Payne and Fears Achieves Summary Judgment in Disability Discrimination Case

Payne & Fears (P&F) achieved another significant victory this week on behalf of a national retail company by obtaining summary judgment against a former employee’s disability discrimination and wrongful termination claims.

The former employee’s lawsuit advanced claims of disability discrimination, retaliation, failure to accommodate, failure to engage in the interactive process, failure to prevent discrimination, and wrongful termination, all stemming from allegations that the employee was terminated the day after allegedly reporting an on-the-job injury. The company denied these allegations, and maintained that the employee actually was terminated for violating several company policies on the very same day he allegedly reported the injury.

Although P&F had taken over the case from a previous law firm on the eve of discovery cutoff and with only 30 days left to file a dispositive motion, and despite several factual challenges, P&F nevertheless prevailed over the employee’s claims when the U.S. District Court issued a final ruling granting its motion for summary judgment in its entirety.

 “We are very proud to have achieved such a favorable outcome for our client, especially given the short window we had to complete discovery, marshal the evidence, and prepare the motion,” said P&F attorney Alex Ruiz. “This case is yet another testament to the quality and skill of the firm’s attorneys and support staff.”  

Andrew Haeffele and Alex Ruiz handled the successful defense, with extensive support from Jason Bluver, Megan Mackie, Connie Cason, Terri Shaw, and Tiffani Engstrom. Congratulations to the team and everyone else at the firm who contributed to this win!