Opinion ID: 782811
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: conclusion

Text: 152 At this juncture in this litigation ordeal, I vote to affirm the district court across the board. I cannot imagine what would have happened to Chevron under these circumstances had Mr. Saner hired this applicant against the recommendation of his own and Chevron's doctors and the applicant's condition had then deteriorated — or then again, maybe I can. I would hope that the law is not a heads-I-win, tails-you-lose game. The purpose of summary judgment is to put an early end to lawsuits not supported by facts. That should be the fate of this one. Instead, the remand is for a trial where the issue will involve conflicting medical opinions regarding hepatotoxins, or a battle of experts, rather than what it should be: whether or not Chevron unlawfully discriminated against this plaintiff. 153 Thus, I respectfully dissent. Notes: 1 Black & Decker declined to apply to ERISA the rule adopted by the Commissioner of Social Security that accords special weight to a claimant's treating physician. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1527(d)(2), 416.927(d)(2) (2002). Here, this issue is not a question of rules or of deference, but of the facts of a case where the issue is the employer's behavior.