UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

--------------------------------------------------------x

RANDY RED,
Plaintiff, 2019 CIV 1324

v. COMPLAINT AND
DEMAND FOR JURY
BIG BOX MART, INC., TRIAL
Defendant,
--------------------------------------------------------x

Plaintiff Randy Red, proceeding through his attorney Bedker & Associates

S.C., brings forth the following causes of action and alleges the following:

THE PARTIES

1. Plaintiff Randy Red (“Mr. Red”), born February 10, 1958, is a United

States citizen residing in Madison, Wisconsin.

2. Defendant, Big Box Mart, Inc. (“BBM”), is an Arkansas corporation

with over 2,000 stores nation wide and employs more than 100,000 people across

the U.S.;

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

3. This Court has original subject matter jurisdiction over this action

because the allegations brought forth are a question or issue of federal law

according to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and violate 29 U.S.C. § 623.

4. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b), because

the acts complained of occurred in the Western District of Wisconsin.

 FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

i. Mr. Red’s Work History at BBM

6. BBM hired Mr. Red in 1998 as a junior clerk at a store location in

Madison. Wisconsin.

7. In 2001 BBM promoted Mr. Red to senior clerk.

8. In 2005 BBM promoted Mr. Red to hardware department manager, a

position Mr. Red successfully held for 13 years.

9. In 2018 Mr. Red was earning close to the maximum wage for his

position in the store.

10. In the past three employment evaluations, Mr. Red received an overall

evaluation of “Superior.”

11. In Mr. Red’s most recent employment evaluation, despite personal

hardships, Mr. Red earned an overall job performance evaluation of “Satisfactory.”

12. Billy Barrett, the Assistant Store Manager who conducted Mr. Red’s

most recent employment evaluation noted that there is no reason to believe that Mr.

Red would not continue to be a productive member of BBM.

13. A Number of Mr. Red’s co-workers have signed affidavits praising Mr.

Red’s work ethic at BBM.

14. Consistently, Mr. Red’s department outperformed almost all other

departments in sales, despite economic downturns.

 15. Billy Barrett attributes the hardware department’s good sales

numbers to Mr. Red’s ability to be a good salesperson.

ii. Mr. Red’s Termination From BBM

16. On February 18, 2018 BBM abruptly terminated Mr. Red’s

employment.

17. In BBM’s termination letter to Mr. Red, BBM stated no reason for the

termination, but indicated that Mr. Red would not be receiving a severance package

and thanked him for his years of service.

iii. BBM’s Age Discrimination Against Mr. Red

18. On February 1, 2018 the CEO of BBM sent the Madison Store Manager,

Daryl Dickinson, and email which state, “You must get rid of the old deadwood, keep

the fresh team players, and MODERNIZE, if you know what I mean ;) .”

19. In the same email, the CEO of BBM also stated that BBM needed to

surround itself with “the i-phone [sic] and SnapChat generation, not the vinyl and

rotary phone types.”

20. Shortly before Mr. Red’s termination, Mr. Dickinson held a one-on-one

meeting with Mr. Red, wherein he repeatedly mocked and belittled Mr. Red for his

age.
 21. Parry Kahl, an employee of BBM, signed an affidavit stating that he

heard the Mr. Dickinson, refer to Mr. Red as “that old dinosaur” and “Crypt Keeper”

and referred to Mr. Red’s department as the “geriatric ward.”

22. After Mr. Red’s termination, BBM replaced Mr. Red with a 23-year-old,

under-qualified employee.

23. When terminated, Mr. Red was less than one month shy of his 20th

work anniversary, in which certain benefits would become available to Mr. Red.

24. According to his employment contract, when Mr. Red reached 20

years of consistent employment BBM would match Mr. Red’s pension contributions

of roughly $200,000.

25. BBM discriminated against Mr. Red by discharging Mr. Red because of

his age.

26. BBM discriminated against Mr. Red with respect to his compensation

and privileges of employment because of his age.

27. Plaintiff alleges that BBM is in direct violation of federal law (29 U.S.C.

§ 623), and by virtue of the foregoing facts, should receive compensation for his lost

employment opportunities.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests judgment against Defendant as

follows:

a. an order awarding compensatory damages in an amount to be

determined at trial;

b. an order awarding punitive damages in an amount to be determined at

trial;
 c. an order awarding reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs; and

d. an order directing such other and further relief as the Court may deem
just and proper.

JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff demands a trial by jury in this action.

Dated: March 5, 2019

Madison, Wisconsin

Respectfully submitted,
BEDKER & ASSOCIATES, S.C.

By:____________________________________
Sarah L. Butcher

12 W. Legal St.
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 723-2291
Attorneys for Plaintiff