Coe v. Northern Pipe Products, Inc. (589 F. Supp. 2d 1055, 2008)

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

MARK W. BENNETT, District Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION.1064

A. Factual Background.1064

1. The parties and principal actors .1066

2. Coe’s performance problems and termination.1066

3. Coe’s allegations of sexual harassment.1068

4. The aftermath of Coe’s allegations .1069

B. Procedural Background.1070

1. Coe’s claims.1070

2. NPP’s motion for summary judgment.1070

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS.1071

A. Standards For Summary Judgment.1071

1. General principles.1071

2. Disregard of evidence from “interested” or “impeached” witnesses.... 1073

3. Special concerns in employment discrimination cases.1077

B. The Nature Of Coe’s “Sex Discrimination” Claim.1078

1. Quid pro quo versus hostile environment harassment.1078

2. Coe’s claim.1080

C. Arguments Concerning Coe’s Quid Pro Quo Claim .1080

1. NPP’s initial argument.1080

2. Coe’s response.1081

3. NPP’s reply.1082

4. The parties’ oral arguments .1082

D. Actionable Sexual Advances.1083

1. Demands for sexual favors.1083

2. Touching .1084

3. Coe’s evidence of sexual advances.1084

E. The Connection Between The Advances And The Job Detriments.1085

F. Independent Decisionmakers And “Cat’s Paws”.1086

1. Formulations of the “cat’s paw” rule.1087

2. Applications of the rule in this circuit.1088

3. The necessary extent of the biased subordinate’s “participation”... .1090

4. Application of the appropriate standard .1093

G. Availability Of A “Mixed Motives” Analysis.1094

1. “Mixed motives” and “direct evidence”.1095

2. “Mixed motives” and “independent decisionmakers”.1095

3. Alternative claim or defense.1096

4. Coe’s “mixed motives” claim .1098

H. Vicarious Liability.1099

1. Vicarious liability and the Ellerth/Faragher affirmative defense_1099

2. Harassment by a “supervisor”.1099

3. NPP’s other contentions .1101

I. Coe’s Retaliation Claim .1101

1. Arguments of the parties.1101

2. Elements of a prima facie case.1102

3. Coe’s prima facie case.1102

J. Punitive Damages .1106

1. Arguments of the parties.1106

2. Applicable standards. 1107

3. NPP’s “good faith”.1107

III. CONCLUSION. .1108

Among other interesting questions, this sex discrimination and retaliation case raises the unsettled question — in this and other circuits — of the extent of the influence that an allegedly biased subordinate must exercise over a purportedly independent decisionmaker who took adverse employment action against a plaintiff employee before a defendant employer can be held liable for discrimination under a “cat’s paw” theory. Although the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has articulated a test for “cat’s paw” liability, its applications of that test so far have not answered the precise question posed here. Therefore, this court must now address that question with only general Title VII agency principles and persuasive authorities for guidance.

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Factual Background

The court will not attempt here an exhaustive dissertation on the undisputed and disputed facts in this case. Rather, the court will set forth sufficient of the facts, both undisputed and disputed, to put in context the parties’ arguments concerning the defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Unless otherwise indicated, the facts recited here are undisputed, at least for purposes of summary judgment. Additional factual allegations and the extent to which they are or are not disputed or material will be discussed, if necessary, in the court’s legal analysis.

1. The parties and principal actors

Defendant Northern Pipe Products, Inc., (NPP) is a manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe with headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota, and a manufacturing plant in Hampton, Iowa. From April 2005 until her termination in December 2006, plaintiff Melody Coe was employed by NPP as a truck driver to transport pipe manufactured by NPP from its Hampton plant to various purchasers. NPP truck drivers transport raw materials, works in progress, and finished goods; load and unload trucks, with or without helpers; make some mechanical truck repairs; and complete vehicle checks and pre- and post-trip inspections on every trip. On February 15, 2006, Coe and other truck drivers received a notice stating the following: “ALL LOADS MUST BE STRAPPED!! If Loads Are Not Strapped They Do Not Leave The Yard! *Failure to Strap Loads Properly Means Immediate Termination for the Driver!” Coe contends, however, that trucks were sometimes “pre-load-ed” — which apparently involved “strapping” and “tarping,” as well — by the “yard guys.”

The other dramatis personae of primary interest here are Ken Doggett, NPP’s Human Resources Manager at the times pertinent here, who was employed at NPP’s Fargo office; Steve Burger, NPP’s Traffic Manager at the times pertinent here, who was also employed at NPP’s Fargo office; and Michelle Hartman, NPP’s Administrative Assistant at NPP’s Hampton plant at the times pertinent here. As Traffic Manager, Steve Burger’s job was to oversee trucking operations and to assure that loads were shipped in a timely manner. Burger also interviewed applicants with Doggett, and Burger and Doggett consulted and usually agreed with each other about potential hirings and terminations. The parties dispute whether Burger had any authority to discipline or terminate employees on his own, however. Coe contends that part of Burger’s job was to initiate disciplinary action, but NPP contends that Burger had no authority to discipline employees on his own, but only jointly with Doggett, and that hiring and termination decisions were made in consultation between Burger and Doggett. Burger and Doggett made a joint decision to hire Coe. As the Administrative Assistant for the Hampton plant, Michelle Hartman did general truck driver paperwork, lined up truck drivers’ daily loads, posted driver meeting notices, performed administrative work, scheduled company trucks, and worked with outside carriers.

2. Coe’s performance problems and termination

NPP asserts that Coe had various performance problems during 2006, some of which Coe admits and others of which she disputes. Those performance problems included an accident in June 2006 in which Coe drove a truck off the road, resulting in the total loss of the tractor and damage to the trailer, for a loss to NPP totaling somewhere between $38,000 and $48,000. Coe received a letter of counseling and final warning concerning this accident, signed by Burger, which included the statement, “Final Warning: Driver will be required to complete drivers training prior to returning to duty. Driver will be terminated immediately if the above occurs again.” Notwithstanding the accident, Coe received a favorable performance review from Burger in July 2006.

