Nigro v. Sears: District Court Erred in Disregarding Plaintiff's Self-Serving Testimony on Summary Judgment

In Nigro v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., ___F.3d ___ (9th Cir. 2/25/15), the plaintiff sued the defendant, Sears, for disability discrimination under the FEHA and wrongful termination. The district court granted Sears's motion for summary judgment, and Nigro appealed.

The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that Nigro's deposition and declaration testimony, while self-serving, stated more than mere conclusions, and the district court should not have disregarded them.

Here, Nigro's declaration and deposition testimony, albeit uncorroborated and self-serving, were sufficient to establish a genuine dispute of material fact on Sears's discriminatory animus. He related statements made to him both in person and over the telephone. His testimony was based on personal knowledge, legally relevant, and internally consistent. We conclude that the district court erred in disregarding Nigro's testimony in granting Sears's motion for summary judgment.

The opinion is available here.