Vincent F. Shutt v. Sandoz Crop Protection Corporation, a New York Corporation Zoecon Corporation, a Delaware Corporation

Vincent P. Shutt, a citizen of the state of Washington, brought suit against Sandoz Crop Protection Corporation (Sandoz), a New York corporation, and-Zoecon Corporation (Zoecon), a Delaware corporation, alleging that he had been discharged by the defendants in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634 , and the Washington law against discrimination, Wash.Rev.Code Ann. § 49.60 et seq. After a bench trial judgment was given for Shutt. We reverse.

PACTS

Shutt was born on April 3, 1930. He went to work for the Crop Protection Division of Sandoz in January 1980 as a salesman of agricultural chemicals. His territory included Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. In 1984 Sandoz acquired Zoecon, and Shutt was then employed by the Crop Protection Division of Zoecon.

Throughout the period of employment by Sandoz and Zoecon Shutt’s performance appraisals indicated that his work was satisfactory. For the first six months of 1986 his sales of the various pesticides for which he was responsible were in excess of the budget assigned to him for his territory.

In the spring of 1986 Sandoz bought the agribusiness of Velsicol Chemical Corporation.…