Other alleged performance problems included complaints from other drivers that Coe did not help in the yard to load trucks, which Coe disputes; Coe’s loss of a coil pipe off of her truck in November 2006, when she failed to “strap” the load, which Coe admits; Coe’s failure to “smoke tarp” a load of pipe prior to leaving the facility, to protect the pipe from diesel fumes during transport, which Coe contends occurred because the pipe had been tarped on the ground before loading and was already loaded, strapped, and hooked to her trailer when she went to her truck; and Coe’s delivery of pipe to the wrong site on November 21, 2006, which Coe contends actually involved delivery of one load a day early and delivery of the correct load to the same customer by 6:00 a.m. the next morning, which resolved the incident to the customer’s satisfaction.

Ms. Hartman brought Coe’s performance incidents to the attention of the Fargo office, including Doggett. NPP contends that, in December 2006, Doggett decided to give Coe a disciplinary warning and that he initiated the warning, because he did not believe that Burger would do so, essentially because he thought that Burger was reluctant to issue disciplinary notices. Apparently on Doggett’s instructions, Burger gave Coe a disciplinary letter on December 5, 2006, when she made a “run” to Fargo. That disciplinary letter warned Coe about her failure to “smoke tarp” a load and about not reading her paperwork resulting in delivery of pipe to the wrong site. Coe disputes the accuracy of the description of the incidents for which she received the disciplinary letter, but does not dispute that she was warned for the reasons stated. Burger and Coe met for the meeting in which Burger gave Coe the disciplinary letter in an office or room alone at NPP’s Fargo headquarters, and the other offices in the area also were not occupied at the time. Consequently, Coe contends that the location of the meeting was improper.

Shortly after the December 5, 2006, meeting, Coe called Burger to tell him that she was having problems with an air compressor on her trailer brakes. Coe called Burger directly to be sure that he knew about the problem. Coe later called Hartman to explain that her trailer was in the shop for repairs and that it would be some time before a part necessary for the repair would be delivered. Coe contends that Burger told her to take time off until her truck was repaired or that Hartman told her that Burger had told Hartman to tell Coe that she should take time off until her truck was repaired. Hartman denies that she told Coe to take time off. Coe also contends that she was not “on call” during the time that her truck was being repaired nor was she otherwise required to check in with the Hampton office, and that the battery on her company cell phone had died, and the charger was still in her truck, so that she could not receive calls.

On December 6, 2006, Hartman posted a notice for a mandatory meeting for Hampton truck drivers at the Hampton plant on December 11, 2006, for which Doggett and Burger were driving in from Fargo. Coe contends that the purpose of the meeting was to lay off drivers and that she would have been laid off had she attended the meeting. She also contends that the layoffs could have been made by telephone, but NPP asserts that Burger and Doggett preferred to make such announcements in person. Hartman claims that she recalls reminding Coe of this meeting, but Coe denies that she knew about the meeting until after it occurred. In any event, there is no dispute that Coe did not attend the meeting. NPP contends, and Coe disputes, that, after the meeting, Doggett and Burger were informed by other drivers that Coe had continued to drive her truck with the brake problem and had ruined a new set of tires by doing so. Coe admits, however, that Burger was told at the December 11, 2006, meeting that Coe had dragged the tires and ruined them. NPP contends that, after the meeting, Doggett told Burger that he had no more patience with Coe and wanted to terminate her, but that Burger convinced Doggett to reserve judgment until they had heard from Coe about why she had not attended the meeting or responded to calls left for her by Hartman on her company cell phone and at the repair shop. At some point, Hartman also drove out to Coe’s house, but did not find Coe, although Coe contends that Hartman admitted that she did not even go to the door. NPP contends that, by late afternoon on December 14, 2006, Coe had still not called in, so Doggett made the decision to terminate her. Coe contends that Doggett made the termination decision in collaboration with Burger. NPP acknowledges that Doggett tried to make the termination decision a collaborative decision with Burger and that Burger ultimately agreed with that decision.

When Coe called Burger on December 15, 2006, Burger explained to her that her employment was being terminated because she had missed the meeting. Because Coe was not happy with the decision, either Coe asked Burger to have Doggett call her, or Burger asked Doggett to call Coe. In any event, the parties agree that Dog-gett was willing to hear Coe’s explanation for missing the meeting, and did call her. NPP contends, however, that Doggett found Coe’s explanation that she had not called in to work for several days because her company cell phone was not charged was not an adequate excuse for a professional truck driver to miss a mandatory meeting. The parties agree that Doggett did not change his decision to terminate Coe after he talked to her.

3. Coe’s allegations of sexual harassment

The parties agree that, after it was clear that Coe was being terminated, Coe told Doggett that she thought her termination was the result of events in October 2006 involving Burger. The parties have pointed to nothing in the record showing that Doggett knew of those events prior to Coe’s telling him about them at the time of her termination. The events in question occurred when Burger was in Hampton to learn Hartman’s duties, because Hartman’s grandmother was very ill, and NPP anticipated that Hartman would need to take leave.

More specifically, during the week of October 9, 2006, Burger did an 80-mile round trip “test run” with Coe of a trailer that had been modified to haul coil pipe and to make it easier to roll off the pipe. During the “test run,” the parties agree that Burger talked about Coe taking a different job at NPP, although they disagree about precisely what that job was. NPP contends that the job for which Burger said he would recommend Coe was a job assisting Hartman, but Coe contends that the job Burger talked about was a promotion to a traffic control and sales position. NPP contends that Coe expressed interest in the job, but understood that the decision still had to be made by Burger’s boss. Coe contends that she accepted the promotion and told her family about it, but otherwise honored Burger’s request not to tell anyone at work about it until it was final.

During the “test run,” Coe and Burger also talked about trucking equipment. Coe told Burger about a trucking magazine at her house that she wanted to give him, so they stopped at her house on the way back to the Hampton plant. When Coe and Burger stopped at Coe’s house, Burger was on his cell phone with Shane Kluth in Fargo. Coe contends that Burger said something to Kluth about “you’ll never guess where I’m at,” said that he was at Coe’s house, then laughed, and hung up. While at Coe’s house, Burger asked if he could use the bathroom, and Coe agreed. Coe and Burger entered the house through the kitchen, and Coe gave Burger directions to the bathroom, then went to her bedroom to get the magazine that they had talked about and a newspaper clipping. When Burger came out of the bathroom, he proceeded down the hall toward Coe’s bedroom, flipped on the light switch in her bedroom, and asked, “This is your bedroom?” Coe contends that she ignored the question and continued to walk away from her bedroom. Coe and Burger then returned to the kitchen, where Burger asked about the location of a pool table that they had also discussed. Coe had told Burger that the movers had put the slate on the pool table the wrong way. Coe and Burger went to the basement to look at the pool table, and Burger offered to try to fix the pool table the following week, when he was to return to Hampton with another NPP employee, Jerry Griggs. Coe and Burger then left the house and returned to NPP’s Hampton plant.

