Cramer v. NEC Corporation of America

Albert Cramer (plaintiff) had 20 years of management experience before he began managing 7-Eleven, Inc.’s technical support. As an independent contractor, Cramer contracted directly with 7-Eleven for approximately 10 years before 7-Eleven decided to outsource its technical-support needs to NEC Corporation of America (NEC) (defendant). NEC’s project manager had worked with Cramer while Cramer had worked for 7-Eleven. The project manager had also worked with a 27-year-old vendor (the vendor) who had supplied services to 7-Eleven under Cramer’s management. NEC ultimately passed over the 64-year-old Cramer and decided to hire the vendor to manage 7-Eleven’s new, outsourced support center. Cramer sued, claiming that NEC had discriminated against him based on his age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). NEC moved for summary judgment, claiming that it (1) had hired the vendor because he was qualified and (2) had not hired Cramer because, based on NEC’s project manager’s prior experiences with Cramer, NEC believed that Cramer had an aggressive management style and relied heavily on outside vendors for troubleshooting technical issues, which was not how NEC wanted the new center managed. In response, Cramer argued that NEC’s reason was a pretext for age discrimination because Cramer was more qualified than the vendor. Cramer submitted evidence that he had (1) different and more extensive technical credentials than the vendor; (2) more extensive management experience than the vendor; and (3) specific experience managing 7-Eleven’s needs, which the vendor lacked. The district court granted summary judgment to NEC, and Cramer appealed.