DiPasquale then analyzed historical sales data and interviewed each sales director regarding future growth opportunities in their states ( Id., pp. In late 2018, Clifford, DiPasquale, and Auri Burnham, Simplifile's Vice President of Finance and Accounting, determined to reduce sales director positions by three (Doc. In mid-2018, a review of sales data, projections, and conversations with various sales directors, including Tapley, caused Vicki DiPasquale, Simplifile Vice President of Sales, to believe Simplifile was overstaffed in the sales director position ( Id., p. Initially, Simplifile's Texas sales were strong but, after time, sales growth slowed ( Id., p.

The Confidentiality Agreement provided that it represented their entire agreement on the subjects therein and could not be modified except by a written agreement that referred to the Confidentiality Agreement and was signed by both parties ( Id., pp. Under the Confidentiality Agreement, which was 'material consideration' for his continued at-will employment, Tapley agreed not to enter into any oral or written agreement that conflicted with the performance of his full-time job with Simplifile and to provide written notification if he intended to engage in certain activities, including, but not limited to, owning or operating another business, 'regardless of the type of business or time commitment required' ( Id., pp. Starting in 2016, Simplifile required its employees, including Tapley, to enter into a Confidentiality, Non-Solicitation and Non-Compete Agreement (Confidentiality Agreement) in order to better protect its confidential information ( Id., pp. As sales director, Tapley sold Simplifile products to real estate submitters and sold/assisted counties in signing up to use Simplifile's systems ( Id., p. In 2009, Simplifile President Paul Clifford hired Tapley to be Regional Sales Director for Texas Louisiana later was added to Tapley's territory ( Id., pp. The summary judgment evidence shows that Simplifile connects private businesses with governmental agencies to enable and simplify the electronic filing of legal and other documents involved in real estate transactions (Doc. Simplifile also asserts there is no evidence that any similarly-situated non-African-American employees received more favorable treatment with respect to its decision to revoke Tapley's severance offer. Simplifile moves for summary judgment on Tapley's section 1981 claim, contending he has no evidence to show that either his inclusion in the RIF or the decision to revoke the severance offer was a pretext for race discrimination.

§ 1981 against his former employer Simplifile, LC (Simplifile) based on its decisions to (1) include him in a reduction in force (RIF) of sales personnel and (2) revoke its offer of a severance agreement and payment after learning that he had been operating an insurance business during his employment. In this action, Tapley, an African American, asserts a claims for race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS the motion. Before the Court is Defendant Simplifile, LC's Partial Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc.

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