Smith v. Clark Cnty. Sch. Dist.

• Decision Date: 21 August 2013
• Docket Number: No. 11–17398.,11–17398.
• Parties: Jacqlyn SMITH, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

727 F.3d 950

Jacqlyn SMITH, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 11–17398.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted May 6, 2013.

Filed Aug. 21, 2013.

Michael P. Balaban (argued), Law Offices of Michael P. Balaban, Las Vegas, NV, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

S. Scott Greenberg (argued), Clark County School District, Office of General Counsel, Las Vegas, NV, for Defendant–Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, Roger L. Hunt, Senior District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. 2:09–cv–02142–RLH–LRL.

Before: WILLIAM A. FLETCHER, RONALD M. GOULD, and MORGAN CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

GOULD, Circuit Judge:

Jacqlyn Smith appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Clark County School District on Smith's claims for disability discrimination and failure to accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213. See Smith v. Clark County ( Smith II ), No. 2:09–cv–2142, 2011 WL 4007532 (D.Nev. Sept. 8, 2011) (unpublished). Smith argues (1) that the district court abused its discretion by granting the School District's motion for reconsideration of its initial order denying summary judgment; and (2) that the district court erred by granting summary judgment under Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corporation, 526 U.S. 795, 119 S.Ct. 1597, 143 L.Ed.2d 966 (1999). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm in part and reverse in part.

I

Smith worked in the Clark County School District from 1992 to 2008. She first taught elementary school. But in 2001, Smith had a back injury that limited her mobility and led her to pursue a less physically demanding job within the school setting. Literary specialist fit the bill. Literary specialists train and assist elementary school teachers with teaching and testing student literacy skills, but literary specialists are not responsible for all of the duties needed to teach a class of students. Smith earned her literary-specialist certification in 2004 and took a job as a literary specialist in the School District. Smith remained a literary specialist in the School District until 2008. Between 2004 and early 2008, Smith received positive reviews for her work as a literary specialist.

In March 2008, the principal at Kesterson Elementary School told Smith that she would be reassigned to teach kindergarten for the 2008–2009 school year. Smith objected, asking to remain in her literary-specialist position because her back injury prevented her from teaching. According to Smith, she could not perform the “standing, bending, [and] stooping required to be an effective kindergarten or elementary school teacher.” Shortly after this meeting, Smith aggravated her back while sorting boxes at work, and she was unable to work as a literary specialist for the rest of the school year. During the next few months, Smith applied for family medical leave and disability benefits. These applications are at the heart of this appeal.

On April 21, 2008, Smith filed a request for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601–2654. On the request form, Smith's doctor explained that Smith was “presently incapacitated” and could not “work at all until released by [a] doctor.” In May 2008, Smith applied for and began receiving private disability benefits through American Fidelity Assurance Company. In her application for these benefits, Smith stated that her “dates of total disability” ranged from March 31, 2008 to “Not Sure.” Two months later, Smith sought an extension to her FMLA benefits and filed an updated form with her doctor's statement that Smith was “presently incapacitated,” would “be out of work indefinitely,” and could do “no work of any kind until released by a doctor.”

In late August, Smith applied for disability retirement under the Nevada Public Employees' Retirement Systems (PERS) on the basis that she could not perform the duties required for her current job as a kindergarten teacher, including standing for long periods of time, bending, stooping, walking, lifting, and reaching. She also explained that she could not perform the lifting, bending, and stooping required for her former job as a literary specialist, but she could sit to work. Her doctor certified that Smith was “unable to work due to injury or mental or physical illness.” The Nevada Retirement Board approved Smith's application for “total and permanent disability” in October 2008.

During this time, Smith was embroiled in heated and unhappy discussions with the School District over whether she could work as a kindergarten teacher and how the School District should accommodate her disability. Smith insisted that she could not teach in the classroom and repeatedly asked that the school district accommodate her disability by keeping her in the literary-specialist position or by transferring her to another non-teacher position within the School District, such as a project facilitator. The School Districtwas adamant, however, that Smith could not remain in the literary-specialist position and that transferring Smith to another position was not a reasonable accommodation. Instead, the School District offered several accommodations for the kindergarten-teacher position, including a special chair that would reduce Smith's need to bend and stoop and a full-time classroom aid to help with lifting and to minimize Smith's movement. After an extended stalemate, the parties failed to reach an agreement. Smith resigned from the School District at the end of September 2008, so she could receive PERS disability retirement. Smith takes the position that she did not want to start disability retirement, but felt she had no choice because she could not work as a kindergarten teacher and she had used all of her sick leave.

Smith sued the School District in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, alleging that the School District violated the ADA by discriminating against Smith and by not providing reasonable accommodation. The School District moved for summary judgment, asserting (1) that Smith was not a “qualified individual” under the ADA because she had represented on her applications for disability benefits that she was permanently disabled; and (2) that the School District did not deny Smith a reasonable accommodation. Initially, the district court denied summary judgment, concluding that triable issues of fact remained as to both issues. Smith v. Clark County ( Smith I ), 2:09–cv–2142, 2011 WL 1576894, at *4–5 (D.Nev. Apr. 26, 2011) (unpublished). The School District moved for reconsideration on the qualified-individual issue, which the district court granted, finding that it had committed clear error by not considering whether Smith had offered a sufficient explanation for the inconsistencies between her ADA claim and her PERS application. See Smith II, 2011 WL 4007532, at *1–2. Concluding that Smith had not sufficiently explained the inconsistencies, the district court granted summary judgment for the School District because Smith's ADA action was irreconcilable with her PERS disability retirement. Id. at *2–3. Smith appealed.

II

We review for abuse of discretion the district court's decision to grant or deny a motion for reconsideration. See SEC v. Platforms Wireless Int'l Corp., 617 F.3d 1072, 1100 (9th Cir.2010). We review de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment. See Hamilton v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 270 F.3d 778, 782 (9th Cir.2001). “Summary judgment is appropriate only if, taking the evidence and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Furnace v. Sullivan, 705 F.3d 1021, 1026 (9th Cir.2013) (quoting Torres v. City of Madera, 648 F.3d 1119, 1123 (9th Cir.2011)). As we explain below, under Cleveland, 526 U.S. 795, 119 S.Ct. 1597, we apply this summary-judgment standard, and thus de novo review, to determine the sufficiency of a plaintiff's explanation for his or her inconsistent claims for disability benefits.

III

We must determine (A) whether the district court abused its discretion by granting the motion for reconsideration, and, if not, (B) whether the district court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of the School District. We conclude that district court did not abuse its discretion by reconsidering its initial summary-judgment order, but that it erred by granting summary judgment in favor of the School District.

To state a prima facie case under the ADA, Smith must show (1) that she is disabled within the meaning of the ADA; (2) that she is a qualified individual with a disability; and (3) that she was discriminated against because of her disability. See Nunes v. Wal–Mart Stores, Inc., 164 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.1999). A qualified individual with a disability is defined as “an ‘individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires.’ ” Id. (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8)). This case turns on whether Smith's claims for disability benefits negate her ability to prove that she is a qualified individual under the ADA.

A

The district court did not abuse its discretion by reconsidering its prior order. A district court may properly reconsider its decision if it “(1) is presented with newly discovered evidence, (2) committed clear error or the initial decision was manifestly unjust, or (3) if there is an intervening change in controlling law.” School Dist. No. 1J v. ACandS, Inc., 5 F.3d 1255, 1263 (9th Cir.1993). Clear error occurs when “the reviewing court on the entire record is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” United States v. U.S....