Robert Y. MORITA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PERMA-NENTE MEDICAL GROUP, Defendant-Appellee

This action was brought by Morita against Southern California Permanente Medical Group [hereinafter referred to as Permanente] under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5. Morita alleged that by denying him promotion, Permanente had discriminated against him because of his race (Oriental). At trial, the district judge, sitting without a jury, granted Permanente’s motion for dismissal pursuant to Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the grounds that, upon the facts and the law, Morita failed to show a right to relief.

The relevant facts follow. Defendant Permanente is a partnership of physicians providing medical service to the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. One of the services provided by defendants is the taking, processing, and interpreting of X-rays. These X-rays are generally taken by non-physician employees of defendant who are employed as X-ray technicians. X-ray technicians employed by defendant are classified into three categories, only two of which are relevant here. The first of these is the group designated as staff X-ray technicians who perform routine X-ray examinations, have…