On June 22, 2021, the Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a judgment dismissing Appellant Mario Arce’s employment discrimination lawsuit against a global retailer represented by LTL.
Arce had worked at a Palmdale store for 13 years before being dismissed in 2016 following the receipt of his fourth coaching (i.e., write-up). He sued the retailer under the Fair Employment & Housing Act claiming that it had unlawfully terminated his employment in retaliation for his disclosure of a workplace injury. Arce also claimed that the store failed to accommodate his disability, and that he was the subject of age and other harassment for more than two years from his supervisors. LTL moved for summary judgment in the trial court arguing that Arce had failed to raise a factual dispute on any of his causes of action, including his failure to show that the store’s justification for the dismissal was pretextual, and Judge Steven Kleifield of the Los Angeles Superior Court agreed. The Second District affirmed that decision in all respects finding that there was no evidence that the retailer had acted for any reason other than Arce’s poor job performance, that Arce had not demonstrated the requisite severity or pervasiveness of any alleged harassing conduct, and that the company had not failed to accommodate his disability.
“We couldn’t be happier for our client that the Court of Appeal put an end to these unmeritorious claims” said Managing Partner David Ammons who represented the store in the trial court and on appeal.
Opinion
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