An appeals court has upheld a Spokane County Superior Court judge’s decision to dismiss an age-discrimination claim filed by a former employee of Spokane-based Scafco Corp.

Founded in 1954, Scafco Corp. is a manufacturer and direct supplier of steel framing products and accessories. 

Patrick Scholz filed the claim after he was fired in January 2013. Scafco’s owner and president, Larry Stone, hired Scholz as an at-will employee in November 2004 to work as the company’s financial controller, where he was scheduled to transition over time into chief financial officer position, court records say.

Scafco says Scholz was eventually fired because of a personal conflict with Stone and not because of his age, court records say.

 Scholz was 50 when he was hired; Stone was 58, court records say. Scholz’s job entailed preparing Scafco’s financial statements in a timely and accurate manner and supervising several other departments, including accounts payable, credit management, and the custodial staff, the records say.

“Mr. Stone eventually realized Mr. Scholz was unsuited for the CFO position,” court records say. As a result, then-chief financial officer Art Mell stayed on beyond his anticipated retirement while Stone sought a replacement, documents say.

“The CFO’s gave Mr. Scholz annual performance evaluations. Although Mr. Scholz characterizes his evaluations as ‘exemplary,’ they were generally ‘above average’ or ‘excellent,’’’ court records say. Jeff White, hired in 2011 when he was 55, gave Scholz his final performance evaluation on Feb. 27, 2012, the records say.

Scafco repeatedly noted Scholz’s performance deficiencies and errors in defending itself against his age-discrimination claim. At the beginning of 2008, Stone told Scholz he was “not a good fit as a CFO,” and “not the right person for Scafco.”

In 2010, Scafco’s credit department, which reported to Scholz, failed to follow Scafco’s pre-lien notice procedures. The company almost lost $200,000 as a result in litigation, but that was dismissed when Scafco fired Scholz, court records say.

Other pre-lien notices were also ineffectively handled, Scafco added in court papers. Scafco also says Scholz and his department made an overstatement of Scafco’s inventory by $1 million in October 2010. Then, as 2010 concluded, Scholz and his department made an overpayment of business and occupation tax liability by $135,000, say court records.

“Mr. Scholz admits all incidents except for his subordinates’ leadership concerns over which he has no personal knowledge,” the appeals court writes in its decision. “Even so, he minimizes their significance, shifts blame, and mischaracterizes his performance as ‘exemplary,’ ” the appeals court says.

Court records say Scafco never took disciplinary action against Scholz for any of the documented incidences. Scholz didn’t receive his customary year-end bonuses from 2010 to 2012, court records say.

In March 2012, Scafco hired Patrick Palmer, who was in his mid-30s, to the newly created position of financial reporting manager, records say. Palmer is a certified public account with a master’s degree in business administration, Scafco says in the court documents.

When White discussed hiring Palmer with Scholz, White commented that both he and Scholz “are not getting any younger,” court records say. Palmer took over Scholz’s responsibility of calculating monthly inventory evaluations. In his claim, Scholz says Palmer attended events and meetings from which he himself was “expressly excluded.”

White says over time, Palmer was performing 75 percent of Scholz’s job, a fact that Scholz disputes in court records.

Scafco’s internal documents state the reason for Scholz’s termination was that he wasn’t “a good fit”’ court records say.

“Mr. Scholz’s remaining job duties are performed by other Scafco employees, mainly Mr. White, in his late 50s, and Tammy Cook, age 50, one of Mr. Scholz’s former subordinates,” court records say.