A solicitor dismissed for failing to meet billing targets has won the right to bring an age discrimination claim against his former employer.

However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) struck out his race and sex discrimination claims.

Samarasingher Methuen began working for London firm Community Law Clinic (CLC) in January 2009, aged 53.

In July that year he was told that he had not met billing targets and was given notice of dismissal.

Ten days later, CLC appointed a younger, female solicitor to do a similar job, but paying her £15,000-a-year less.

Methuen, who argued that he would have met his billing targets if CLC had taken into account work in progress, brought claims against the firm for age, race and sex discrimination.

The employment tribunal refused to strike out the claims at a pre-trial review.

CLC appealed to the EAT, which last month ruled that the tribunal judge should have struck out the latter two claims because they had ‘no’ prospect of success.

However, it held that the age discrimination claim should be heard in full because it had ‘little’ rather than ‘no’ prospect of succeeding.

Mr Justice Bean noted that Methuen had been ‘dismissed on grounds of performance and replaced by someone markedly younger and less experienced than himself’.

He agreed with the tribunal’s original ruling that there ‘must be at least some mileage’ in Methuen’s claim that there was ‘good work in progress and, by implication, the department was building’.

CLC’s solicitors Lyons Davidson said their client was considering an appeal and therefore could not comment further.