During the week of October 16, 2006, Burger and Griggs were in Hampton to learn more about Hartman’s job and to attend to other duties. Burger and Griggs were staying at the Americlnn Hotel in Hampton. Burger and Griggs had dinner together through the week, checked out classic cars, and watched television. Coe contends that, during the week of October 16, 2006, Burger also engaged in sexual advances toward her.

Specifically, on October 18, 2006, in the late afternoon, Burger called Coe when she was in her truck and asked her what she was doing. Coe responded that she was coming back from running a load and was going home. NPP contends that there were other calls between Coe and Burger, most lasting only about a minute, during that week, but that such calls were common at other times, as well, and that they usually pertained to work. Around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. on October 18, 2006, Burger went to Coe’s house, knocked, and stood at the door, but even though Coe was at home and had seen Burger come to the door, she did not let him in or acknowledge that he was at the door. Griggs accompanied Burger to Coe’s house, but Coe did not see him, and he testified that he stayed in their vehicle while Burger went to the door. Burger and Griggs ostensibly went to Coe’s house to offer to fix her pool table. Later, after returning to his motel, Burger called Coe again, about 7:20 p.m., to ask if Coe wanted company, but Coe said no. Burger also told Coe that he had been out to her house, but Coe told him she did not know he was there and that she was probably in the shower. Burger apparently asked again if Coe wanted company, and Coe again said no, she was in bed. Coe contends that, at the end of the conversation, Burger told her, “Sweet dreams.”

On October 19, 2006, Burger again called Coe about 4:58 p.m., to ask what she was doing, and Coe again said that she was driving and on her way home. Burger again asked if Coe wanted company, and Coe replied that she was busy and had errands to run. Coe alleges that, during this telephone call, Burger also asked if Coe wanted to come to his motel room, but Coe contends that she ignored the question. Burger then said, “Did you hear what I said?” Coe contends that she did not want to answer this question, so she said, “What?” Coe contends that Burger then said, “I asked you to come to my motel room,” to which Coe again responded that she was busy and had errands to run. Coe contends that Burger then said, “Well, when you’re done running your errands, maybe you could stop by later,” but Coe said, “I don’t think so.” About twenty-five minutes after the first call on October 19th ended, Coe admits that she called Burger back to apologize for being rude on the phone. Burger admits that a call took place on October 19, 2006, that he asked if Coe wanted help with her pool table, and that he asked if Coe wanted to stop by his motel, intended that they play pool with Griggs in the lounge area, because the motel had a full-size pool table.

Coe contends that, after the calls and incidents in the first few weeks of October 2006, Burger’s “attitude changed tremendously,” because they had formerly had no problems, but he became sarcastic and argumentative, and Coe felt that he was picking on her. Nevertheless, Burger and Coe still had numerous phone calls after October 19, 2006, but Coe contends that she initiated most of the calls. The only time that Burger and Coe saw each other after October 19, 2006, was for the counseling session on December 5, 2006, described above. Coe admits that she never reported any alleged harassment by Burger or anyone else to anyone at NPP prior to her termination. She also admits that she never told Burger that his conduct had made her uncomfortable.

4. The aftermath of Coe’s allegations

In response to Coe’s revelations of alleged sexual harassment, Doggett requested written statements from Burger and Griggs. Burger admitted to Doggett that he had asked Coe to come to his motel, and Doggett criticized Burger for doing so, because he believed that such a situation involving a male supervisor and a female employee could be misconstrued. However, Burger’s written statement did not mention that he had asked Coe to come to his motel, and Doggett did not require Burger to make any changes to his statement. Coe contends that Doggett’s investigation did not comply with NPP’s Sexual Harassment Policy, but NPP contends that Doggett did not believe that Coe had made a formal complaint of sexual harassment, because she did not bring up the matter until after she was already terminated. NPP contends that Doggett also confirmed with Hartman that Coe had notice of the December 11, 2006, meeting, as part of his investigation.

Doggett decided to let Coe’s termination stand, apparently because he believed that Coe’s allegations of sexual harassment by Burger had nothing to do with the performance problems for which she was being terminated. NPP contends, and Coe denies, that other employees were disciplined in comparable ways for misconduct comparable to the misconduct for which Coe was counseled and eventually terminated. Indeed, she contends that she was disciplined for conduct for which other drivers received only reprimands or no consequences at all. Coe admits, however, that one male truck driver was also discharged for missing a mandatory meeting.

B. Procedural Background

1. Coe’s claims

Coe filed a charge of sex discrimination and retaliation with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) on January 17, 2007, and that charge was cross-filed with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After Coe received a right-to-sue letter, she filed her Complaint (docket no. 1) in the present action against NPP on September 24, 2007.

In her Complaint, Coe asserts two claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. In Count I, Coe alleges a claim of “sex discrimination” based on allegations that, on several occasions, she was subjected to unwelcome sexual advances and that she suffered adverse employment action when her employment was terminated for refusing those sexual advances. The parties have consistently referred to Coe’s claim in Count I as a “quid pro quo harassment” claim. In Count II, Coe alleges a claim of “retaliation” based on allegations that she opposed discrimination in the workplace and suffered adverse employment actions for such opposition. NPP filed its Answer (docket no. 3) denying Coe’s claims and asserting various defenses on November 11, 2007. Trial in this matter is currently set to begin on February 9, 2009.

2. NPP’s motion for summary judgment

Eventually, on September 19, 2008, NPP filed the Motion For Summary Judgment (docket no. 15) now before the court in which NPP seeks summary judgment in its favor on both of Coe’s claims. Coe filed her Resistance (docket no. 22) to NPP’s motion on October 31, 2008, and her supporting brief on November 4, 2008 (docket no. 27; redocketed as docket no. 22-13). NPP filed a Reply (docket no. 31) in further support of its summary judgment motion on November 14, 2008.

