Dulin v. Board of Commissioners of Greenwood Leflore Hospital

657 F.3d 251, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 19121, 94 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 44,300, 113 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 524, 2011 WL 4090850

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: September 15, 2011
• Docket: 10-60095
• Status: Published

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

ON PETITION FOR REHEARING

The petition for rehearing is GRANTED. We WITHDRAW our earlier opinion, Dulin v. Board of Commissioners of Greenwood Leflore Hospital, 646 F.3d 232 (5th Cir.2011), in its entirety, and substitute the following:

We have reconsidered our opinion in the light of the Supreme Court’s holding in Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 148, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000) that a “plaintiffs prima facie case [of discrimination], combined with sufficient evidence to find that the employer’s asserted justification [for termination] is false, may permit the trier of fact to conclude that the employer unlawfully discriminated.” Upon reconsideration, we now conclude that there is a triable issue of fact that requires a jury to decide fact and credibility issues. See id. at 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097 (“Credibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge.” (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)) (internal quo tation marks omitted)). We hold that the district court reversibly erred in granting judgment as a matter of law under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a) to the Board of Commissioners on Dulin’s claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Consequently, the judgment of the district court is VACATED, and the case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this order.