STATEMENT OF FACTS
The plaintiff, Adrianna Estrada (“Estrada”) filed a complaint against the defendant, Wide Open Spaces Entertainment (“Open Spaces”) who own and operate (“The Continental”), an Austin, Texas Nightclub where Estrada used to be employed. Estrada claims that Rand E. Travis (“Travis”), manager of The Continental, discharged her in retaliation to a workers’ compensation claim.
Estrada, a resident of Austin, makes a living singing and performing for local audiences. Specifically specializing in the sights, sounds, and styles of Carrie Underwood. Estrada takes pride in not only providing a nearly identical audible representation of the famed country great, but accentuates her striking resemblance by dawning Underwood’s essential …show more content…
Echostar, 394 S.W.3d at 291; Willis, 282 S.W.3d at 549. In Echostar, the court permitted an employee’s testimony claiming that he never saw an employee work post injury, stating they were “in the shop or gone.” 394 S.W.3d at 291. This testimony was allowed because his it offered relevant evidence without in turn offering unsupported factual or legal conclusions. Id.. In Willis, the court dismissed witness testimony due to its conclusory nature based on their opinion that the company “has a negative attitude regarding injuries and the filing of workers’ compensation claims.” 282 S.W.3d at 549. These courts held that in order to be admissible, evidence must directly support the complaint without offering unsupported factual and legal conclusions. Echostar, 394 S.W.3d at 291; Willis, 282 S.W.3d at …show more content…
In his deposition, Travis stated that he believed Estrada was “being melodramatic about” her injury, and confirmed that he told her to “do what [she is] paid to do.” Unlike the court in Echostar, that held that a negative attitude was present when an employer was shown to have a pattern of hostility towards injured employees, the court will not likely hold that Travis did not express such a pattern, as no evidence shows a discriminatory history on his behalf. See, 394 S.W.3d at 291. On the other hand, the court in Wyler held that a requisite negative attitude towards the protected class to be when an employer testified that he “didn’t want workers that made it a lifestyle out of filing workers’ compensation claims,” because the negative comments displayed a negative attitude towards the protected class. 999 S.W.2d at 501 In regards to the case at hand, the court will likely hold negative attitude to be present when Travis stated that he “could not respect people who [take] welfare from the government,” because they too display a negative attitude towards the employee’s protected class. Id. The court will likely find that Travis, with authority to terminate, displayed a sufficient negative attitude towards the employee’s protected class and
The plaintiff, Adrianna Estrada (“Estrada”) filed a complaint against the defendant, Wide Open Spaces Entertainment (“Open Spaces”) who own and operate (“The Continental”), an Austin, Texas Nightclub where Estrada used to be employed. Estrada claims that Rand E. Travis (“Travis”), manager of The Continental, discharged her in retaliation to a workers’ compensation claim.
Estrada, a resident of Austin, makes a living singing and performing for local audiences. Specifically specializing in the sights, sounds, and styles of Carrie Underwood. Estrada takes pride in not only providing a nearly identical audible representation of the famed country great, but accentuates her striking resemblance by dawning Underwood’s essential …show more content…
Echostar, 394 S.W.3d at 291; Willis, 282 S.W.3d at 549. In Echostar, the court permitted an employee’s testimony claiming that he never saw an employee work post injury, stating they were “in the shop or gone.” 394 S.W.3d at 291. This testimony was allowed because his it offered relevant evidence without in turn offering unsupported factual or legal conclusions. Id.. In Willis, the court dismissed witness testimony due to its conclusory nature based on their opinion that the company “has a negative attitude regarding injuries and the filing of workers’ compensation claims.” 282 S.W.3d at 549. These courts held that in order to be admissible, evidence must directly support the complaint without offering unsupported factual and legal conclusions. Echostar, 394 S.W.3d at 291; Willis, 282 S.W.3d at …show more content…
In his deposition, Travis stated that he believed Estrada was “being melodramatic about” her injury, and confirmed that he told her to “do what [she is] paid to do.” Unlike the court in Echostar, that held that a negative attitude was present when an employer was shown to have a pattern of hostility towards injured employees, the court will not likely hold that Travis did not express such a pattern, as no evidence shows a discriminatory history on his behalf. See, 394 S.W.3d at 291. On the other hand, the court in Wyler held that a requisite negative attitude towards the protected class to be when an employer testified that he “didn’t want workers that made it a lifestyle out of filing workers’ compensation claims,” because the negative comments displayed a negative attitude towards the protected class. 999 S.W.2d at 501 In regards to the case at hand, the court will likely hold negative attitude to be present when Travis stated that he “could not respect people who [take] welfare from the government,” because they too display a negative attitude towards the employee’s protected class. Id. The court will likely find that Travis, with authority to terminate, displayed a sufficient negative attitude towards the employee’s protected class and