Opinion

Vidya Sagar v. Oracle Corporation

  • 523 F. App'x 999
Court
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Filed
May 2, 2013
Status
Unpublished
On the bench
King, Shedd, Hamilton
Cited by
2 cases
Authority
More cited than 45.0%

The opinion

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 12-2380

VIDYA SAGAR,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

ORACLE CORPORATION,

Defendant - Appellee.

No. 12-2487

VIDYA SAGAR,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v.

ORACLE CORPORATION,

Defendant - Appellee.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District

of Maryland, at Greenbelt. Peter J. Messitte, Senior District

Judge. (8:10-cv-03510-PJM)

Submitted: April 23, 2013 Decided: May 2, 2013

Before KING and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior

Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Vidya Sagar, Appellant Pro Se. Edward Lee Isler, Lori Hunt

Turner, ISLER, DARE, RAY, RADCLIFFE & CONNOLLY, PC, Vienna,

Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

2

PER CURIAM:

Vidya Sagar filed a civil action against his former

employer, Oracle Corporation (“Oracle”), alleging wrongful

termination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment

Act of 1967, as amended, 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 621-34 (West 2008 &

Supp. 2012) (“ADEA”). In these consolidated appeals, Sagar

appeals the district court’s orders denying his “Motion to

Challenge Routine Designation of Confidential” and “Corrected

Motion to Challenge Routine Designation of Confidential.” Sagar

also appeals the district court’s order granting summary

judgment in favor of Oracle and denying his cross-motion for

summary judgment. We affirm.

In appeal 12-2380, Sagar challenges the district

court’s denial of his motion and corrected motion to “Challenge

Routine Designation of Confidential.” ∗ This court gives district

courts “wide latitude in controlling discovery” and will not

disturb discovery orders “absent a showing of clear abuse of

∗

Sagar also challenges the magistrate judge’s denial of his

motion for reconsideration of the denial of his motion to compel

discovery. Sagar’s notice of appeal, however, failed to

designate the magistrate judge’s order denying his motion for

reconsideration as an order for which he sought review, as

required by Fed. R. App. P. 3(c)(1). Moreover, because it does

not appear from the record that the parties consented to the

exercise of jurisdiction by the magistrate judge, and Sagar did

not appeal the magistrate judge’s order to the district court,

the magistrate judge’s order is not subject to appellate review

in this court.

3

discretion.” Rowland v. Am. Gen. Fin., Inc., 340 F.3d 187, 195

(4th Cir. 2003) (internal quotation marks omitted). Because

Sagar does not assert that he has been unable to access Oracle’s

records or demonstrate that the documents at issue are not

sensitive in nature, he fails to establish that the district

court abused its discretion in refusing to grant his motions.

Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s denial of Sagar’s

motions.

This Court reviews a district court’s grant of summary

judgment de novo, viewing the facts and drawing reasonable

inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.

PBM Prods., LLC v. Mead Johnson & Co., 639 F.3d 111, 119 (4th

Cir. 2011). Summary judgment is proper “if the movant shows

that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the

movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.

Civ. P. 56(a). “Only disputes over facts that might affect the

outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly

preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson v. Liberty

Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). To withstand a motion

for summary judgment, the non-moving party must produce

competent evidence to reveal the existence of a genuine issue of

material fact for trial. See Thompson v. Potomac Elec. Power

Co., 312 F.3d 645, 649 (4th Cir. 2002) (“Conclusory or

speculative allegations do not suffice, nor does a mere

4

scintilla of evidence in support of [the non-moving party’s]

case.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).

The ADEA forbids “an employer . . . to discharge any

individual or otherwise discriminate against any individual with

respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such individual’s age.” 29 U.S.C.

§ 623(a) (2006). Absent direct evidence of intentional

discrimination, this Court analyzes ADEA claims under the

burden-shifting framework established for Title VII claims in

McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973). Warch v.

Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., 435 F.3d 510, 513-14 (4th Cir. 2006). Under

this framework, Sagar must first establish a prima facie case of

age discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. at

513. To establish a prima facie case of discrimination, Sagar

must demonstrate that: “(1) he is a member of the protected

class; (2) he was qualified for the job and met [Oracle]’s

legitimate expectations; (3) he was discharged despite his

qualifications and performance; and (4) following his discharge,

he was replaced by a substantially younger individual with

comparable qualifications.” Id.

If a prima facie case is established, the burden

shifts to Oracle to demonstrate “a legitimate, non-

discriminatory reason” for Sagar’s termination. Warch, 435 F.3d

at 513-14. If Oracle meets this burden, “the presumption of

5

discrimination created by the prima facie case disappears from

the case and the plaintiff must prove that the proffered

justification is pretextual.” Id. at 514 (internal quotation

marks omitted).

After review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we

conclude that the district court did not err in granting summary

judgment to Oracle. Sagar’s claims fail at the prima facie

stage because he does not offer any evidence from which a

factfinder could conclude that, at the time of his discharge, he

was meeting Oracle’s legitimate expectations. Sagar also fails

to establish that, following his discharge, he was replaced by a

substantially younger individual with comparable qualifications.

Further, even assuming, as the district court did, that Sagar

made a prima facie showing, he fails to establish that Oracle’s

legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for discharging him were a

pretext for intentional discrimination. Accordingly, we affirm

the district court’s judgment.

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and

legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials

before this court and argument would not aid the decisional

process.

AFFIRMED

6

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.