This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Prior to February 1985, when he began working for D, P had obtained an M.B.A. from Arizona State University, served two years in Vietnam, and began work as a real estate salesman in Pueblo, Colorado, in 1974. In 1979, he began work with Fuller & Company in Denver, selling commercial real estate, including undeveloped land. He obtained a real estate broker's license in 1983 but wanted to move into management. P entered D as vice president of the commercial real estate division at $60,000 per year plus 3.5% commission with a guarantee of $82,000 during the first two years. W. Douglas Poole was chairman of the board and chief executive officer of D. The commercial real estate division was divided into a commercial sales division and a commercial leasing division. P was the manager of commercial sales and reported directly to Poole, while Ray Stanley was the manager of commercial leasing. P believed that each sales agent could be expected to generate $2 million in sales per year, while Poole stated he expected $8 million per agent each year. Poole's background was in retail sales, and he had no experience in the real estate business. Poole felt that P did a good job in 1986 and 1987. In November 1986, P learned that he had AIDS. P was not ill, he had no symptoms of disease, and his condition did not interfere with his ability to perform his job. He kept his infection secret and did not disclose his medical condition to anyone. By letter dated January 22, 1987, Poole extended P's employment letter with the same compensation and benefits except that P was to be granted listing agreements, beginning with the 'Midland Building.' Additional listing agreements were to be selected by Poole. Annual performance evaluations were made by Poole, rating employees from 5 down. Poole gave P mostly 3's for the 1986 evaluation. The only written comment under 'areas for growth' was 'needs to take a more hands-on approach to the job.' In the annual review for 1987, Ps was given mostly 4's. In March 1988, Poole found an anonymous note on his desk from 'Members of the Staff,' advising that Ps had a fatal blood disease and requesting that he be transferred. When P was shown the note, he told Poole that the note was true, that he had kept his condition a secret, and that he was concerned about his job and keeping his insurance. Poole assured P that the matter would be kept in confidence and that, so long as P was at D, he had nothing to worry about. Poole was concerned about P's condition; the matter was discussed at a board meeting. P spoke of his disease as 'diminished lymphoma,' a phrase with no medical meaning, and told Poole that it involved a dormancy period of 8 to 10 years and that when the disease became active, there would be 2 to 3 years of productivity and then death. Poole was concerned with corporate liability; and, because there was a possibility D might be sold, there could be a problem with securing 'key man' insurance for P. P got a letter from a doctor that said he was fit to do his job but that getting insurance would be impossible. On July 10, 1988, Poole placed a blind classified ad for a 'real estate commercial division manager.' The job description was applicable to P's position, and also to Stanley's position, the leasing manager. Poole met with managers and real estate agents and informed them he was considering a new division to handle 'REO properties,' properties with defaulted loans. In January 1989, P was given 4's on all categories, but under 'performance' P admitted that the Commercial Division had lost money in 1988, but he attributed the loss to three external causes--a decline in Denver's overall economy; market prices declining below Bank Western's inventory prices; and loss of confidence by the sales force due to the classified ad for a 'commercial division manager,' which resulted in the loss of two sales agents. Poole presented a plan to restructure the commercial sales and leasing division into three divisions, adopting a more specialized approach. On August 4, 1989, P was discharged from his employment, and this resulted in his loss of insurance benefits. P sought recovery for an alleged violation of Section 510 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1140, which prohibits discrimination against participants of any employee benefit plan for the purpose of interfering with rights under such plan. P also sought damages for alleged discrimination under a Colorado statute prohibiting employer discrimination against those with handicaps, C.R.S. § 24-34-402(1)(a). P was required to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that his discharge was motivated by an intent to interfere with employee benefits protected by ERISA. The court found that P failed to prove the requisite intent to violate 29 U.S.C. 1140 and that he failed to prove that he was discharged or discriminated against in violation of Colorado law. P appealed.

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