George Smith vs Integrated Community Oncology Network, LLC , 428 F. App'x 886 ( 2011 )

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________ FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-14224 ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
Non-Argument Calendar MAY 31, 2011
________________________ JOHN LEY
CLERK
D.C. Docket No. 3:08-cv-01196-HLA-MCR
GEORGE SMITH,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
INTEGRATED COMMUNITY ONCOLOGY NETWORK, LLC,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendant-Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
________________________
(May 31, 2011)
Before EDMONDSON, MARCUS and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
George Smith, who is over the age of 50, appeals the district court’s grant of
summary judgment in favor of Integrated Community Oncology Network (“ICON”)
in his employment discrimination action under the Age Discrimination in
Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 623(a)(1). Smith argues that the district
court erred in granting ICON’s motion for summary judgment because he made out
a prima facie case of age discrimination and because he showed that ICON’s
articulated reasons for discharging him were a pretext for discrimination. After
thorough review, we affirm.
“We review de novo a district court’s grant of summary judgment, applying the
same legal standards as the district court.” Chapman v. AI Transport, 229 F.3d 1012,
1023 (11th Cir. 2000) (en banc). “[S]ummary judgment is appropriate if the evidence
before the court shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact.” Id.(quotation omitted). In making this determination, we “make all reasonable
inferences in favor of the” nonmoving party. Id. (quotation omitted). “[W]e may
affirm the district court on any ground that appears in the record, whether or not that
ground was relied upon or even considered by the court below.” Rowell v. BellSouth
Corp., 433 F.3d 794, 797-98 (11th Cir. 2005) (quotation omitted).
A plaintiff can establish a prima facie case of age discrimination by showing
“that he (1) was a member of the protected age group, (2) was subject to adverse
employment action, (3) was qualified to do the job, and (4) was replaced by a younger
individual.” Benson v. Tocco, Inc., 113 F.3d 1203, 1207-08 (11th Cir. 1997) (citation
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omitted). However, where the plaintiff’s position was eliminated, he can prove a
prima facie case
(1) by demonstrating that he was in a protected age group and was
discharged, (2) by showing that he was qualified for another position at
the time of discharge, and (3) by producing circumstantial or direct
evidence by which a factfinder might reasonably conclude that the
employer intended to discriminate on the basis of age in reaching the
decision not to place him in that other position.
Mitchell v. Worldwide Underwriters Ins. Co., 967 F.2d 565, 567-68 (11th Cir. 1992).
If a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case of discrimination, and the defendant
“articulate[s] a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the” discharge, the plaintiff
must produce sufficient evidence, including evidence it proffered to establish its
prima facie case, “to permit a reasonable factfinder to conclude that the reasons given
by the employer were not the real reasons for the” discharge. Chapman, 229 F.3d at
1024 (quotation omitted). “A plaintiff is not allowed to recast an employer’s
proffered nondiscriminatory reasons or substitute his business judgment for that of
the employer.” Id. at 1030. Rather, the plaintiff must show “such weaknesses,
implausibilities, inconsistencies, incoherencies, or contradictions in the employer’s
proffered legitimate reasons . . . that a reasonable factfinder could find them unworthy
of credence.” Combs v. Plantation Patterns, 106 F.3d 1519, 1538 (11th Cir. 1997)
(quotation omitted).
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Here, Smith did not establish a prima facie case of age discrimination under
Benson or under Mitchell. The record shows that Daniel Taylor, the employee Smith
alleged replaced him, had distinct job duties from Smith -- specifically, while Smith
did have some experience working with an electronic medical records (“EMR”)
system, he provided no evidence to dispute the testimony that this experience
consisted only of producing desktop shortcuts to the EMR’s website, whereas
Taylor’s job, on the other hand, consisted of implementing the EMR, including
setting up the Citrix server for the EMR. Therefore, Smith was not “replaced by a
younger individual.” Benson, 113 F.3d at 1208. Furthermore, Smith was not
qualified for an available position at ICON when he was discharged. See Mitchell,
967 F.2d at 567.
However, assuming arguendo that Smith had established a prima facie case of
discrimination, he still did not show that ICON’s articulated reasons for discharging
him -- that he did not have the skills necessary to implement an electronic medical
records system and that ICON’s Board of Directors would not approve hiring an
additional employee to implement that system -- were pretext for age discrimination.
As the record shows, Taylor did not lack the experience ICON claimed was necessary
for the EMR position, the evidence supported ICON’s good faith belief that Taylor
was in fact more qualified for the EMR position than Smith, and Smith offered no
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evidence to show how the subsequent hiring of additional employees related to his
own discharge. Accordingly, we affirm.
AFFIRMED.
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