Hollonbeck v. U.S. Olympic Committee

• Decision Date: 16 January 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-1056.,No. 07-1053.,07-1053.,07-1056.
• Citation: 513 F.3d 1191
• Parties: Scot HOLLONBECK; Jose Antonio Iniguez; Jacob. Walter Jung Ho Heilveil; Vie Sports Marketing, Inc., a Georgia corporation, Plaintiffs-ppellants, v. UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, a federally-chartered corporation; U.S. Paralympics, Inc., f/k/a United States Paralympic Corporation, a Colorado non-profit corporation, Defendants-Appellees, and Mark E. Shepherd, Sr., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. United States Olympic Committee, a corporation, Defendant-Appellee. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Disability Rights Advocates; National Federation of the Blind; Legal Center for People With Disabilities; Rafael Ibarra; Karin Korb; Tatyana McFadden, Amici Curiae.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

513 F.3d 1191

Scot HOLLONBECK; Jose Antonio Iniguez; Jacob. Walter Jung Ho Heilveil; Vie Sports Marketing, Inc., a Georgia corporation, Plaintiffs-ppellants, v. UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, a federally-chartered corporation; U.S. Paralympics, Inc., f/k/a United States Paralympic Corporation, a Colorado non-profit corporation, Defendants-Appellees, and Mark E. Shepherd, Sr., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. United States Olympic Committee, a corporation, Defendant-Appellee.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Disability Rights Advocates; National Federation of the Blind; Legal Center for People With Disabilities; Rafael Ibarra; Karin Korb; Tatyana McFadden, Amici Curiae.

No. 07-1053.

No. 07-1056.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

January 16, 2008.

Amy Robertson of Fox & Robertson, P.C., (and Timothy P. Fox of Fox & Robertson,

P.C., Kevin W. Williams, Legal Program Director of Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, Denver, CO, with her on the briefs), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Christopher Handman of Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., (Jeffrey S. George, John W. Cook, and Anne H. Turner of Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P., Colorado Springs, CO, with him on the brief), for Defendants-Appellees.

Samuel R. Bagenstos, St. Louis, MO, filed a brief, for Amici Curiae.

Before KELLY, HOLLOWAY, and HOLMES, Circuit Judges.

KELLY, Circuit Judge.

In these consolidated appeals, paralympic athletes appeal the district court's dismissal of their claims under § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act against the United States Olympic Committee ("USOC"). In 07-1053, Plaintiffs-Appellants Scot Hollonbeck, Jose Antonio Iniguez, and Jacob Walter Jung Ho Heilveil appeal the district court's grant of a motion to dismiss in favor of the USOC on their § 504 claim. In 07-1056, Plaintiff Mark Shepherd appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the USOC on his § 504 claim. As both cases raise identical legal issues, we consolidated the cases for briefing and submission. Prior to our disposition, Mr. Shepherd and the USOC stipulated to a dismissal of the appeal in 07-1056 under Fed. R.App. P. 42(b). Our jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Background

The USOC is a federally-chartered corporation that has exclusive jurisdiction over U.S. participation in three athletic competitions: the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, and the Pan American Games. 36 U.S.C. §§ 220502, 220503(3)(A). Under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act ("ASA") as amended, id. §§ 220501-220529, Congress has charged the USOC to "obtain for the United States, the most competent amateur representation possible in each event of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, and the Pan-American Games." Id. § 220503(4).

The first Paralympic Games were held in 1960. Now the Paralympic Games immediately follow the Olympic Games in the same host city and involve between 1,100 and 4,000 athletes. Plaintiffs are all elite paralympic athletes who have competed in at least one Paralympic Games. Plaintiffs are wheelchair racing paralympians. U.S. Paralympians have been very successful compared to their Olympic counterparts with 42% of the Paralympians winning medals in 2000 and 75% winning medals in 2002 (compared to 16% of Olympians winning medals in both 2000 and 2002). Aplt. App. at 241.

To achieve its mission under the ASA, the USOC provides Athlete Support Programs which include various types of grants, tuition assistance, and health insurance benefits. The criterion that the USOC uses to distribute the benefits under its Resource Allocation Policy is that the applicant must be an athlete who is "eligible to represent the United States and who intend[s] to compete, if selected, in the next Olympic or Pan American Games." Id. at 110.