Both parties requested oral arguments on the motion, although NPP’s request did not fully comply with N.D. Ia. L.R. 7.c. or 56.g. The court agreed that oral arguments were likely to be helpful to the court in the disposition of the motion, so by order (docket no. 30) dated November 10, 2008, the court set oral arguments on the motion for November 21, 2008. In its order setting oral arguments, the court also advised the parties that, from its review of the record and the briefs filed thus far, the court found that the parties should be prepared to focus their oral arguments on the following issues: (1) what conduct is sufficient to constitute “sexual advances” and what connection between such conduct and an employment benefit or detriment is sufficient to support a quid pro quo sexual harassment claim; and (2) the extent of the influence that an employee with an alleged discriminatory animus must exercise over a purportedly independent deci-sionmaker’s adverse employment decision toward the plaintiff for liability to be imposed upon the employer under the so-called “cat’s paw” theory. As to the latter question, the court directed the parties to consider both the formulation of the “cat’s paw” theory under Eighth Circuit law, including Richardson v. Sugg, 448 F.3d 1046, 1059-60 (8th Cir.2006); Dedmon v. Staley, 315 F.3d 948, 949 n. 2 (8th Cir.2003); Kramer v. Logan County Sch. Dist. No. R-1, 157 F.3d 620, 624-25 (8th Cir.1998); and Lacks v. Ferguson Reorganized Sch. Dist. R-2, 147 F.3d 718, 725 (8th Cir.1998), and the various formulations of that theory identified in the recent decision of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in EEOC v. BCI Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Los Angeles, 450 F.3d 476, 484-89 (10th Cir.2006) (citations omitted), cert. granted, 549 U.S. 1105, 127 S.Ct. 852, 166 L.Ed.2d 681, and cert. dismissed, 549 U.S. 1334, 127 S.Ct. 1931, 167 L.Ed.2d 583 (2007).

At the oral arguments on November 21, 2008, plaintiff Melody Coe was represented by Mark D. Sherinian of Sherinian & Walker Law Firm in West Des Moines, Iowa. Defendant NPP was represented by Todd E. Zimmerman, who argued the motion on NPP’s behalf, of Dorsey & Whitney, L.L.P., in Fargo, North Dakota, and Angela E. Dralle of Dorsey & Whitney, L.L.P., in Des Moines, Iowa.

This matter is now fully submitted.

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS

A Standards For Summary Judgment

1. General principles

Motions for summary judgment essentially “define disputed facts and issues and ... dispose of unmeritorious claims [or defenses].” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1982, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); see Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (“One of the principal purposes of the summary judgment rule is to isolate and dispose of factually unsupported claims or defenses_”). Any party may move for summary judgment regarding “all or any part” of the claims asserted in a case. Fed R. Civ. P. 56(a), (b) (allowing a claimant to move for summary judgment “at any time after the expiration of 20 days from the commencement of the action or after service of a motion for summary judgment by the adverse party,” and allowing a defending party to move for summary judgment “at any time”). Summary judgment is only appropriate when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Id. 56(c) (emphasis added); see Woods v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 409 F.3d 984, 990 (8th Cir.2005) (“Summary judgment is appropriate if viewing the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”).

A fact is material when it “ ‘might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.’ ” Johnson v. Crooks, 326 F.3d 995, 1005 (8th Cir.2003) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). Thus, “the substantive law will identify which facts are material.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Facts that are “critical” under the substantive law are material, while facts that are “irrelevant or unnecessary” are not. Id. An issue of material fact is genuine if it has a real basis in the record, Hartnagel v. Norman, 953 F.2d 394, 395 (8th Cir.1992) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)), or when “ ‘a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party’ on the question,” Woods, 409 F.3d at 990 (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505); see Diesel Machinery, Inc. v. B.R. Lee Indus., Inc., 418 F.3d 820, 832 (8th Cir.2005) (stating genuineness depends on “whether a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party based on the evidence”). Evidence presented by the nonmoving party that only provides “some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts,” Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, such as a “scintilla of evidence,” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505; In re Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Implants Prods. Liab. Litig., 113 F.3d 1484, 1492 (8th Cir.1997), or evidence that is “merely colorable” or “not significantly probative,” Anderson at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, does not make an issue of material fact genuine.

Thus, a genuine issue of material fact is not the “mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties.” State Auto. Ins. Co. v. Lawrence, 358 F.3d 982, 985 (8th Cir.2004). “‘Instead, “the dispute must be outcome determinative under prevailing law.” ’ ” Mosley v. City of Northwoods, 415 F.3d 908, 910-11 (8th Cir.2005) (quoting Get Away Club, Inc. v. Coleman, 969 F.2d 664, 666 (8th Cir.1992), in turn quoting Holloway v. Pigman, 884 F.2d 365, 366 (8th Cir.1989)). In other words, a genuine issue of material fact requires “sufficient evidence supporting the claimed factual dispute” so as to “require a jury or judge to resolve the parties’ differing versions of the truth at trial.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Essentially, a genuine issue of material fact determination, and thus the availability of summary judgment, is a determination of “whether a proper jury question [is] presented.” Id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A proper jury question is present if “there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party.” Id.

Procedurally, the moving party does not have to “support its motion with affidavits or other similar materials negating the opponent’s claim,” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, but the moving party does bear “the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record which show a lack of a genuine issue.” Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 395 (citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548). Thus, a movant need only demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment according to law. See Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (“[T]he motion may, and should, be granted so long as whatever is before the district court demonstrates that the standard for the entry of summary judgment, as set forth in Rule 56(c), is satisfied.”). Once the moving party has successfully carried its burden under Rule 56(c), the nonmov-ing party has an affirmative burden to go beyond the pleadings and by depositions, affidavits, or otherwise, designate “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Mosley, 415 F.3d at 910 (“The nonmoving party may not ‘rest on mere allegations or denials, but must demonstrate on the record the existence of specific facts which create a genuine issue for trial.’ ” (quoting Krenik v. County of Le Sueur, 47 F.3d 953, 957 (8th Cir.1995))). Thus, the movant must show the absence of a genuine issue of material fact as it relates to the substantive law, and the nonmovant must show the alleged issue of fact is genuine and material as it relates to the substantive law. If a party fails to make a sufficient showing of an essential element of a claim or defense with respect to which that party has the burden of proof, then the opposing party is “entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; In re Temporomandibular Joint, 113 F.3d at 1492.

