Elmore v. Capstan

SEYMOUR, Chief Judge, SETH, Circuit Judge, and KANE, Senior District Judge.1 Plaintiff employee, an African-American, initiated this Title VII action against his employer claiming his discharge for violating a work rule was the result of intentional discrimination based on race. The employee alleged disparate treatment, contending defendant disciplined non-minority employees more leniently for similar conduct. After a two-day bench trial, the district court found that while the employee had established a prima facie case of disparate treatment, he had not established this treatment was the result of intentional discrimination based on race. The district court entered judgment in favor of the employer, and the employee appealed.