Facts

Plaintiff Quyen Phi was hired in April 2009 as a sales representative for SoCal Office Technologies Inc. Plaintiff filed a suit claiming he was discriminated and harassed due to his disability. Plaintiff claimed he was diagnosed with cardiotrophic myopathy in November of 2009, and later developed pneumonia.

Defendant SoCal claimed plaintiff was terminated due to poor performance and not because of any disability.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff's causes of action, included wrongful termination and retaliation in violation of Fair Employment Housing Act, harassment in violation of FEHA, failure to accommodate in violation of FEHA, defamation and compelled self-defamation, breach of implied contract, and breach of express contract.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendants asserted that plaintiff did not have a disability under FEHA and ignored attempts by the company to engage in the interactive process and provide a reasonable accommodation. Defendants also claimed that the actions supporting plaintiff's harassment claims, even if true, could not be considered harassment on account of his disability as a matter of law, and that he failed to provide any evidence of defamation.

Defendant contended that plaintiff failed to make any sales during the last five months of his employment and was terminated for poor performance. Defendant further contended that from October 2011 to February 2012, plaintiff failed to make a single sale.

Result

The arbitrator granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on all causes of action.

Other Information

The parties mediated with Gig Kyriacou but failed to reach an agreement.