In considering whether a genuine issue of material fact is present, the court must view all the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348; Mosley, 415 F.3d at 910. Further, the court must give such party the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the facts. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348. However, “because we view the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, we do not weigh the evidence or attempt to determine the credibility of the witnesses.” Kammueller v. Loomis, Fargo & Co., 383 F.3d 779, 784 (8th Cir.2004). Rather than “attemptfing] to determine the truth of the matter ... the court’s function is to determine whether a dispute about a material fact is genuine.” Quick v. Donaldson Co., Inc., 90 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (8th Cir.1996).

Of course, the facts are not the sole concern of the court; after all, a genuine issue of material fact necessarily depends on the substantive law. See Holloway, 884 F.2d at 366 (“The presence of a genuine issue of fact is predicated on the existence of a legal theory which can be considered viable under the nonmoving party’s version of the facts. The mere existence of a factual dispute is insufficient alone to bar summary judgment; rather, the dispute must be outcome determinative under prevailing law.”). Thus, the relevant law concerning plaintiffs claims is pivotal. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (“[T]he inquiry involved in a ruling on a motion for summary judgment ... necessarily implicates the substantive evidentia-ry standard of proof that would apply at the trial on the merits.”); see Brandon v. Lotter, 157 F.3d 537, 539 (8th Cir.1998) (“ ‘In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must bear in mind the actual quantum and quality of proof necessary to support liability under the applicable law.’ ” (quoting Hartnagel, 953 F.2d at 396)). Even if no genuine issue of material fact is present, summary judgment is not appropriate unless the governing law supports the moving party’s position. Fed. R.CivP. 56(c) (requiring the moving party to show that it “is entitled to judgment as a matter of law”). Moreover, summary judgement is particularly appropriate “where the unresolved issues are primarily legal rather than factual.” Aucutt v. Six Flags Over Mid-America, Inc., 85 F.3d 1311, 1315 (8th Cir.1996).

2. Disregard of evidence from “interested” or “impeached” witnesses

As the court noted above, Coe contends that certain statements of fact offered by NPP cannot be accepted as undisputed, simply because “[t]he only testimony upon which [such] assertion[s][are] made is that of an interested and/or impeached witness and therefore the facts cannot be assumed to be true for the purposes of this motion.” Thus, Coe argues that all she has to do to generate a genuine issue of material fact is to assert that the person to whom the movant attributes the factual contention in question is “interested” or has been “impeached.” In support of this contention, Coe cites Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 151, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000). The court does not agree with Coe’s contention.

Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure expressly imposes upon a party resisting summary judgment an obligation to respond to the moving party’s assertions that certain facts are undisputed by pointing to contrary facts, as follows:

When a motion for summary judgment is properly made and supported, an opposing party may not rely merely on allegations or denials in its own pleading; rather, its response must — by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule — set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial. If the opposing party does not so respond, summary judgment should, if appropriate, be entered against that party.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2). Thus, “[t]he non-moving party may not ‘rest on mere allegations or denials, but must demonstrate on the record the existence of specific facts which create a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Mosley, 415 F.3d at 910 (quoting Krenik, 47 F.3d at 957). To put it another way, Rule 56 requires the party opposing summary judgment to point to record evidence or affidavits setting out specific facts that demonstrate the basis for a factual dispute. Similarly, a local rule of this court requires citation to parts of the record demonstrating the basis for a factual dispute, as follows:

A response to an individual statement of material fact that is not expressly admitted must be supported by references to those specific pages, paragraphs, or parts of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions, exhibits, and affidavits that support the resisting party’s refusal to admit the statement, with citations to the appendix containing that part of the record. The failure to respond, with appropriate citations to the appendix, to an individual statement of material fact constitutes an admission of that fact.

N.D. Ia. L.R. 56.b.4. Thus, the local rule is consistent with the federal rule, because the local rule specifies the manner in which the resisting party must marshal evidence “set[ting] out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.” Fed. R.Crv.P. 56(e)(2). While both the federal rule and the local rule plainly contemplate that the resisting party must point to evidence to generate a genuine issue of material fact, neither rule appears to contemplate that a resisting party may simply assert that a witness who stated the fact in question is “interested” or “impeached” to generate a genuine issue of material fact.

Coe’s contention appears to be that a resisting party has made a sufficient demonstration of the basis for a factual dispute simply by pointing out that the fact in contention has been stated by an “interested” or “impeached” witness. In Reeves, on which Coe relies, the Supreme Court stated that, in deciding whether to grant judgment as a matter of law (or summary judgment), a district court “should give credence to the evidence favoring the non-movant as well as that ‘evidence supporting the moving party that is uncontradict-ed and unimpeached, at least to the extent that that evidence comes from disinterested witnesses.’ ” Reeves, 530 U.S. at 151, 120 S.Ct. 2097 (quoting 9A Charles A. Weight And ArthuR R. MilleR, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil § 2529 at 300 (2d ed.1995)). At first blush, this statement does appear to support Coe’s contention. Various courts have rejected such a reading of the statement in Reeves, however.

First, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose authority is controlling on this court, has read this language from Reeves to “intimat[e] that there are some eases in which uncontroverted testimony from an interested party could be given credence,” although the court was unsure whether it was presented with such a case. Wilcox v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 253 F.3d 1069, 1070-71 (8th Cir.2001). Despite its uncertainty, the court concluded that, where the resisting party was given a clear opportunity to contradict the “interested” party’s affidavit, but did not do so, “it would not be obvious error to include the affidavit’s contents in the factual mix relevant to summary judgment.” Id. Here, where Coe has clearly been presented with the factual assertions of witnesses that she believes are “interested” in NPP’s statements of facts, and has been given a clear opportunity to contradict those factual assertions by filing a response to NPP’s statements of facts, but has not attempted to contradict those assertions with other evidence, as contemplated by Rule 56(e)(2) and N.D. Ia. L.R. 56.b.4., and has, instead, merely asserted that the witnesses are “interested,” this court concludes that it may consider the “interested” witnesses’ factual assertions in its disposition of the summary judgment motion. Wilcox, 253 F.3d at 1070-71.

