William Rose, Jr. Orie Reed v. Wells Fargo & Company
Opinion
Opinion
Leavy, J.
William Rose, Jr. and Orie Reed bring this action against their employer, Wells Fargo & Company (Wells Fargo), alleging they were discharged on the basis of age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634 (West 1985 & Supp.1990), and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, Cal. Gov’t Code § 12941 (West Supp.1990). The plaintiffs also allege a state law claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Rose and Reed appeal from the district court’s orders granting summary judgment in favor of Wells Fargo. We affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
In February 1986, Wells Fargo purchased Crocker National Bank from Midland Bank and announced its plan to merge Crocker’s banking operations with its own. The consolidated banking entity was to be known as Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The proposed merger was the largest of its kind in history, affecting 15,000 Wells Fargo employees and 13,000 Crocker employees.
Following the merger announcement, Wells Fargo set about combining the two enterprises. Because Wells Fargo and Crocker were comparable in size and offered essentially the same types of banking services within the…