Ferrante v. American Lung Ass’n, 90 N.Y.2d 623 (1997)
In an age discrimination claim under New York’s Human Rights Law, summary judgment for the employer is inappropriate where the employee raises a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the employer’s stated reasons for termination were a pretext for discrimination.
Summary
Ferrante sued the American Lung Association (ALA), alleging he was terminated due to age discrimination. ALA claimed Ferrante’s termination was performance-based. Ferrante argued that ALA’s reasons were pretextual and pointed to his supervisor’s ageist remarks and irregularities in the termination process. The Supreme Court granted summary judgment to ALA, but the Appellate Division reversed, finding that Ferrante had raised a factual issue. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that Ferrante presented sufficient evidence to create a question of fact as to whether ALA’s reasons were a pretext for age discrimination, thus precluding summary judgment.
Facts
Ferrante, 58, was terminated from his position as controller at ALA after nearly 10 years of employment. He received merit-based salary increases until a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) became his supervisor. Ferrante alleged the CFO made disparaging remarks about his age, referring to him as “the old man.” ALA claimed Ferrante was terminated for poor performance, citing errors in financial reporting and failure to adapt to a new computer system. However, the primary evidence of poor performance was a memorandum written by the CFO after Ferrante’s termination, which Ferrante argued deviated from ALA’s standard procedure.
Procedural History
Ferrante sued ALA, claiming age discrimination under New York’s Human Rights Law. The Supreme Court granted ALA’s motion for summary judgment, finding Ferrante failed to prove ALA’s reasons were pretextual. The Appellate Division reversed, holding that Ferrante only needed to identify a disputed material issue of fact regarding pretext. The Court of Appeals granted leave to appeal.
Issue(s)
Whether the Appellate Division properly reversed the Supreme Court’s grant of summary judgment to the American Lung Association, based on the plaintiff raising a question of fact as to whether the employer’s articulated basis for the dismissal was merely a pretext for discriminatory action?
Holding
Yes, because Ferrante presented sufficient evidence to raise a question of fact as to whether ALA’s stated reasons for his termination were a pretext for age discrimination.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals aligned New York’s Human Rights Law standards with federal Title VII standards. The court reiterated the burden-shifting framework: the plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case of discrimination. If successful, the burden shifts to the employer to provide legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the termination. Finally, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the employer’s reasons are pretextual.
The court emphasized that while the plaintiff retains the ultimate burden of proving discrimination, to defeat summary judgment, the plaintiff only needs to raise a material issue of fact as to whether the employer’s asserted reason is false or unworthy of belief, and that more likely than not the employee’s age was the real reason. “To defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment in an age discrimination case, plaintiffs must ‘show that there is a material issue of fact as to whether (1) the employer’s asserted reason for [the challenged action] is false or unworthy of belief and (2) more likely than not the employee’s age was the real reason.”
The court found several factors that raised credibility issues and supported a finding of pretext, including the supervisor’s alleged ageist remarks, the timing of the performance memorandum (written after the termination), the deviation from standard termination procedures, and the contested evidence about other employees over 50 who were fired. The court noted that assessing credibility is not the court’s function on a motion for summary judgment. Because Ferrante successfully raised a question of fact concerning the falsity of ALA’s proffered basis for the termination, summary judgment was inappropriate.