Court Opinion

ID: 9437701
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 04:34:54.594079+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:24:53.297384
License: Public Domain

HARTZ, Circuit Judge,
concurring, joined by TYMKOVICH, Circuit Judge.
I join Judge Ebel’s opinion. I continue to believe that we should not apply the framework of McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), to review a summary judgment when the existence of a prima facie case is not disputed. See Wells v. Colo. Dept. of Transp., 325 F.3d 1205, 1221-28 (10th Cir.2003) (Hartz, J., concurring). Applying that framework is inconsistent with Supreme Court authority, adds unnecessary complexity to the analysis, and is too likely to cause us to reach a result contrary to what we would decide if we focused on “the ultimate question of discrimination vel non.” U.S. Postal Serv. Bd. of Governors v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 714, 103 S.Ct. 1478, 75 L.Ed.2d 403 (1983). Neither party, however, has suggested that we not apply the McDonnell Douglas framework, so this is not the appropriate case to address the issue.