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Chartwell Law Obtains Summary Judgment in Age Discrimination Case

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Chartwell Law attorneys Anthony Trozzolillo and Jerome Flanagan obtained summary judgment on behalf of an employer, Bridon American Corporation, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, after the plaintiff, Mark Thompson, alleged he was terminated due to his age.  Mr. Thompson, age 57, was employed by Bridon for 37 years prior his termination.  Bridon provided Mr. Thompson a letter detailing the reasons for his termination, including declines in job performance and failure to respond truthfully to questions from his supervisors regarding phone / data plan usage and prior job performance issues.

Mr. Thompson filed suit alleging that he was terminated based on his age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.  Plaintiff deposed seven Bridon employees and obtained affidavits from two former employees, in an attempt to establish that Bridon’s proffered reasons for the termination were actually pretext for discrimination.  Chartwell filed a motion for summary judgment alleging that Plaintiff failed to meet his burden of proof.

The Honorable Robert Mariani granted Bridon’s summary judgment motion.  The Court held that Plaintiff mischaracterized the reasons for his termination and agreed with Bridon that plaintiff failed to present evidence to rebut the legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for the termination.