Hudson v. Case Farms of NC Inc

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 98-2542 ROY C. HUDSON, Plaintiff - Appellant, MARK K. HUDSON, Party in Interest, versus CASE FARMS OF NORTH CAROLINA, INCORPORATED, Defendant - Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Shelby. Lacy H. Thornburg, District Judge. (CA-97-247-4) Submitted: April 20, 1999 Decided: August 6, 1999 Before MURNAGHAN, NIEMEYER, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Phyllis A. Palmieri, Morganton, North Carolina, for Appellant. Terry A. Clark, Harley H. Jones, EDWARDS, BALLARD, CLARK, BARRETT & CARLSON, P.A., Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Appellant Roy C. Hudson appeals from the district court order granting summary judgment in favor of his former employer, Case Farms of North Carolina, Inc. (“Case”), in his employment discrim- ination action filed under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C.A. §§ 621-634 (West Supp. 1999). Finding no error, we affirm. Even assuming that Hudson could make out a prima facie case of age discrimination, Hudson fails to rebut Case’s legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for declining to allow him to remain Assistant Hatchery Manager. See O’Connor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corp., 517 U.S. 308, 310-13 (1996); Vaughan v. MetraHealth Cos., 145 F.3d 197, 200-02 (4th Cir. 1998). Hudson’s state law claim of employment discrimination was likewise properly dismissed. See Henson v. Liggett Group, Inc., 61 F.3d 270, 277 (4th Cir. 1995). We affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment. Because the facts and legal contentions are adequately set forth in the materials before the court and argument will not aid the deci- sional process, we grant Case’s motion to submit the case on the briefs. AFFIRMED 2