Minneapolis, MN United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment for Foley Mansfield Client

Foley Mansfield is pleased share a United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit affirmation of a major litigation victory for our client, a construction contractor, in an employment law matter.

On August 5, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota granted Foley Mansfield’s motion for summary judgment on behalf of its client, dismissing all claims with prejudice in a federal employment discrimination and retaliation case brought under Title VII and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.

The plaintiff, a former employee of Foley Mansfield’s client, alleged that she was subject to sex-based discrimination and retaliation while on different construction sites. However, the Court found that she failed to present any evidence – either direct or circumstantial – linking the client’s decisions to any form of unlawful or discriminatory animus. The court found that plaintiff’s internal complaints were focused on her job duties and supervision and did not constitute protected activity raising sex or gender discrimination issues. Even though the Plaintiff later claimed discrimination, neither her sex nor gender were mentioned in the client’s internal communications about the plaintiff’s employment.

The Eighth Circuit affirmed that the plaintiff’s “self-serving statements do not create a genuine factual dispute as to whether discrimination occurred. See Palesch v. Mo. Comm’n on Hum. Rts., 233 F.3d 560, 570 (8th Cir. 2000) (holding that a plaintiff’s “general allegations and opinion testimony [of sex discrimination did] not suffice” because “she failed to produce any evidence . . . other than her own unsubstantiated opinion testimony”).

The plaintiff’s allegations failed as a matter of law. Therefore, the Court held that there was no genuine issue of material fact and concluded that the client was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The plaintiff appealed the U.S. District Court’s decision.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit reviewed written and oral arguments submitted by both parties and affirmed the U.S. District Court’s finding in favor of summary judgement for Foley Mansfield’s client. In support of its decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit stated that the plaintiff did not establish a prima facie case of discrimination, and no reasonable evidence of pretext existed to rebut the numerous legitimate reasons to transfer the plaintiff to an alternative work site.

Congratulations to our employment litigation team, and Partner Lisa Lamm Bachman and Attorney Jake Peden who represented Foley Mansfield’s construction contractor client in the underlying matter as well as in the appeal.