Williams v. United Airlines, Inc.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
CLARENCE WILLIAMS, Plaintiff, No. C 19-02988 WHA
v.
UNITED AIRLINES, INC.,
ORDER DENYING MOTION
Defendant. FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
18 In this case for race discrimination and retaliation brought by an African American pilot against United Airlines, United moves for summary judgment. Our plaintiff is Clarence Williams. He has flown as a commercial airline pilot for over twenty years, including eleven for United. He was eventually promoted to fleet technical manager (FTM). In 2017, he was forced to choose between a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and a demotion to pilot. When he chose neither, he was demoted back to pilot (Williams Decl. ¶¶ 22–26, Williams Exh. 9 at 3). Evidence of discrimination may be circumstantial or direct. See Wallis v. J.R. Simplot Co., 26 F.3d 885, 889 (9th Cir. 1994), as amended on denial of reh'g (July 14, 1994). A plaintiff may establish a prima facie case of disparate treatment by…