Widmar v. Sun Chemical Corp.

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-employer’s motion for summary judgment in action alleging that defendant terminated plaintiff on account of his age, after accusing plaintiff of poor job performance arising out of several problems that occurred in manufacturing plant that was managed by plaintiff. While plaintiff presented evidence indicating that others within plant were responsible for problems cited by defendant, defendant explained that it expected plaintiff to be more proactive manager who solved said problems rather than blaming others, and plaintiff failed to provide evidence that defendant’s job expectation with respect to appropriate role of plant manager was pretext for age discrimination. Plaintiff further failed to show that defendant treated younger, similarly-situated managers more leniently.