Bey v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth.

• Citation: 341 F.Supp.3d 1
• Decision Date: 11 October 2018
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 14-1115 (RBW)
• Parties: Corey Leroy BEY, Plaintiff, v. WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

341 F.Supp.3d 1

Corey Leroy BEY,¹ Plaintiff,
v.
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 14-1115 (RBW)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed October 11, 2018

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Corey L. McFadden, Williamsburg, VA, pro se.

Christopher E. Hassell, Mana Kinoshita, Nimalan Amirthalingam, Bonner Kiernan Trebach & Crociata, LLP, Janice Lynn Cole, Michael Kelly Guss, Office of General Counsel, Washington, DC, Paul Tyler, Pro Hac Vice, Brian Connolly, Douglas Taylor, Gromfine, Taylor and Tyler, Alexandria, VA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

REGGIE B. WALTON, United States District Judge

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The plaintiff, Corey LeRoy Bey, proceeding pro se, filed this civil suit against the defendants, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ("WMATA"), Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 (the "Union"), and various individuals employed by both WMATA and the Union. See Second Amended Complaint ("Bey II Compl.") ¶¶ 13–23, ECF No. 81. The plaintiff asserts violations of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 701 (2012) ; the American with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2)(B) (2012) ; the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1977, 1988 (2012) ; the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185 (2012) ; and common law claims for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy under District of Columbia law. See Bey II Compl. ¶¶ 122–89. Currently pending before the Court are (1) Defendant ATU Local 689['s] Motion for Summary Judgment ("Union's Summ. J. Mot."), ECF No. 130; WMATA Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment ("WMATA's Summ. J. Mot."), ECF No. 131; (3) Defendant Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Supplemental Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 154 ("WMATA's Supp. Summ. J. Mot."); (4) Defendant ATU Local 689['s] Motion to Strike Plaintiff's Objections ("Union's Mot. to Strike"), ECF No. 137; and (5) the Plaintiff's Motion to Strike and Opposition to Defendant Local 689's Motion to Strike ("Pl.'s Mot. to Strike"), ECF No. 138. Upon careful consideration of the parties' submissions,² the

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Court concludes that it must deny the Union's and the plaintiff's cross-motions to strike, grant the Union's motion for summary judgment, grant in part and deny in part WMATA's motion for summary judgment, and grant in part and deny in part WMATA's supplemental motion for summary judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

Although a detailed procedural history, see McFadden v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 168 F.Supp.3d 100, 103–04 (D.D.C. 2016) (Walton, J.); McFadden v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 949 F.Supp.2d 214, 218–19, 225 (D.D.C. 2013) (Walton, J.), and much of the factual background, see McFadden v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., No. 14-1115 (RBW), 2015 WL 13659261, at *2–3 (D.D.C. Jan. 22, 2015) (Walton, J.), of this case have previously been set forth by the Court, the Court finds it necessary to briefly reiterate the current procedural posture of this case pertinent to the pending motions, and to discuss the plaintiff's work involving safety-related incidents and his use of the pharmaceutical, Adderall.

Considering the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff as the non-moving party in regards to the summary judgment motions, the record consists of the following regarding the plaintiff's involvement in safety-related incidents and his use of Adderall in his capacity as a WMATA bus mechanic. After being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ("ADHD") in June 2009, Pl.'s Decl. ¶ 11, the plaintiff was prescribed Adderall to manage his symptoms, id. ¶ 13, and he reported his Adderall usage to WMATA on June 26, 2009, see WMATA's Supp. Summ. J. Mot., Exhibit ("Ex.") F (Prescription Reporting Forms). He again reported his Adderall usage to WMATA on May 21, 2010, indicating that he had started taking Adderall "last year" and was taking it on an "ongoing" basis. See id., Ex. F (Prescription Reporting Forms). After being referred to WMATA's medical department, on June 10, 2010, WMATA "informed [the plaintiff] that use of Adderall was against [United States Department of Transportation ("DOT") ] policy for [commercial driver's license] holders. [The plaintiff] was instructed that [he] must have [his] prescription switched to a

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non-[S]chedule II medication prior to [him] being allowed to return to duty." Pl.'s Statement ¶ 16. The plaintiff then began taking Strattera, a non-Schedule II medication. See id. ¶ 17. Thereafter, the plaintiff submitted a grievance to WMATA, challenging WMATA's directive that he stop taking Adderall, on the basis that "the DOT and WMATA did not have a regulation prohibiting the use of Adderall." Id. ¶ 19. Then, after being involved in an accident in September 2010, the plaintiff filed an accident appeal form stating that the accident "was the result of being removed from [Adderall]." Id. ¶ 21.

