Facts

Jowhar Alsabur filed an employment related lawsuit against AutoZone Inc.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff is African-American and was hired by defendant in 2005 and was promoted to Store Manager in 2007. Plaintiff alleged that in December 2007, he was transferred to a store that was inefficient and unprofitable. Plaintiff alleged that he complained to his managers that he was not receiving adequate support at the store. Plaintiff contended that in April 2010, James Sechler, a white male, was hired as district manager and began excluding plaintiff from processes that prevented him from running an efficient and profitable store. Plaintiff further alleged that he was injured while working and was told by Sechler that he did not need to clock out in order to seek medical treatment for his work-related injury. Plaintiff contended that he was terminated for not adjusting his time after attending a doctor's appointment during work hours.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant argued that plaintiff could not establish a discrimination claim because he was not performing his job satisfactorily and he was not replaced by someone outside of his protected class with equal or lesser qualifications. Defendant argued that plaintiff's termination was the result of his submitting false time records and plaintiff admitted that he forgot to clock out. Defendants also argued that plaintiff received numerous warnings regarding his unsatisfactory work performance.

Result

The court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment. The court found, in part, that it was undisputed that plaintiff was not performing his job satisfactorily. The court also found that plaintiff failed to produce any evidence that he was replaced by someone outside his protected class with equal or lesser qualification, because all individuals who replaced plaintiff were already store managers.

Other Information

FILING DATE: April 18, 2013.