Bryan Smith v. Centex Homes Realty Company

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff Bryan Smith appeals the grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant Centex Homes Realty Company in this employment-related diversity case.

We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment. Dietrich v. John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 548 F.3d 892, 896 (9th Cir.2008). Here we must determine, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, whether there are any genuine issues of material fact and whether the district court correctly applied the relevant substantive law. Id.

1. With regard to Plaintiffs sex discrimination claim, we apply the burden-shifting analysis set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-04 , 93 S.Ct. 1817 , 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Snead v. Metro. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 237 F.3d 1080, 1093-94 (9th Cir.2001). Under that framework, the plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case of employment discrimination, before the burden shifts to the employer “to articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the employee’s [termination].” McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802 , 93 S.Ct. 1817 .

The record fails to establish a prima facie case for sex discrimination because similarly situated…