In 2004, Lanita Thomas quit her job with United Airlines to work for Clay Lacy Aviation as a personal flight attendant on the Gulf Stream jet owned by retired NBA player Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Thomas says she worked an average of 10 to 12 hours per day, often catering to Johnson's very particular preflight requests, such as squeezing the plane's stock of Red Vine licorice regularly to ensure that it was soft. Thomas, who was over 40, took time off due to an injury in 2010 and was temporarily replaced by a "substantially younger" flight attendant. When she returned to work, she alleges that Johnson's demeanor was "less cordial" and "more standoffish and dismissive" for several months. According to Thomas, on September 6, 2010, she arrived at the plane seven minutes late, after being delayed at a deli where she was purchasing specialty food items requested by Johnson. Two weeks later, Johnson fired her for being late to theSeptember 6thflight. Thomas alleges that Johnson immediately hired the younger flight attendant who had replaced her earlier in the year, and points to this action as evidence that the "tardiness" argument was a pretext for age discrimination. In October 2012, she filed suit against Magic Johnson Entertainment and Clay Lacy Aviation for several charges, including age discrimination and wrongful termination.

If you were the judge in this case, would you find that Thomas has sufficient evidence of discrimination for her claim to survive summary judgment and reach trial?

(Case #BC494347, filed with the Central District of the Los Angeles Superior Court)