 2007	Motion to Take Deposition 1 Proposed Order Agreed Order Rescheduling Deposition View on PACER	RECAP
	Oct. 1, 2007	AGREED ORDER granting 51 Motion to Take Deposition from Karen L. Carey. The deposition of Karen L. Carey of Liberty Mutual Group−Indianapolis Division, shall be rescheduled to take place by telephone on 9/26/07 at 8:00 a.m., central standard time 3:06-cv-593 As of: 06/08/2017 03:40 PM CDT 6 of 20 zone, at the law offices of Newton Becker Bouwkamp Pendoski, PC, Indianapolis, Indiana. Signed by Judge John S. Bryant on 10/1/07. (jb) (Entered: 10/01/2007)	PACER
52	Oct. 1, 2007	Order on Motion to Take Deposition	RECAP
53	Oct. 3, 2007	Response in Opposition to Motion 1 Exhibit 1-Sessoms v. Ghertner View on PACER	RECAP
54	Oct. 25, 2007	Memorandum in Support	RECAP
	Oct. 29, 2007	Note to Filer re DE #54−This document has been scanned. Scanning should be used only for documents that are not created on your computer. Each exhibit should be filed as a separate attachment to the main document and the mandatorydescription field used. The mandatory description field should be used to accurately describe the contents of your attachment (labeling as Exhibit A, B C or Exhibit 1, 2, 3 is not sufficient). This document does not need to be re−filed unless otherwise directed by the Court. (jb) (Entered: 10/29/2007)	PACER
	Oct. 29, 2007	Docket Annotation
55	Nov. 6, 2007	Motion to Strike	RECAP
56	Nov. 6, 2007	Memorandum in Support 1 Exhibit 1-Intervening Plaintiff's Amended Rule 26(a)(2) Expert Disclosures View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2-March 14, 2007 Letter View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3-March 19, 2007 Letter View on PACER 4 Exhibit 4-March 22, 2007 Letter View on PACER 5 Exhibit 5-Case View on PACER	RECAP
57	Nov. 8, 2007	Response in Opposition to Motion 1 Exhibit 1-Deposition Transcript Pages View on PACER 2 Exhibit 2-Deposition Transcript Pages View on PACER 3 Exhibit 3-Cases View on PACER	RECAP
58	Nov. 14, 2007	Response in Opposition to Motion 1 Exhibit 1-Excerpt from Dr. Stephen Montgomery's Deposition View on PACER	RECAP
	Nov. 15, 2007	Note to Filer re DE #58−This document has been scanned. Scanning should be used only for documents that are not created on your computer. This document does not need to be re−filed unless otherwise directed by the Court. (jb) (Entered: 11/15/2007)	PACER
	Nov. 15, 2007	Docket Annotation
59	Nov. 21, 2007	Motion for Leave	RECAP
60	Nov. 27, 2007	Order on Motion for Leave	RECAP
61	Nov. 30, 2007	Reply to Response to Motion 1 Exhibit 1-Case View on PACER	RECAP
62	Dec. 21, 2007	Order	RECAP
63	Dec. 27, 2007	Docket Annotation	RECAP
64	Jan. 9, 2008	Order	RECAP
65	Jan. 14, 2008	Motion to Continue 1 Exhibit 1-Order to Set View on PACER	RECAP
66	Jan. 16, 2008	Notice of Appearance	RECAP
67	Jan. 25, 2008	Order	RECAP
68	Feb. 27, 2008	Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery	RECAP
	Feb. 29, 2008	Note to Filer re DE #69−The mandatory description field, for each exhibit filed, should be used to accurately describe the contents of yourattachment (labeling as Exhibit A, B C or Exhibit 1, 2, 3 is not sufficient). This document has been scanned. Scanning should be used only for documents that are not created on your computer. This document does not need to be re−filed unless otherwise directed by the Court. (jb) (Entered: 02/29/2008)	PACER
69	Feb. 29, 2008	Response in Opposition to Motion 1 Exhibit View on PACER 2 Exhibit View on PACER	RECAP
	Feb. 29, 2008	Docket Annotation
70	March 3, 2008	Motion for Discovery 1 Exhibit A - Letter from Whirlpool dated 2-26-08 View on PACER	RECAP
71	March 3, 2008	Memorandum in Support	RECAP
72	March 4, 2008	Motion for Discovery 1 Exhibit Backus Letter of 02-25-08 View on PACER	RECAP
73	March 4, 2008	Memorandum in Support	RECAP
74	March 5, 2008	Motion for Leave	RECAP
75	March 13, 2008	Response in Opposition to Motion 1 Exhibit A-Letter dated March 22, 2007 View on PACER 2 Exhibit B-Letter dated December 12, 2007 View on PACER 3 Exhibit C-Cases View on PACER	RECAP
76	April 14, 2008	Motion for Extension of Time to Complete Discovery	RECAP
77	April 18, 2008	Response in Opposition to Motion 1 Exhibit Deposition of Pam Auble View on PACER 2 Exhibit Deposition of Karen Carey View on PACER	RECAP

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Case Details

State / Territory:

Tennessee

Case Type(s):

Equal Employment

Special Collection(s):

EEOC Study — in sample

Multi-LexSum (in sample)

Key Dates

Filing Date: June 1, 2006

Closing Date: June 12, 2012

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf an African-American woman employee.

Plaintiff Type(s):

EEOC Plaintiff

Private Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

EEOC

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Private Entity/Person

Whirlpool Corporation

Case Details

Causes of Action:

Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e

Other Dockets:

Middle District of Tennessee 3:06-cv-00593

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit 11-05508

Available Documents:

Complaint (any)

Monetary Relief

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed

Relief Granted:

Attorneys fees

Damages

Source of Relief:

Litigation

Amount Defendant Pays: $1,288,276.30

Issues

Discrimination Area:

Discharge / Constructive Discharge / Layoff

Disparate Treatment

Harassment / Hostile Work Environment

Discrimination Basis:

Race discrimination

Sex discrimination

Affected Race(s):

Black

Affected Sex/Gender(s):

Female

EEOC-centric:

Direct Suit on Merits

Private Party intervened in EEOC suit

Recommended Citation

Case Summary of EEOC v. Whirlpool Corporation, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, http://www.dev.clearinghouse.net/case/5573/ (last updated 6/4/2018).