Gratch

MEMORANDUM ****

Dr. Avrum R. Gratch, M.D. (Dr. Gratch) appeals the adverse summary judgment grant in favor of the Veteran’s Administration (VA), arguing that there exists a genuine issue of material fact as to whether he was fired because of his age.

Although Dr. Gratch may have been able to establish a prima facie case of age discrimination, the VA provided a legitimate reason for his termination from a position that (as he acknowledged at his hiring) was both part-time and temporary: The salary for his position was needed to fund a full-time position for Dr. Nicholas Giori, a doctor with exceptional qualifications (including a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, research contributions to the fields of biomechanics and mechanical engineering, and a Mayo Clinic fellowship). Even if we were to somehow ignore the differences between a part-time and full-time position, selecting a candidate with superior qualifications is a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for termination. See Nidds v. Schindler Elevator Corp., 113 F.3d 912, 918 (9th Cir.1996).

Dr. Gratch cannot show that this legitimate reason is a pretext for age discrimination, particularly in light of the “strong inference”…