Perkins
Perkins v. National Express Corp.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Cousins, J.
SUMMARY JUDGMENT ORDER
Re: Dkt. No.
Defendants National Express Corporation, Durham School Services, L.P., and Petermann Ltd. (collectively “Durham”) and Kirk Tostenrude move for summary judgment on plaintiff Jimmy Perkins’ claims for racial discrimination, hostile work environment, breach of contract, invasion of privacy, violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law, and wrongful termination. Perkins’ action stems from a drug test that Durham required Perkins to take on November 13, 2012, in accordance with the company’s policy of randomly drug testing its employees.
Perkins, who is African American, claims that Durham selected him for drug testing multiple times within a nine-month period and subsequently terminated him because of his race. Because there are triable issues of material fact, the Court DENIES defendants’ motion as to the race-discrimination claims. Specifically, a reasonable jury could find from the context that the term “player’s” or “pimpmo-bile” uttered to Perkins by a Durham manager carries discriminatory meaning on the basis of race. Moreover, Perkins presents evidence that Durham left a similarly-situated white employee off of the drug-testing…