Peter Odima v. Westin Tucson Hotel, a Delaware Corporation, AKA Westin Hotels

We revisit a Title VII employment discrimination case which comes back to us after remand for further findings surrounding the plaintiff’s six attempts to transfer out of a hotel laundry and into the hotel’s accounting department.

I

Odima is a Nigerian-born black man who was employed in the laundry at the Westin La Paloma Resort in Tucson, Arizona. After six unsuccessful attempts to transfer out of the laundry, Odima filed suit claiming that Westin had discriminated against him on the basis of race and nationality in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 , Title VII, and Arizona law. After a two-and-one-half day bench trial, the district court entered judgment in favor of Odima on his Title VII and section 1981 claims. The district court entered judgment in favor of Westin on Odima’s claims for wrongful termination, constructive discharge, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Odima v. Westin Tucson Hotel, No. CV-89-360-TUC-WCB (DAriz. Mar. 29, 1991) (“Odima I”).

Westin appealed, and we reversed and remanded. In Odima v. Westin Tucson Hotel Co., 991 F.2d 595 (9th Cir.1993) (“Odima II ”), we held that the district court improperly concluded that because one of…