Thomson v. Keebler
Filed
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF
THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
(Sacramento)
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PATRICIA THOMSON, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. KEEBLER COMPANY et al., Defendants and Respondents. | C051406 (Super. Ct. No. 03AS05822) |
Plaintiff Patricia Thomson suffered devastating personal losses during a tumultuous time for her employer, the newly consolidated Kellogg's and Keebler companies. Amidst management turnover and corporate reorganization, plaintiff suffered an ectopic pregnancy resulting in two surgeries and two leaves of absence followed by two more unsuccessful pregnancies requiring two additional leaves of absence. Thomson's supervisors expressed dissatisfaction with her job performance, provided her a series of updated performance improvement plans, and, when she did not meet company expectations, fired her. The question posed by this appeal from a summary judgment is whether plaintiff provided sufficient evidence to create a material triable issue of fact that her termination was motivated by a discriminatory animus. We review the trial court's order de novo and affirm. (Wiener v. Southcoast Childcare Centers, Inc. (2004) 32 Cal.4th 1138, 1142.)
FACTS
Kellogg's hired plaintiff as a market manager in its Food Service Group in January 2000. Working essentially in a sales position, plaintiff was responsible for selling products in an area that included Sacramento and various parts of Northern California and
