Villiarimo v. Aloha Island Air, Inc

In Villiarimo v. Aloha Island Air, Inc., 281 F.3d 1054, 1063 (9th Cir. 2002), the plaintiff was a ramp supervisor for Aloha Island Air, Inc. ("Aloha"). 281 F.3d at 1058. During one of her shifts, she and another employee seriously damaged an airplane. Id. During the ensuing investigation, Villiarimo claimed she had left her position at the front of the aircraft to assist the other employee. Id. Three witnesses claimed, however, she never left her position. Id. According to Aloha, Villiarimo was terminated, in part, for lying during the ensuing investigation about leaving her post. Id. at 1063. Villiarimo attacked the credibility of those three witnesses. Id. The court found that attack futile because it did not matter "whether Aloha's justifications were . . . objectively false (e.g., whether Villiarimo actually lied)," but only whether Aloha "'honestly believed its reasons for its actions, even if its reason is foolish or trivial or even baseless.'" Id., quoting Johnson v. Nordstrom, Inc., 260 F.3d 727, 733 (7th Cir. 2001). Because Villiarimo had not presented any evidence that Aloha did not honestly believe the witnesses, her attacks on the witness's credibility were "unavailing." Id.