Turney v. Hyundai Construction Equipment USA Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff-Appellant Dennis L. Turney (“Turney”) appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants-Appellees on his claims of national origin discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., as amended, and age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621 , et seq. We affirm.

Turney alleges he was terminated from his position at Hyundai Construction Equipment USA, Inc. (“HCE”) because of his age and because he is a non-Korean Caucasian American. HCE claims it terminated Turney for performance-related problems, a “legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason” for the adverse employment action. Nidds v. Schindler Elevator Corp., 113 F.3d 912, 916-17 (9th Cir.1996).

Even though he is Caucasian, Turney belongs to a protected class for purposes of his national origin discrimination claim because “Title VII applies to any racial group, whether minority or majority.” Aragon v. Republic Silver State Disposal, Inc., 292 F.3d 654, 659 (9th Cir.2002). Nevertheless, Turney’s national origin discrimination claim fails because Tur-ney has not produced…