Coe also argues that the court should disregard the testimony of witnesses who have been “impeached.” Specifically, Coe contends that Doggett has been impeached by his admission in deposition testimony that NPP’s statement to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission was not complete, because it did not include information that Burger had invited Coe to his motel room, even though both Doggett and Burger knew that to be the case. The court believes that the decision in Wilcox also undermines Coe’s assertions concerning “impeached” witnesses, however. Again, Coe attempts to use “impeachment” of a witness generally as the basis for disregarding that witness’s testimony as to particular facts, just as she attempts to use the witness’s “interest” generally as the basis for disregarding that witness’s testimony as to particular facts. Again, Wilcox strongly suggests that, where the resisting party has been given a clear opportunity to contradict the “impeached” witnesses’ specific factual assertions, as is the case here, but has not done so, and has, instead, merely asserted that the witnesses have been “impeached” generally, but not as to the specific factual assertions in question, this court concludes that it may consider the “impeached” witnesses’ factual assertions in its disposition of the summary judgment motion. Cf. id.

Other Circuit Courts of Appeals that have considered the import of the pertinent language from Reeves have also concluded that the focus is whether or not the specific proffered statements of fact of a witness are “controverted” or “contradicted,” rather than whether or not the witnesses making the statements are “interested” or “impeached” generally. For example, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that Reeves should not be interpreted “so broadly as to require a court to ignore the uncontroverted testimony of company employees or to conclude, where a proffered reason is established through such testimony, that it is necessarily pretextual.” Traylor v. Brown, 295 F.3d 783, 791 (7th Cir.2002). That court reasoned,

To so hold would essentially prevent any employer from prevailing at the summary judgment stage because an employer will almost always have to rely on the testimony of one of its agents to explain why the agent took the disputed action. Moreover, consistent with the plaintiffs ultimate burden of proof under McDonnell Douglas, a plaintiff cannot avoid summary judgment by merely claiming a jury could disbelieve the employer’s reason. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. G-K-G, Inc., 39 F.3d 740, 746 (7th Cir.1994).

Traylor, 295 F.3d at 791. In that case, the court found that all that the plaintiff had done was assert that the jury could disbelieve the employer’s reason for its action. Where the plaintiff had done nothing but offer her own conjecture to call the employer’s explanation into doubt, the court found that summary judgment for the employer was appropriate. Id.

Similarly, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a plaintiffs contention that Reeves requires the court to disregard as “interested” witness testimony all testimony by managers involved in the employment decision. Sandstad v. CB Richard Ellis, Inc., 309 F.3d 893, 898 (5th Cir.2002). The court reasoned that the plaintiffs interpretation of Reeves “would in effect eliminate his burden to show that [the employer’s] explanation is pretextual.” Id. Indeed, citing Traylor, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reasoned that “[t]he definition of an interested witness cannot be so broad as to require us to disregard testimony from a company’s agents regarding the company’s reasons for discharging an employee,” because to so hold would foreclose the possibility of summary judgment for employers. Id.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has also found that a litigant “misinterprets the import of this language” from Reeves when the litigant asserts that it means “that courts may never consider affidavits of interested persons when the affidavits are submitted by the moving party.” Stratienko v. Cordis Corp., 429 F.3d 592, 597-98 (6th Cir.2005). The court explained this conclusion as follows:

This court has already considered this issue in Almond v. ABB Indus. Sys., Inc., 56 Fed.Appx. 672 (6th Cir.2003) (per curiam), and held that courts can consider the testimony of a moving party’s interested witnesses. The court held that the interpretation of Reeves advocated by [the plaintiff] “leads to absurd consequences” because defendants will often be able to respond only through the testimony of their employees. Almond, 56 Fed.Appx. at 675-76. To support its conclusion, the Almond court cited additional language from Federal Practice and Procedure: “The testimony of an employee of [the mov-ant] must be taken as true when it disclosed no lack of candor, the witness was not impeached, his credibility was not questioned, and the accuracy of his testimony was not controverted by evidence .... ” Wright & Miller at 287 n. 9. Almond’s holding is consistent with Chesapeake & Ohio Ry. v. Martin, 283 U.S. 209, 218, 51 S.Ct. 453, 75 L.Ed. 983 (1931), in which the Supreme Court stated that courts need not deny the conclusiveness of testimony of the moving party that “is not contradicted by direct evidence, nor by any legitimate inferences from the evidence[,]” because the rule requiring that testimony be considered by the jury is not “an absolute and inflexible one.” Almond and Chesapeake establish that the issue, therefore, is not whether the district court could consider the affidavits of [the moving party] but instead whether the affidavits were uncontradicted.

Stratienko, 429 F.3d at 598; see also Lauren W. ex rel. Jean W. v. Deflaminis, 480 F.3d 259, 271-72 (3d Cir.2007) (noting that, notwithstanding the language in Reeves, “[t]he fact is that in considering a motion for summary judgment the court should believe uncontradicted testimony unless it is inherently implausible even if the testimony is that of an interested witness,” because if the court does not do so, “then, contrary to all precedent, [the court] would allow the non-moving party to defeat the motion with mere allegations,” and finding that the resisting party had failed to produce sufficient evidence to establish necessary genuine issues of material fact).

This court concludes that, notwithstanding the language from Reeves on which Coe relies, she was required to do more than simply assert that witnesses are “interested” or “impeached” generally to generate genuine issues of material fact on statements of fact attributed to those witnesses. Instead, she was required to controvert their statements of fact with other evidence. Where she has not attempted to contradict those statements of fact with other evidence, as contemplated by Rule 56(e)(2) and N.D. Ia. L.R. 56.b.4., and has, instead, merely asserted that the witnesses are “interested” or “impeached” generally, this court concludes that it may consider the “interested” witnesses’ factual assertions in its disposition of the summary judgment motion. Wilcox, 253 F.3d at 1070-71; accord Stratienko, 429 F.3d at 598; Deflaminis, 480 F.3d at 271-72.

