Frank Snepp will get his day in court against NBC-owned station KNBC.
The 72-year-old Snepp was an investigative producer who was first hired at the Los Angeles station in 2006 as a field producer. The Hollywood Reporter says he was fired in 2012 at the age of 69.
>UPDATE: We hear the lawsuit has ben delayed after the judge recused himself.
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Ex-KNBC reporter Frank Snepp’s ageism lawsuit delayed after judge recuses himself – https://t.co/6tULP8lI7N
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) November 10, 2015
[The Desk]In a lawsuit against KNBC, NBCUniversal and Comcast, Snepp asserts that the reason for his firing was his advanced age. He was terminated just six weeks after NBC resolved a lawsuit with AEG stemming from his investigative piece about fire protection failure issues at the Staples Center. He alleges a new team had come in to lead news at the NBC station and that he was subjected to comments from superiors like “some people just see you as a grumpy old man who oughta just quit.”
The defendants brought a summary judgment motion that argued that to establish discriminatory motive, Snepp had to show a younger person replaced him.
Judge Stephen Moloney responded that it’s not clear “whether replacement by a younger person is a required element of the prima facie case” and further rules that Snepp has raised a triable issue over the reasons for his termination.
NBC is arguing Snepp was fired for inadequate performance while Snepp alleges such a review was a pretext.