From our private database of 36,900+ case briefs...

Nichols v. Azteca Restaurant Enterprises, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

256 F.3d 864 (2001)

Facts

Antonio Sanchez (plaintiff) worked at a chain restaurant owned by Azteca Enterprises, Inc. (Azteca) (defendant) from October 1991 to July 1995. Sanchez was mocked by his male coworkers for being effeminate and not masculine. The male coworkers referred to Sanchez as “she” and “her,” said he carried a serving tray “like a woman,” and called him a “faggot” and “fucking female whore.” This verbal abuse occurred at least once a week and often several times a day. Sanchez reported the behavior to Azteca’s human-resources director, Arnie Serna, alleging that he had complained to the general manager many times and feared the harassment would continue to be ignored. A few months later, Sanchez got into a heated argument with an assistant manager. Sanchez walked off the job and was fired for leaving in the middle of his shift. Sanchez filed a lawsuit in a federal district court, alleging that he was subject to verbal harassment by male coworkers and a supervisor for being effeminate and not meeting the male stereotype and that Azteca retaliated against him by terminating him. The district court ruled for Azteca, concluding that there was no hostile work environment and that the alleged harassment did not occur because of sex. Sanchez appealed.

Rule of Law

The rule of law is the black letter law upon which the court rested its decision. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Issue

The issue section includes the dispositive legal issue in the case phrased as a question. To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

Holding and Reasoning (Gould, J.)

The holding and reasoning section includes:

A "yes" or "no" answer to the question framed in the issue section;
A summary of the majority or plurality opinion, using the CREAC method; and
The procedural disposition (e.g., reversed and remanded, affirmed, etc.).

To access this section, please start your free trial or log in.

What to do next…

Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.
You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 629,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.
Unlock this case brief Read our student testimonials
Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.
Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.
Learn about our approach Read more about Quimbee

Here's why 629,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 36,900 briefs, keyed to 984 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Here's why 629,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
36,900 briefs - keyed to 984 casebooks
Uniform format for every case brief
Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
Top-notch customer support