Rogers v. CoolSystems CA2/2

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff served as CoolSystems’s vice president of sales from January 2011 until he was laid off in June 2012. He was 57 years old when he started working, and 58 when let go. CoolSystems makes cold compresses, and sells them to athletes, orthopedic doctors, and veterinarians. Plaintiff oversaw the domestic sales force, and made $220,000 per year plus commissions. During his tenure, sales increased 12 to 14 percent each year, and plaintiff received a positive performance review in March 2012 from the CEO who originally hired him. In 2012, CoolSystems had a cash flow problem. CoolSystems first recognized the problem in January 2012, and predicted a cash shortage during the upcoming summer. CoolSystems’s CEO retired in March 2012, and was replaced by Craig Grabell (Grabell). Grabell urged CoolSystems’s sales force to increase sales in late April 2012, citing the looming cash flow shortage. On June 8, 2012, Grabell emailed CoolSystems’s executive team, entreating them to “watch cash very carefully” and warning that he “may be forced to make other head count cuts” (that is, to make further layoffs). Approximately two weeks later, on June 18, 2012,…