Opinion ID: 482051
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Yartzoff's Evidence of the EPA's Pretext

Text: 28 If the defendant carries the burden of satisfactorily articulating a legitimate, nonretaliatory reason at trial, the legally mandatory inference of retaliatory discrimination arising from the plaintiff's prima facie case drops away. See Burdine, 450 U.S. at 255 & n. 10, 101 S.Ct. at 1095 & n. 10. The burden of production shifts back to the plaintiff to show that the alleged explanation is a pretext for impermissible retaliation. This burden thus merges with the plaintiff's ultimate burden of persuading the court that he is the victim of retaliation. See id. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095. The plaintiff may succeed either directly by persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely motivated the employer or indirectly by showing that the employer's proffered explanation is unworthy of credence. Id. Evidence already introduced to establish the prima facie case may be considered, and [i]ndeed, there may be some cases where the plaintiff's initial evidence, combined with effective cross-examination of the defendant, will suffice to discredit the defendant's explanation. Id. at 255 n. 10, 101 S.Ct. at 1095 n. 10; accord Miller, 797 F.2d at 732; Williams, 792 F.2d at 1486; Lowe, 775 F.2d at 1008. Accordingly, this court has observed that a grant of summary judgment, though appropriate when evidence of discriminatory intent is totally lacking, is generally unsuitable in Title VII cases in which the plaintiff has established a prima facie case because of the  'elusive factual question'  of intentional discrimination. Miller, 797 F.2d at 732-33 (quoting Burdine, 450 U.S. at 255 n. 8, 101 S.Ct. at 1094 n. 8); Lowe, 775 F.2d at 1009, as amended, 784 F.2d at 1407; see Schuler v. Chronicle Broadcasting Co., 793 F.2d 1010, 1011-12 (9th Cir.1986); Steckl v. Motorola, Inc., 703 F.2d 392, 393 (9th Cir.1983). 29 In this case, we need not rely solely on the evidence presented in support of the prima facie case because other evidence also tends to show the existence of a genuine issue as to whether the proffered explanations are pretextual. In particular, Yartzoff introduced evidence that for years prior to the filing of his complaints, he had always received performance ratings of average and above average on all employment indices. Following the filing of his administrative complaints and his April 1980 meeting with his supervisor to discuss his Title VII grievances, however, he received a sub-average rating for cooperativeness for the first time. Although the EPA introduced affidavits of co-workers attesting to Yartzoff's alleged uncooperative behavior, Yartzoff should be afforded an opportunity to cross-examine these individuals and allow the factfinder to weigh the evidence to determine whether the allegations of uncooperativeness were justified. See Burdine, 450 U.S. at 255 n. 10, 101 S.Ct. at 1095 n. 10. 30 Furthermore, evidence in the record raises questions about whether Yartzoff's supervisors harassed and closely watched him during the period in question. If proven at trial, such incidents would bear on the pretext issue. See B. Schlei & P. Grossman, supra, at 559 (2d ed. 1983) (noting that surveillance strongly suggests the possibility of a search for a pretextual basis for discipline, which in turn suggests that subsequent discipline was for purposes of retaliation). Finally, we believe that the fact that Yartzoff experienced not one, but a series of adverse employment decisions during a two-year period is itself probative of pretext and thus of the elusive factual question of intentional discrimination on the individual counts. Therefore, summary judgment on these counts was inappropriate. 31 Our holding that summary judgment was inappropriate on some of the retaliation claims, however, should not embolden Yartzoff in his hopes of ultimately succeeding at trial. In the face of strong evidence presented by the EPA showing legitimate reasons for its actions, Yartzoff's evidence appears weak. His claims taken as a whole contain many indicia of spuriousness, and he should be cautioned by the costs of litigation. If his proof fails to sustain the claim of retaliatory employment practices, he may well suffer judgment for defense costs and attorneys' fees. The trier of fact could find that the case was brought in bad faith to harass the defendant.