Michael Curley v. City of North Las Vegas

Michael Curley appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of North Las Vegas on his claims alleging discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). First, we consider whether a doctor’s finding that Curley did not pose a safety threat belies one of the City’s stated reasons for firing him — his long history of threatening coworkers. Second, we consider whether the City’s prior leniency toward Curley’s misconduct provides reason to doubt that the City fired him partly because of that misconduct. We conclude that neither provides a basis for finding the City’s explanations pretextual, so we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment.

I. Background

Michael Curley was an employee of the City of North Las Vegas from 1996 until 2009. In 2005, Curley became a pretreatment inspector — a position that primarily entailed cleaning sewers and preventing sewer blockages.

Curley received many oral and written reprimands during his employment with the City. His disciplinary record reflects that, over the course of several years, Curley had numerous verbal altercations with coworkers, made…