Robert Diederich v. Providence Health & Services

MEMORANDUM

Dr. Robert Diederich appeals from the district court’s orders granting summary judgment on his retaliation claim, limiting the potential damages on his breach of contract claim, and dismissing his wrongful termination and tortious interference claims against his former residency program at Providence Hospital. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse in part the district court’s summary judgment order on Diederich’s state retaliation claim, dismiss Diederich’s contract-damages appeal as moot, and affirm the district court’s dismissal of Diederich’s wrongful termination and tortious interference claims.

1. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Diederich, see Green v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, 751 F.3d 1039, 1045 (9th Cir.2014), we conclude that Diederich presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie claim that Providence retaliated against him based on his lawsuit against his former employer and residency program director. Sometime in December 2007, the director of Providence’s family practice residency program told Diederich, “I learned all about you,” and sometime shortly after that, he told Diederich, “I spoke with Sam…