Feldman v. Am. Mem'l Life Ins. Co., 98-1831

Citation196 F.3d 783
Decision Date09 November 1999
Docket NumberNo. 98-1831,98-1831
Parties(7th Cir. 1999) Donna Feldman, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. American Memorial Life Insurance Company, formerly known as Prairie States Life Insurance Company, Defendant-Appellee
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 96 C 3371--Charles P. Kocoras, Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

Before BAUER, KANNE and EVANS, Circuit Judges.

KANNE, Circuit Judge.

After suffering two accidents while working for American Memorial Life Insurance Co., formerly known as Prairie States Life Insurance Co. ("Prairie States"), Plaintiff Donna Feldman filed for worker's compensation and Social Security Disability Insurance, and was terminated soon afterward. Feldman then sued Prairie States on five counts of unlawful discharge in federal district court. Over the course of a year and a half, this litigation involved a settlement which was subsequently vacated on Feldman's motion, a request for sanctions against Feldman, a motion by Feldman to add a new defendant and finally, summary judgment for Prairie States on all five of Feldman's claims. Feldman now appeals the grant of summary judgment on three claims and the denial of leave to amend her complaint.

Feldman compares this case to Akira Kurosawa's film, Rashomon, in which each character recounts a different version of the story's events. She urges us to reverse the district court's decisions and remand for trial to resolve the discrepancy between the facts alleged by her and Prairie States. We agree with the district court that trial is unnecessary. Although there are differences between the factual accounts offered by the two parties, those disagreements are immaterial to the disposition of this case. We affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment and denial of leave to amend the complaint.

I. History

Donna Feldman began working for Prairie States on February 1, 1994, as an area representative. Chief among her duties was making sales visits to funeral homes throughout northern Illinois to market Prairie States' services. Although she conducted some business over the telephone and through personal mailings, Feldman's work required her to drive to funeral homes on a daily basis, logging 2,000 to 3,000 miles on the road each month, and 20,000 to 25,000 miles during the year, for work.

On February 24, 1994, Feldman's car was struck from behind while she waited at a traffic light, causing injuries to Feldman's neck. Several months later, on September 22, 1994, Feldman suffered a second accident when she fell down some stairs during a funeral home visit. Feldman testified that "her right knee was gouged out" and "had a hole in it," her "left knee was all swollen and black- and-blue," and she "banged her right elbow, scraped her right palm, cut her middle finger on her left hand, and hurt her wrist, back, and neck." For three weeks following this second accident, Feldman stayed in bed and was not physically able to go to work. She could not drive except for short periods because she was "very stiff and sore" and had "great difficulty moving."

During the middle of October 1994, she returned to work but still experienced difficulty driving. As a result of the injury to her left hand, Feldman drove using her right hand and only two fingers on her left hand even though she found it dangerous. After Feldman reported that "she was sure that she was going to get in an accident," Mary Snortland, director of human resources at Prairie States, told Tom Bischoff, Feldman's supervisor, that Prairie States needed a medical release attesting to Feldman's ability to drive safely. On October 31, 1994, Snortland ordered Feldman off the road until she could produce a statement from a doctor "saying that she can drive a car in a safe manner."

On November 4, 1994, Feldman checked into the emergency room at Lutheran General Hospital for treatment on her left hand and back. After learning of Feldman's hospital visit and her continued fears about driving, Bischoff immediately granted Feldman a personal leave of absence pending her recovery. On November 7, 1994, Feldman again told Bischoff that she could drive only with one hand, and Bischoff responded that she must provide a doctor's release indicating that she could return to work without any medical or physical restrictions.

From November 11, 1994, to January 25, 1995, Feldman received outpatient treatment thrice weekly for her injuries. Dr. Jerry Bauer issued her a release, dated December 9, 1994, stating that she could return to work within her own limitations. Dr. Jeff Vitosky issued a release, dated January 23, 1995, stating that Feldman was "able to return to work full duty within patient limitations." Neither release characterized Feldman's condition as a "disability" or indicated the scope of her limitations.

