Matthew Reed v. Beko Technologies Corp.

── Matthew Reed v. Beko Technologies Corp. ── Case No.: 25-11210 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 20, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-11210 Document: 23-1 Date Filed: 03/20/2026 Page: 1 of 8 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-11210 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ MATTHEW REED, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus BEKO TECHNOLOGIES CORP., Defendant-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia D.C. Docket No. 1:21-cv-03563-WMR ____________________ Before ROSENBAUM, GRANT, and WILSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Plaintiff-Appellant Matthew Reed appeals the district court’s order granting Defendant-Appellee Beko Technologies Corpora- USCA11 Case: 25-11210 Document: 23-1 Date Filed: 03/20/2026 Page: 2 of 8 2 Opinion of the Court 25-11210 tion’s (Beko) renewed motion for judgment as a matter law follow- ing a jury verdict in Reed’s favor on his retaliation claim in his 42 U.S.C. § 1981 employment-discrimination action. After careful re- view, we vacate and remand. I. Reed, an African American man, sued Beko, his former em- ployer, for claims of race discrimination and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. After discovery, Beko moved for summary judg- ment on both claims. The court granted summary judgment on race discrimination but denied summary judgment on the retalia- tion claim. Notably, the court explained that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to what happened in a phone call between Reed and Beko’s CEO Tilo Fruth, a white man, which led to the end of Reed and Beko’s working relationship. At trial, Reed testified that during his performance review in January 2021, 1 he was told that he would not be getting a raise and that no one at the facility would be getting a raise either due to the pandemic. After this conversation, Reed spoke with Robert Turner, a white man, where he learned that Turner had received a raise but had been told to keep it under wraps. Reed spoke with his manager, who told him that Fruth had instructed him not to give Reed a raise. Later, in August 2021, Andy Davis, who worked for the safety division, came to Reed’s station and harassed him. Reed 1 Reed began working at Beko in 2016. USCA11 Case: 25-11210 Document: 23-1 Date Filed: 03/20/2026 Page: 3 of 8 25-11210 Opinion of the Court 3 emailed Melanie Jauch, Beko’s Human Resource Manager, about the incident. Jauch set up a time for Fruth to call Reed to talk about the incident. Reed testified that during that call Fruth asked Reed what had happened, and Reed told him about his interactions with his coworker Davis. Reed explained that Fruth repeatedly told Reed to drop the case. At that point, Reed reiterated that he was not going to drop it and then asked Fruth if raises were determined by performance, and Fruth said they were. Reed asked why he had not received a raise that year, and Fruth told him that nobody had received a raise because of the pandemic. Reed stated that Turner had received a raise, and Fruth asked why Reed was bringing up Turner, to w