Armstrong v. Turner Industries, Inc.

• Decision Date: 14 May 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-30104,97-30104
• Citation: 141 F.3d 554
• Parties: 8 A.D. Cases 118, 12 NDLR P 235 Jeff ARMSTRONG, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TURNER INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 554

141 F.3d 554

8 A.D. Cases 118, 12 NDLR P 235

Jeff ARMSTRONG, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TURNER INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 97-30104.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

May 14, 1998.

Rehearing Denied June 8, 1998.

Julie Marie Richard-Spencer, William F. Lurye, Robein, Urann & Lurye, Metairie, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Murphy J. Foster, III, Matthew M. Courtman, Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, Baton Rouge, LA, for Defendant-Appellee.

Paula R. Bruner, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.

Before GARWOOD, DUHE and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.

GARWOOD, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-appellant Jeff Armstrong (Armstrong) appeals the magistrate judge's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee Turner Industries, Ltd. (Turner).

Facts and Proceedings Below

Armstrong filed this suit after unsuccessfully seeking employment as a pipefitter with Turner, alleging that Turner had discriminated against him on the basis of disability in violation of Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 to 12117. Armstrong's suit asserted two distinct claims. First, he alleged that he was denied employment because he was perceived as being disabled. Second, he alleged that he was subjected to a pre-offer medical examination and inquiry in violation of section 12112(d). The parties consented to proceeding before a magistrate judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). The magistrate judge granted summary judgment in favor of Turner on both claims. Armstrong timely brought this appeal, challenging only the dismissal of the second claim. Because Armstrong has failed to demonstrate that he is entitled to relief in the form of damages, and because he lacks standing to seek injunctive or declaratory relief, we affirm.

I. Factual Background

On June 24, 1994, Armstrong applied for a position with Turner Industries as a pipefitter. ¹ Upon presenting himself for consideration at Turner's personnel office, Armstrong was administered a written, skill-based qualification examination. He successfully completed the examination, ² and was told to return after lunch to finish the application process. Upon returning, he was given several pages of paperwork to fill out. Among the application forms was a "Second Injury Fund Questionnaire" (Questionnaire). The first page of the Questionnaire contained the inquiry: "Are you bothered with or have you ever had the following," followed by a list of approximately seventy ailments ranging from arthritis to vertigo. The applicant was instructed to answer with respect to each of the illnesses listed. On the second page of the Questionnaire there were several broad, general questions regarding the applicant's medical history, including whether the applicant had ever been "a patient in a hospital or clinic," had ever had surgery, or had ever been hospitalized "for nervous trouble." It also asked about the applicant's worker's compensation history. The last question on the form was: "Have you ever had any injury or condition not mentioned on this form?" In filling out the form, Armstrong indicated that he had not received, nor was there a claim pending for, workers' compensation, and that he did not have any "injury or condition not mentioned" on the form. ³

When he had finished filling out the forms, Armstrong and several other prospective employees were taken to a different part of the building for a brief medical examination. Each applicant was visually inspected for scars indicating previous surgery or serious injury and was asked to provide a urine sample. ⁴ While these examinations were being conducted, employees of Turner ran "background checks" on each applicant to verify the medical information provided on the application forms. ⁵

Armstrong's background check indicated that a "possible asbestos exposure" had been reported in 1991. His completed Questionnaire made no mention of any medical impairment or condition having to do with asbestos exposure. The medic who had conducted the visual examinations subsequently brought Armstrong back into the examination room and informed him of the perceived discrepancy between the answers provided on the Questionnaire and the results of the background check. Armstrong was informed that his failure to list the asbestos exposure on the Questionnaire constituted a "falsification" of the form and that his application for employment was being rejected due to the provision of incorrect and/or incomplete information.

II. Proceedings Below

On July 11, 1994, Armstrong filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After receiving a "right-to-sue" letter from the EEOC, he filed the instant suit on November 23, 1995, alleging two separate violations of the ADA. First, Armstrong claimed that Turner had denied him employment because it perceived him as disabled. Second, he alleged that he had been subjected to a preemployment medical inquiry and examination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(2) of the ADA. ⁶ Armstrong characterized his second claim as alleging an independently-actionable "facial violation" of the ADA.