Feldman already had filed two claims for worker's compensation in September 1994, based on her injuries allegedly stemming from the two accidents. Fireman's Fund Insurance handled her claims but repeatedly denied authorization and payment for medical care. Almost two years later, on appeal, the Illinois Industrial Commission would deny her claim for compensation, finding that Feldman could not prove a causal relationship between her accidents and her medical conditions. However, at the end of December 1994, Maria Boatwright from Fireman's Fund informed Snortland that Feldman had received a written release to work from Dr. Bauer and faxed a copy to her. Snortland concluded that the release was sufficient to allow Feldman back to work. She then mailed a letter dated January 18, 1995, to Feldman that read as follows:

Our records indicate that you have been absent from work since November 4, 1994 which is the last full work day reflected in our payroll reports. As part of our effort to accommodate you, you were granted a personal leave of absence as of that date. We cannot, however, continue your leave indefinitely. Consequently, your leave will end on January 30, 1995 unless you return to work on a full-time basis on or before that date. If you do not return to work on a full-time basis on or before January 30, 1995, you will be terminated. . . . If you intend to return to work, please complete the enclosed form and return it to me no later than January 27, 1995. In addition, we will need a written release from your doctor which attests to your physical ability to perform the essential functions of your position including, but not limited to, being able to drive an automobile and personally visit with funeral directors on a daily basis. Your doctor must also: (1) specifically release you to return to work and (2) state if you have any work- related job limitations and if you do, describe those limitations in detail and suggest possible accommodations.

Feldman replied, in a letter dated January 25, 1995, that she intended to return to work by January 30, 1995. She attached copies of releases from both doctors but noted that her physical limitations "remain substantial" and "the risk of further injury is substantial." She also stated that she understood the November 17 letter from Bischoff to bar her from work until a doctor vouched that she was "physically fit, without impairment or further risk to [her] health." She asked whether this letter superseded the prior letter and permitted her immediate return to work. Prairie States did not respond to her query.

Feldman did not return to work on January 30, 1995, and Prairie States terminated Feldman the following day. Though she claimed at the time of her discharge that she "wasn't qualified to do much of anything," Feldman had a master's degree in communications and professional experience in pre-need planning, sales, management and teaching. Since her termination by Prairie States, she found employment as a telemarketer and as an instructor with the Chicago City Colleges. She also worked part-time from home designing women's casual clothing with some success.

Feldman previously had applied, on December 8, 1994, to the Social Security Administration ("SSA") for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits ("SSDI"). In her submissions to the SSA, Feldman wrote that she was "completely and totally disabled and cannot perform any substantial gainful employment." She explained further that "limited movement in [her] head (neck cervical) pain forced [her] to be in bed a lot." She swore that she "cannot work a six to eight hour day" and "daily activities are really restrictive" because she had "virtually no use of her left hand" and experienced fatigue and severe pain that "restricted use of her upper extremities." Even normal functions like "squeezing toothpaste, putting on panty hose, cooking" were "difficult or impossible to do." Regarding her job, Feldman said that she "can't carry briefcase, luggage, can't drive long-distances which my job requires." She complained that she could "barely move" and "maybe it would be better if [she] wasn't here."

On May 21, 1996, based on these attestations, the SSA found that Feldman was entitled to SSDI benefits. An SSA administrative law judge ruled that Feldman was "under a 'disability,' as that term is defined in the Social Security Act" since November 4, 1994, and her condition prevented her from "performing past relevant work or any other work which exists in significant numbers in the national economy."

Feldman brought suit against Prairie States on June 5, 1996, in district court alleging that Prairie States violated: (1) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq.; (2) the Employment Retirement Insurance Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. sec. 1140 et seq.; (3) the Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 Ill. Comp. Stat. 1/101 et seq.; (4) the public policy of Illinois against...

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