Third Circuit Court of Appeals Affirmed Summary Judgment in a National Origin and Age Discrimination Case

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court's grant of summary judgment in a national origin and age discrimination case. In the matter, the Plaintiff's employment was terminated after the College's main computer server crashed, resulting in the loss of more than six weeks of data. Based on its post-crash investigation, the College determined that the Plaintiff's failure to monitor the hard drives and maintain a reliable backup scheme was the cause of the server crash and data loss. The Plaintiff attempted to establish that the College's reasons were a pretext for discriminatory reasons with evidence related to his treatment and alleged comments about his national origin and age.

The Third Circuit found that no reasonable jury could find that the College's stated reason for terminating the Plaintiff was a pretext for national origin and age discrimination. Moreover, the Third Circuit found the evidentiary record overwhelmingly supported the College's stated reasons for terminating the Plaintiff's employment.

The White and Williams team was led by Labor and Employment Partner Nancy Conrad, Labor and Employment Counsel George Morrison and Appellate Counsel Mark Penchansky.