TAYLOR-LISTUG, INC
Filed 9/7/10
COURT
OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION
ONE
STATE
OF CALIFORNIA
ROBERT SANDELL,
Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
TAYLOR-LISTUG, INC.,
Defendant and Respondent.
D055549
(Super. Ct. No. 37-2008-00064342-
CU-OE-EC)
Story continued from part I…..
b. Sandell
presented evidence sufficient to make a
facie case that Taylor-Listug terminated his
because of his disability
Taylor-Listug
contends that "Sandell's alleged disability was not known to Taylor
Guitars," and that Sandell therefore cannot show that he was terminated
"'because of' a disability."
In making this assertion, Taylor-Listug misconstrues both the law and
the evidence.
There is
abundant evidence that virtually everyone who worked with Sandell was aware
that he often used a cane to walk. In
deposition testimony, Listug and Taylor both admitted having seen Sandell walk
with a cane during his employment at Taylor-Listug. For example, Listug was asked, "[O]ver
the rest of Mr. Sandell's employment at Taylor,
did he continue to often use a caneâ€
| Description | Plaintiff Robert Sandell appeals from a judgment entered after the court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant Taylor Listug, Inc. (Taylor-Listug) on Sandell's claims for disability and age discrimination. Sandell was employed as vice-president of sales at Taylor Listug, a guitar manufacturer, from 2004 to 2007. Approximately six months into his employment at Taylor-Listug, Sandell suffered a stroke after receiving a chiropractic adjustment. Sandell returned to work at Taylor-Listug in late 2004. During the remainder of Sandell's employment at Taylor-Listug, he required a cane to walk, and his speech was noticeably slower than it had been prior to his stroke. Taylor-Listug's chief executive officer terminated Sandell's employment in late 2007, a few days after Sandell's 60th birthday, citing displeasure with Sandell's performance as vice president of sales . The trial court concluded that there were no triable issues of fact with respect to Sandell's discrimination claims, and granted summary judgment in favor of Taylor-Listug. Having reviewed the record presented on summary judgment, we conclude that Sandell presented evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie case of disability and age discrimination, and in response to Taylor-Listug's proffer of legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons for terminating his employment, Sandell presented sufficient evidence to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the motivation for his termination was discriminatory. We therefore reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the matter for further proceedings. |
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