Aluru v. Anesthesia Consultants, P.C. — Mar. 2016 (Summary)

DISCRIMINATION/RACIAL

Aluru v. Anesthesia Consultants, P.C.
Civil Action No. 13-CV-02939-MSK-NYW (D. Colo. Mar. 31, 2016)

The United States District Court for the District of Colorado granted summary judgment in part and dismissed the remaining claims made by a physician who alleged employment discrimination based on religion, race, gender, and age, as well as various other claims related to conditions of her employment and ultimate termination. The physician is of East Indian descent and is a licensed anesthesiologist. The physician experienced some “performance deficiencies,” and when the group lost a major hospital contract she was terminated in an effort to downsize due to lost revenues. The court reasoned that the physician failed to meet her burden to show that the group’s explanation that she was terminated based on her performance was a pretext for racial discrimination. Also, the physician failed to make a “causal connection” strong enough to demonstrate a prima facie case for her retaliation claims.