Dorothy W. SUMNER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SAN DIEGO URBAN LEAGUE, INC., Defendant-Appellee

Dorothy Sumner filed this employment discrimination action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. claiming that she was terminated from her position as Director of Programs for the San Diego Urban League on account of her sex. Following a brief trial, the district court entered judgment for the defendant Urban League. In summary Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the court made a single eonclusory finding as the sole explanation of its decision. It found that plaintiff had “failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that she was discriminated against and terminated by reason of her sex.” We hold that the findings of the district court are insufficient to enable us to understand the basis for its decision under McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 , 93 S.Ct. 1817 , 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), and Texas Dep’t of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248 , 101 S.Ct. 1089 , 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981), and we remand for further findings.

In McDonnell Douglas and Burdine , the Supreme Court established the basic allocation of burdens and order of presentation of proof in cases involving alleged discriminatory treatment under Title VII. The Court set forth the now…