Ralph Steinbarth v. Whole Foods Market
Filing
Filed Nonprecedential Disposition PER CURIAM. The appeal is DISMISSED. Joel M. Flaum, Circuit Judge; Michael S. Kanne, Circuit Judge and Ann Claire Williams, Circuit Judge. [6661929-1] [6661929] [14-3657]
Case: 14-3657
Document: 17
Filed: 05/11/2015
Pages: 3
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1
United States Court of Appeals
For the Seventh Circuit
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Submitted May 11, 2015*
Decided May 11, 2015
Before
JOEL M. FLAUM, Circuit Judge
MICHAEL S. KANNE, Circuit Judge
ANN CLAIRE WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge
No. 14‐3657
RALPH E. STEINBARTH,
Plaintiff‐Appellant,
v.
WHOLE FOODS MARKET
GROUP, INC.,
Defendant‐Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois,
Eastern Division.
No. 11 C 8537
Milton I. Shadur,
Judge.
O R D E R
Ralph Steinbarth appeals the grant of summary judgment for his former
employer, Whole Foods, in this lawsuit claiming employment discrimination and
retaliation based on his race and national origin under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We dismiss the appeal.
* After examining the briefs and the record, we have concluded that oral
argument is unnecessary. Thus the appeal is submitted on the briefs and the record.
See FED. R. APP. P. 34(a)(2)(C).
Case: 14-3657
Document: 17
Filed: 05/11/2015
Pages: 3
No. 14‐3657
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Steinbarth, a white man with a mixed background (German, Polish, Puerto Rican,
Cuban, and Jewish), joined the meat department of a Whole Foods in Chicago in
mid‐2008. A few months later, Agustin Murillo, who was born in Mexico, became his
supervisor, and a tense relationship ensued. Steinbarth complained to a
human‐resources officer that Murillo would often mention his Jewish heritage,
mispronounce a German phrase Steinbarth had taught him, and schedule Steinbarth to
work undesirable shifts. After Steinbarth also voiced a desire to advance to a “meat
cutter” position, he was assured by Murillo that he would be next in line to begin a
meat‐cutter apprenticeship. But in December 2009, Murillo instead promoted fellow
meat‐department employee Israel Gutierrez, who also was born in Mexico. Later that
month, Steinbarth was reprimanded by Murillo for placing his work gloves on the sales
counter. Steinbarth asked Murillo not to embarrass him by scolding him in public and
then went into another room alone and shouted a string of curse words in Spanish.
Murillo reported the incident up the chain and Steinbarth was eventually fired for
directing profanity at his supervisor.
Steinbarth sued Whole Foods, claiming that, because of his race and national
origin, he was denied a promotion, subjected to a hostile work environment, and then
fired in retaliation for complaining about the work environment. The district court
granted summary judgment for Whole Foods. Regarding Steinbarth’s failure‐to‐promote
claim, the court determined that he produced no evidence to show that he was as
qualified as Gutierrez or that Whole Foods’s reasons for promoting Gutierrez were
pretextual. As for Steinbarth’s hostile‐work‐environment claim, the court concluded that
he introduced no evidence that Murillo’s periodic and condescending “jabs” about his
ancestry were sufficiently severe or pervasive, or that Murillo’s other conduct was
causally related to his race or national origin. Finally, regarding retaliatory discharge,
the court found no evidence that Murillo’s decision to report Steinbarth stemmed from
any alleged protected activity.
On appeal, Steinbarth recites several facts that he believes prove his case, among
them that Murillo had promoted a “personal friend” over him despite his positive
performance reviews, that Whole Foods’s pre‐firing investigation was phony, and that
he can produce more documentation of how Murillo “jerk[ed him] around.” But he does
not present any legal argument suggesting how the district court erred or why we
should disturb its judgment. See Ball v. City of Indianapolis, 760 F.3d 636, 645 (7th Cir.
2014); Anderson v. Hardman, 241 F.3d 544, 545 (7th Cir. 2001). Federal Rule of Appellate
Procedure 28(a)(8)(A) requires that an appellant’s brief contain an argument that
includes “contentions and the reasons for them,” and pro se litigants must adhere to
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Document: 17
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procedural rules, see Pearle Vision, Inc. v. Romm, 541 F.3d 751, 758 (7th Cir. 2008).
Steinbarth’s briefs present us with no developed claim to review.
DISMISSED.
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