The plaintiff began taking Adderall again in September 2010, and submitted prescription reporting forms with WMATA on September 9, 2010; October 9, 2010; October 10, 2010; December 10, 2010; and January 18, 2011, advising WMATA that he was taking the medication. See WMATA's Supp. Summ. J. Mot., Ex. F (Prescription Reporting Forms). The Accident Appeal Board denied the plaintiff's accident appeal on January 18, 2011, and the following day, the plaintiff represents that defendant Lisa Cooper-Lucas, the head of WMATA's medical branch, "informed [him] that [he] would not be allowed to continue taking Adderall based on a DOT prohibition," and that he "was removed from duty pending having [his] prescription changed, evaluated[,] and approved for use by [ ] Cooper-Lucas." Pl.'s Statement ¶ 31. The plaintiff informed Cooper-Lucas that he "would take Adderall for the last time [on] [ ] January 23, 2011," id. ¶ 32, and Cooper-Lucas informed the plaintiff that "Adderall would be undetectable in his system [twenty-four] hours after [he] last took it" and that "she would clear ... [his] return to duty on ... January 24[, 2011]," id. ¶ 33. According to the plaintiff, Cooper-Lucas "threatened [him] with a [thirty-]day suspension if [he] were to test positive for Adderall at any point in the future." Id.

Following his return to work, the plaintiff suffered an on-the-job injury on January 25, 2011, and after receiving medical treatment, was "transported to WMATA headquarters for a post[-]incident drug and alcohol urinalysis," and tested positive for the use of Adderall. Id. ¶¶ 37–38. The following morning, Cooper-Lucas suspended the plaintiff for thirty days, and on February 3, 2011, the plaintiff was released from pay status, required to enroll in the WMATA's Employee Assistance Program, and threatened with "termination for violating the prescription drug section of WMATA's [s]ubstance abuse [p]olicy." Id. ¶ 49. The plaintiff contends that he was "removed from the Category II [Employee Assistance] [P]rogram for ‘intent’ to use [Adderall]," after he requested that WMATA "put an answer in writing stating whether or not [he] would be allowed to take [his] doctor prescribed medication," i.e., Adderall. Pl.'s Decl. ¶ 25. Thereafter, on February 28, 2011, the plaintiff represents that he was removed from the Employee Assistance Program on the ground that he "ha[d] been non-compliant with [his] Category II Contract stipulation." Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 60 (Employee Assistance Program Removal Letter).

As a result of the plaintiff's removal from the Employee Assistance Program, id., Ex. 60 (Employee Assistance Program Removal Letter), WMATA convened a Joint Labor Management Committee (the "Committee") meeting on March 15, 2011, and the Committee voted to terminate the plaintiff, see WMATA's Summ. J. Mot, Ex. B (Committee Transcript) at 72:19–22. The plaintiff challenged his termination, and the Union reached a settlement with WMATA on the plaintiff's behalf on September 29, 2011, resulting in the plaintiff being reinstated to his position as a bus mechanic, see Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 233 (Sept.

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29, 2011 Settlement Agreement), and the plaintiff returned to work on November 6, 2011, see WMATA's Supp. Summ. J. Mot., Ex. C (Deposition of Corey L. McFadden (June 13, 2014) ("McFadden June 13, 2014 Dep.") ) at 215:13–21.

Although the settlement agreement did not address the plaintiff's Adderall use, see Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 233 (Sept. 29, 2011 Settlement Agreement), WMATA unofficially granted the plaintiff's request to use Adderall³ by allowing him to report his Adderall usage to WMATA upon his return to duty, see WMATA's Supp. Summ. J. Mot., Ex. F (Prescription Reporting Forms) (showing that the plaintiff reported his Adderall usage to WMATA on October 17, 2011; November 11, 2011; November 23, 2011; December 22, 2011; March 24, 2012; and April 24, 2012).

On April 3, 2012, while taking Adderall, the plaintiff left a bus running unattended for an extended period of time and he testified during his deposition that he "forgot the bus was back [where it was discovered running]." See id., Ex. C (McFadden June 13, 2014 Dep.) at 231:14–15; see also id., Ex. C (McFadden June 13, 2014 Dep.) at...