3. Special concerns in employment discrimination cases

The court recognizes “that summary judgment is disfavored in employment discrimination cases.” Simpson v. Des Moines Water Works, 425 F.3d 538, 542 (8th Cir.2005); see Woods v. Perry, 375 F.3d 671, 674 (8th Cir.2004) (“Num-mary judgment should be used sparingly in employment discrimination cases.... ”); Crawford v. Runyon, 37 F.3d 1338, 1341 (8th Cir.1994) (“[Sjummary judgment should seldom be used in employment discrimination cases.”). This exceptional deference shown the nonmoving party is warranted, according to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, “[bjecause discrimination cases often turn on inferences rather than on direct evidence ...,” E.E.O.C. v. Woodbridge Corp., 263 F.3d 812, 814 (8th Cir.2001) (en banc) (citing Crawford, 37 F.3d at 1341; Bell v. Conopco, Inc., 186 F.3d 1099, 1101 (8th Cir.1999)), and because “intent” is generally a central issue in employment discrimination cases. Christopher v. Adam’s Mark Hotels, 137 F.3d 1069, 1071 (8th Cir.1998) (citing Gill v. Reorganized Sch. Dist. R-6, Festus, Mo., 32 F.3d 376, 378 (8th Cir.1994)); see Simpson, 425 F.3d at 542 (noting summary judgment is disfavored in employment discrimination cases because they are “ ‘inherently fact-based.’ ” (quoting Mayer v. Nextel W. Corp., 318 F.3d 803, 806 (8th Cir.2003))). Nonetheless, this exercise of judicial prudence “cannot and should not be construed to exempt” from summary judgment, employment discrimination cases involving intent. Christopher, 137 F.3d at 1071 (quoting Krenik v. County of Le Sueur, 47 F.3d 953, 959 (8th Cir.1995)). The fact remains that “ ‘the ultimate burden of persuading the trier of fact that the defendant intentionally discriminated against the plaintiff remains at all times with the plaintiff.’ ” Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 143, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000) (quoting Texas Dep’t of Cmty. Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 253, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981)). The court will apply these standards to NPP’s Motion For Summary Judgment.

However, the court must first observe that stating the legal principles of summary judgment in employment discrimination cases is a simple task. Applying those principles to the paper record that forms the judicial crucible that decides which plaintiffs may proceed to trial and which get dismissed is far more daunting. Missing in the standard incantation of summary judgment principles is the role of experience. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, “The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience.” Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Common Law 1 (1881). Thus, experience teaches that thoughtful deliberation of summary judgment in employment discrimination cases is grounded in the consideration of each case through a lens filtered by the following observations. Employment discrimination and retaliation, except in the rarest cases, is difficult to prove. It is perhaps more difficult to prove today&emdash;more than forty years after the passage of Title VII&emdash;than during Title VII’s earlier evolution. Today’s employers, even those with only a scintilla of sophistication, will neither admit discriminatory or retaliatory intent, nor leave a well-developed trail demonstrating it. See, e.g., Riordan v. Kempiners, 831 F.2d 690, 697-98 (7th Cir.1987). Indeed, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized more than thirty-five years ago, that “[a]s patently discriminatory practices become outlawed, those employers bent on pursuing a general policy declared illegal by Congressional mandate will undoubtedly devise more sophisticated methods to perpetuate discrimination among employees.” Rogers v. EEOC, 454 F.2d 234, 239 (5th Cir.1971) (later relied on by the Supreme Court in Meritor Sav. Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 65-67, 106 S.Ct. 2399, 91 L.Ed.2d 49 (1986), as one of the principal authorities supporting recognition of a cause of action for hostile environment sexual harassment under Title VII). This court’s experience suggests the truth of that observation. Because adverse employment actions almost always involve a high degree of discretion, and most plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases are at will, it is a simple task for employers to concoct plausible reasons for virtually any adverse employment action ranging from failure to hire to discharge. This is especially true, because the very best workers are seldom employment discrimination plaintiffs due to sheer economics: Because the economic costs to the employer for discrimination are proportional to the caliber of the employee, discrimination against the best employees is the least cost effective. See, e.g., id. Rather, discrimination plaintiffs tend to be those average or below-average workers— equally protected by Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, or the FMLA — for whom plausible rationales for adverse employment actions are readily fabricated by employers with even a meager imagination. See, e.g., id.

Consequently, with both the legal standards for summary judgment and the teachings of experience in hand, the court turns to consideration of the parties’ arguments for and against summary judgment.

B. The Nature Of Coe’s “Sex Discrimination” Claim

Coe describes the claim in Count I of her complaint as “sex discrimination.” Throughout their briefing of NPP’s motion for summary judgment, however, both parties have consistently described this claim as a “quid pro quo harassment” claim. Thus, the first issue for the court is whether Coe’s “sex discrimination” claim can be construed as a “quid pro quo ” claim.

2. Quid pro quo versus hostile environment harassment

As the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has explained,

[I]t is clear that in enacting Title VII, Congress aimed to eliminate the entire spectrum of disparate treatment of men and women in the workplace. Los Angeles Dep’t of Water & Power v. Manhart, 435 U.S. 702, 707 n. 13, 98 S.Ct. 1370, 55 L.Ed.2d 657 (1978). Accordingly, in interpreting the meaning of “sex discrimination,” the Supreme Court has expanded Title VIPs reach beyond simply prohibiting employers from making distinctions between employees based on their gender. Meritor, Nil U.S. at 64-65, 106 S.Ct. 2399, 91 L.Ed.2d 49. Title VII now prohibits both quid pro quo harassment, where an employee’s submission to or rejection of a supervisor’s unwelcome sexual advances is used as the basis for employment decisions, and hostile work environment harassment, where “the workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an abusive working environment.” Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 21, 114 S.Ct. 367, 126 L.Ed.2d 295 (1993) (quotations omitted).