After limited discovery and pre-trial activity, Turner moved for summary judgment. With respect to Armstrong's failure-to-hire claim, Turner asserted that Armstrong was denied employment solely because he had failed to provide accurate information in filling out the Questionnaire, and not, as Armstrong alleged, because Turner had in any way perceived him as being disabled or because he had a record of disability. ⁷ In moving for summary judgment on Armstrong's second claim, Turner argued that because Armstrong was not "disabled" within the meaning of the statute, he lacked standing to maintain a cause of action based on Turner's alleged violation of the ADA's prohibition of preemployment medical examinations and inquiries.

Properly viewing the evidence before him in the light most favorable to Armstrong, the magistrate judge determined that "[t]he summary judgment evidence shows that the defendant did not form any attitudes or beliefs about the plaintiff's ability to function at work once the possible asbestos exposure was discovered. The only belief formed was the belief that the plaintiff did not truthfully answer the questions on the [Questionnaire]." Armstrong, 950 F.Supp. at 165. The magistrate judge further concluded that there was simply "no evidence that the defendant perceived the plaintiff's exposure to asbestos as substantially limiting him in his ability to work or engage in any other major life activity." Id. at 166. Accordingly, the magistrate judge granted summary judgment in favor of Turner on the refusal-to-hire claim. ⁸

In ruling on the second claim, the magistrate judge noted the "absence of any controlling or persuasive authority" on the question of whether the ADA provides a private right of action to a nondisabled individual who had been subjected to a preemployment medical examination or inquiry in violation of section 12112(d)(2). ⁹ Lacking apposite caselaw, the court proceeded to construe the provision in light of its text, purpose, and legislative history, concluding that "the most reasonable interpretation of [§ 12112(d)(2) ] is that if a separate claim can be brought for violation of this section, it must be brought by a qualified individual with a disability as that term is defined by the ADA." Id. at 167. As the court had already determined that Armstrong was not disabled within the meaning of the ADA, it granted summary judgment in favor of Turner on Armstrong's second claim and dismissed the case.

III. Question Presented on Appeal

Armstrong appeals only the magistrate judge's ruling that the ADA does not provide him, as a nondisabled plaintiff, a private right of action to redress Turner's alleged violation of section 12112(d)(2)(A). Armstrong has abandoned his failure-to-hire claim on appeal and does not challenge the magistrate judge's determination that Turner's refusal to employ him was not motivated by disability. Likewise, he does not dispute the conclusion that he is not disabled within the meaning of the ADA; nor does he challenge the determination that he was never "perceived as" or "regarded as" being disabled by Turner. And he has never claimed that he had (or that Turner believed he had) a record of having a disabling impairment within section 12102(2)(B).

As a result, on appeal Armstrong raises the single, discrete legal question whether the ADA provides a private right of action for nondisabled job applicants who are subjected to preemployment medical examinations and inquiries in violation of section 12112(d)(2)(A). He asserts that the magistrate judge erred in his statutory construction of this provision and urges this Court to reverse on that basis.

This appears to be a question of first impression among the circuit courts, ¹⁰ and involves difficult issues of statutory interpretation. We are not unmindful either of the significance of this issue or of the inevitability and necessity of its resolution in an appropriate case. Nevertheless, we choose to unravel here only a few of the many strands interwoven in the tangle of issues that envelops the question presented.

Our partial reticence is occasioned by the policies of judicial restraint. See Manning v. Upjohn Co., 862 F.2d 545, 547 (5th Cir.1989). As explained below, we find that, in the context of this case, Armstrong has not demonstrated any injury redressable by damages, and he lacks standing to seek declaratory and injunctive relief, so dismissal of his section 12112(d)(2)(A) claim was proper in any event, whether or not in some other context a nondisabled individual might be afforded judicial relief in respect to a section 12112(d)(2)(A) violation.

Discussion

Armstrong and amicus EEOC...