# 00313146, Michael Chapman v. Safeway Inc. et al., filed 2/15/08

Defendant’s Attorney: Bren K. Thomas

Verdict: Defense                                        Dept. 41: Hon. Frederick H. Bysshe

Plaintiff began working as an at-will employee for Defendant supermarket in 1974, eventually becoming a store manager in 2004.  In 2006, Plaintiff took a position as a food clerk, and alleged that he was given an ultimatum of stepping down as a manager or termination.  Plaintiff claimed age discrimination, alleging  a corporate practice of phasing out more experienced and highly compensated managers with younger, less qualified, lower paid managers for purposes of saving money.  Defendant maintained that Plaintiff voluntarily stepped down from store manager to food clerk at a time when he was going through a marital separation and experiencing personal problems.  Also, at the time Plaintiff stepped down he was receiving poor performance reviews, which called upon Plaintiff to draft his own action plan for improvement.   Defendant denied age discrimination, showing that Plaintiff was replaced by a manager only 6 years younger.  Trial court had granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment and summary adjudication, but that decision was reversed on appeal.  Jury returned a defense verdict at trial.  Plaintiff’s motion for new trial and judgment notwithstanding the verdict were both denied. Court awarded Defendant costs of $25,447.91.

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