Tenge v. Phillips Modern Ag Co., 446 F.3d 903, 907-08 (8th Cir.2006). Although Title VII prohibits both quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment harassment, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has also recognized that “a claim of quid pro quo harassment often adds little to a straightforward Title VII analysis,” because “[b]oth quid pro quo and hostile work environment sexual harassment claims are grounded in the same legal theory under Title VII, the former involving an explicit, and the latter a constructive, change in conditions of employment.” Henthorn v. Capitol Commc’ns, Inc., 359 F.3d 1021, 1026 (8th Cir.2004) (citing Forshee v. Waterloo Industries, Inc., 178 F.3d 527, 530 (8th Cir.1999), for the first proposition, and Burlington Industries v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742, 752, 118 S.Ct. 2257, 141 L.Ed.2d 633 (1998), for the second); see also Ogden v. Wax Works, Inc., 214 F.3d 999, 1006 (8th Cir.2000) (“[I]n ‘supervisor harassment’ cases such as this, the terms ‘quid pro quo’ and ‘hostile environment’ remain relevant only to the extent they illustrate the evidentiary distinction between cases involving threats which are carried out and those featuring offensive conduct in general. Burlington Indus., Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742, 751-54, 118 S.Ct. 2257, 141 L.Ed.2d 633 (1998). Once a plaintiff proves discrimination under either theory, we turn to the standards announced by the Supreme Court in Ellerth and Faragher to determine whether the employer may be held liable for the supervisor’s conduct.”).

There are other differences between a quid pro quo claim and a hostile environment claim, in addition to the distinction between an explicit and a constructive change in conditions of employment:

Sexual harassment is quid pro quo if a tangible employment action follows the employee’s refusals to submit to a supervisor’s sexual demands. [Ellerth, 524 U.S. at 752, 118 S.Ct. at 2264]; Forshee, 178 F.3d at 530. A plaintiff in that situation need not prove that the offensive conduct is severe or pervasive because any carried-out threat is itself deemed an actionable change in the terms or conditions of employment. Ellerth, 524 U.S. at 753-54, 118 S.Ct. 2257, 141 L.Ed.2d 633.

Henthorn, 359 F.3d at 1026-27. Thus, to avoid summary judgment on a quid pro quo harassment claim, the plaintiff must present evidence capable of proving that “submission to unwelcome advances was an express or implied condition for receiving job benefits or [that] refusal to submit resulted in a tangible job detriment.” Newton v. Cadwell Labs., 156 F.3d 880, 882 (8th Cir.1998) (last element of a prima facie case of quid pro quo harassment).

On the other hand,

To overcome summary judgment on [a] hostile work environment claim, [the plaintiff] must present evidence from which a reasonable jury could find that [the alleged harasser’s] conduct towards her was more than merely offensive, immature or unprofessional, for conduct that does not exceed that threshold of severity is insufficient to constitute a prima facie case of sexual harassment. See, e.g., Duncan [v. General Motors Corp.], 300 F.3d 928 [(8th Cir.2002)] (finding plaintiff failed to prove a hostile work environment claim when she was asked out, criticized, asked to sketch pottery with a sexual theme, and unnecessarily touched on the hand); Alagna v. Smithville R-II Sch. Dist., 324 F.3d 975, 980 (8th Cir.2003) (finding to be inappropriate but not actionable conduct that involved frequent calls to plaintiffs home, regular visits to her office, the bestowing of gifts, the touching of plaintiffs arm, and the frequent expressions of “I love you”). The conduct “must be extreme and not merely rude or unpleasant” before it can be said to have, in an objective sense, affected the terms and conditions of employment. Alagna, 324 F.3d at 980.

Henthorn, 359 F.3d at 1027 (footnote omitted).

In short, “[t]o prevail on her quid pro quo claim, [the plaintiff] need[s] to prove (1) she was a member of a protected class; (2) she was subjected to unwelcome harassment in the form of sexual advances or requests for sexual favors; (3) the harassment was based on sex; and (4) her submission to the unwelcome advances was an express or implied condition for receiving job benefits or her refusal to submit resulted in a tangible job detriment.” Ogden, 214 F.3d at 1006 n. 8 (citing Cram v. Lamson & Sessions Co., 49 F.3d 466, 473 (8th Cir.1995)). “To prevail on her hostile environment claim, [the plaintiff] need[s] to prove (1) she belonged to a protected group; (2) she was subjected to unwelcome harassment; (3) the harassment was based on sex; and (4) the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of her employment.” Id. at 1006 n. 9 (citing Schmedding v. Tnemec Co., Inc., 187 F.3d 862, 864 (8th Cir.1999)). For purposes of a hostile environment claim, “[h]arassment affects a term, condition, or privilege of employment if it is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an objectively hostile or abusive work environment.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

2. Coe’s claim

Because Coe never argues that the conduct to which Burger allegedly subjected her in October 2006 was sufficiently “severe or pervasive” to constitute actionable sexual harassment, i.e., to create a sexually hostile work environment, in the absence of evidence of a relationship between the conduct and receiving a job benefit or suffering a tangible job detriment, the court concludes that Coe has limited her “sex discrimination” claim to a harassment claim of the quid pro quo variety. Id. (distinguishing between a quid pro quo claim and a hostile environment claim on this basis); see also Tenge, 446 F.3d at 907-08 (only a hostile environment claim requires proof that the harassment was “severe and pervasive”; a quid pro quo claim does not); Henthorn, 359 F.3d at 1027 (same). As indicated above, that determination also determines that precise proof that Coe must offer in support of her “sex discrimination” claim.

C. Arguments Concerning Coe’s Quid Pro Quo Claim

Having determined that Coe’s “sex discrimination” claim is properly described as a “quid pro quo ” claim, the court turns to NPP’s contention that it is entitled to summary judgment on that claim. The court’s analysis begins with a summary of the parties’ arguments for and against summary judgment on Coe’s quid pro quo claim.

1. NPP’s initial argument

In support of its motion for summary judgment on Coe’s sex discrimination claim, which NPP consistently identifies as a quid pro quo claim, NPP argues that it is entitled to summary judgment for three independent reasons. First, NPP contends that Coe has no evidence that her termination was linked in any way to any allegedly improper conduct, because the employee who made the decision to terminate her, Ken Doggett, had no knowledge of any supposed misconduct until after he confirmed to Coe that she was being terminated, and Doggett made the termination decision solely on the basis of performance issues. Second, NPP contends that, even accepting Coe’s version of the pertin