National Oilwell Varco Summary Judgment Win Affirmed by U.S. Circuit Court

HOUSTON – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit this month affirmed a Houston federal trial court’s summary judgment and dismissal of a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former National Oilwell Varco (NOV) employee.

Bertis E. Valentine alleged he was discriminated against based on his age and a disability when he was not rehired to his job as a machine operator following a year’s leave from NOV. The appellate court, in an unpublished opinion, found Mr. Valentine did not present enough evidence to show that a magistrate judge and district court had made the wrong call in granting summary judgment.

In addition, the court found that Mr. Valentine did not provide the company with proper documentation to be rehired after the extended leave and could not show that his machine operator position was subsequently filled by someone else rather than being eliminated by the company.

Lawyers Debora Simon Pacholder and Neal Sarkar of Houston commercial litigation boutique AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, handled the case for NOV. The case is Bertis E. Valentine v. National Oilwell Varco case No. 17-20191.

AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, intellectual property, and business dispute cases. AZA is recognized by Chambers USA 2017 among the best in Texas commercial law; by U.S. News – Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for 2017; and previously by Law360 as a Texas Powerhouse law firm. National corporate counsel named AZA one of the country’s best in client service among law firms serving the Fortune 1000.