Plaintiffs challenge the USOC's policy of providing Athlete Support Programs only to Olympic team members, to the exclusion of Paralympic team members, as violating § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The district court consolidated two separate cases for oral argument which the parties and the court agreed raise identical legal issues under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), and § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act: Hollonbeck v. USOC, No. 07-1053, on a motion to dismiss; and Shephard v. USOC, No. 07-1056, on cross-motions for summary judgment. The district court ruled for the USOC on the Title III and § 504 claims in both cases and entered final judgment pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 54(b) on those claims. Prior to our disposition, Mr. Shepherd and the USOC stipulated to the dismissal of the appeal in 07-1056 pursuant to Fed. R.App. P. 42(b). Plaintiffs Hollonbeck, Iniguez, and Heilveil only appeal the district court's dismissal of their § 504 claims.

On appeal, Plaintiffs argue that (1) the relevant universe for analysis should be all amateur athletes over which the USOC has responsibility; (2) they are "otherwise qualified" for the Athlete Support Programs; (3) the USOC's policy discriminates against them; and (4) the USOC's policy has the effect of screening out amateur athletes with disabilities.

Discussion

We review the grant of a motion for summary judgment de novo, applying the same standard as the district court. Timmerman v. U.S. Bank, N.A., 483 F.3d 1106, 1112-13 (10th Cir.2007). Summary judgment is appropriate if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We review the grant of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss de novo as well, considering whether the complaint contains "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1974, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). All facts alleged in the Hollonbeck complaint are assumed to be true in reviewing the motion to dismiss. The parties stipulated to a set of facts in Shepherd for the purpose of the cross-motions for summary judgment. Aplee. Br. at 5 n. 1. Because the facts are undisputed, we consider whether Plaintiffs state a claim or whether the USOC is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act states; "No otherwise qualified, individual with a disability ... shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance ...." 29 U.S.C. § 794(a). A prima facie case under § 504 consists of proof that (1) plaintiff is handicapped under the Act; (2) he is "otherwise qualified" to participate in the program; (3) the program receives federal financial assistance; and (4) the program discriminates against plaintiff. Powers v. MJB Acquisition Corp., 184 F.3d 1147, 1151 (10th Cir.1999).

Plaintiffs first argue that the relevant universe for analysis is all amateur athletes over which the USOC has responsibility, and the district court erred in restricting its discrimination analysis to the Olympics. Plaintiffs argue that the ASA's use of the term "amateur athlete" and § 504's definition of "program or activity," in light of the history of the definition and precedent applying Title IX, compel an analysis of the USOC programs for Olympic, Pan American, and Paralympic athletes as a whole. Thus, Plaintiffs argue that we should compare the USOC's treatment of all amateur athletes, no matter the competition in which they compete.

The ASA defines "amateur athlete" to be "an athlete who meets the eligibility standards established by the national governing body or paralympic sports organization for the sport in which the athlete competes." 36 U.S.C. § 220501(b)(1). In 1998, the ASA was amended to give the USOC jurisdiction and responsibility over United States participation in the Paralympic Games in addition to the Olympic and Pan American Games. See 36 U.S.C. § 220503; S.Rep. 105-325 (1998). However, the ASA as amended does not direct the USOC's activities in any detail with respect to Olympic or Paralympic athletes other than requiring it to "obtain ... the most competent amateur representation possible in each event" of the three competitions. 36 U.S.C. § 220503(4). The mere use of the term "amateur athlete" in the statute does not enlarge the relevant universe to include all athletes under the USOC's purview.

The cases that Plaintiffs rely upon also do not support analyzing the USOC's three programs as a whole. First, Plaintiffs rely on Klinger v. Department of Corrections, where women prisoners sued the Nebraska Department of Corrections under Title IX for failing to provide equal educational opportunities for male and female prisoners. 107 F.3d 609, 611 (8th Cir.1997). The prisoners compared the educational opportunities available at their facility with the opportunities available at one specific male facility. Id. at 612. The court rejected the comparison holding that Title IX requires comparison of opportunities for male and female prisoners within the entire prison system taking into account the objective differences between the two populations and other relevant penological and security considerations. Id. at 615-16.

Plaintiffs' reliance on Klinger to alter § 504's definition of "program or activity" is misplaced.¹ The case only holds that, under Title IX, the comparison between only the female facility and one specific male facility is not meaningful. See id. 615-16. A meaningful comparison requires viewing the jails in the context of the security, penological, and size differences among the various facilities. This holding does not support Plaintiffs' theory, and the reasoning in Klinger contradicts Plaintiffs' argument. The court noted that differences in programs between jails are permissible when considering the different circumstances in each jail. See id. at 616. Thus, the case's reasoning suggests that the USOC's three programs should only be...