Bonieskie v. Mukasey

• Decision Date: 31 March 2008
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 07-0666(PLF).
• Citation: 540 F.Supp.2d 190
• Parties: Raymond BONIESKIE, Plaintiff, v. Michael B. MUKASEY, Attorney General, United States Department of Justice,<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

540 F.Supp.2d 190

Raymond BONIESKIE, Plaintiff, v. Michael B. MUKASEY, Attorney General, United States Department of Justice,¹ Defendant.

Civil Action No. 07-0666(PLF).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

March 31, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Cheryl Polydor, John Berry, PLLC, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Michelle Nicole Johnson, United States Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

OPINION

PAUL L. FRIEDMAN, District Judge.

This matter is before the. Court on defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or, in the alternative, for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.² Plaintiff Raymond L. Bonieskie claims that defendant violated the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §§ 701 et seq., by failing to provide reasonable accommodations for his disabilities. Upon consideration of defendant's motion, plaintiff's opposition, defendant's reply, and the entire record in this case, the Court grants summary judgment in defendant's favor.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Raymond Bonieskie has been employed with the United States Marshals Service, an agency within the United States Department of Justice, since August 20, 1990. See Plaintiff's Complaint ¶ 12 ("Compl."). He has been a Deputy United States Marshal since August 4, 1998. See id. Some time in the mid-1990s, Mr. Bonieskie began suffering from a herniated disc and lumbar spinal stenosis, both of which caused nerve pain and discomfort in his back. See id. ¶ 18. Mr. Bonieskie had several surgeries to treat those conditions in the late 1990s, after which he was placed on light duty. See id.; see also Def.'s Reply, Ex. 1, Deposition of Raymond Bonieskie at 20-21 (June 21, 2006) ("Bonieskie Deposition").³ According to Mr. Bonieskie, he was never completely "pain-free" after 1999. See Compl. ¶ 19. At some point, Mr. Bonieskie began taking Percocet, a prescription medication, to control his pain. During the summer of 2004, Mr. Bonieskie began taking more than the prescribed amount of Percocet, see Compl. ¶ 20, and eventually became addicted to the drug. See id. ¶¶ 21-23. During this same time, Mr. Bonieskie was prescribed Ambien, a sleep aid, which he began taking regularly in addition to Percocet. See id. ¶ 22. Mr. Bonieskie eventually became addicted to Ambien as well. See id. ¶ 26.

According to Mr. Bonieskie, his drug dependency caused him to do strange things while in a sleeping state — including walking around the house, making meals, and yelling at his family — of which he would have no memory in the morning. See Compl. ¶ 26. Mr. Bonieskie claims that other effects of his drug dependency included irritability, difficulty in relationships, performance problems at work, and an altered bathing regimen. See Bonieskie Dep. at 65-66 (yelling at his wife and children); id. at 72 (showering only once or twice a week); id. at 73 (work problems). According to Mr. Bonieskie, he never informed a supervisor or any agency official that he was unable to perform his job as a result of his physical limitations or his drug dependency issues. See id. at 53-55. He did, however, contact the Marshals Service Employee Assistance Program ("EAP") to seek counseling in September 2004. See Compl. ¶ 23. At that time, Mr. Bonieskie spoke with a contract counselor, who recommended that plaintiff participate in a drug treatment program. See id. Mr. Bonieskie contacted the recommended drug treatment program and spoke with a counselor affiliated with that program, but ultimately decided not to participate. See id.

On February 9, 2005, plaintiff called in sick to work. See Bonieskie Dep. at 128. At some point that day, plaintiff's wife told him he needed to leave the house until he recovered from his dependencies. See Compl. ¶ 29. Plaintiff packed up his belongings and checked into a hotel, where he took an Ambien and went to sleep. See id. Plaintiff awoke a few hours later and — still half-asleep — got into his government-owned vehicle with the intent of driving home to get some work-related equipment. See id. ¶ 30. Plaintiff drove 75 to 100 feet in the parking lot before crashing into the back of a parked vehicle. See id.

The Marshals Service investigated the incident and, on January 30, 2006, proposed to remove plaintiff from federal employment. See Compl. ¶ 33; see also Def.'s Mot., Ex. C, Memorandum Regarding Proposed Removal at 1 (Jan. 30, 2006) ("Removal Mem.").⁴ Mr. Bonieskie submitted a written response to the proposed removal through counsel. See Def.'s Mot., Ex. D., Written Response to Proposal to Remove Deputy U.S. Marshal Raymond Bonieskie (Feb. 24, 2006) ("Response Mem."). Among other things, the Response Memorandum asked the agency to impose a lesser sanction "because [Mr. Bonieskie] was suffering from the effects of a disability based on a drug dependency [at the time of the accident] which he has now overcome through structured treatment." Response Mem. at 7; see also id. at 15 (arguing that "a lesser sanction would be adequate").

On March 28, 2006, the Marshals Service decided to mitigate the proposed sanction. Instead of terminating Mr. Bonieskie, the agency suspended him for 30 days and demoted him from his former position of Deputy United States Marshal, GS-1811-12 step 3, to his current position of Deputy United States Marshal, GS-0082-11. See Def.'s Mot, Ex. E., Decision on Proposed Removal at 1 (Mar. 28, 2006). In June 2006, plaintiff appealed his demotion to the Merit Systems Protection Board ("MSPB"). This appeal was dismissed, as was Mr. Bonieskie's formal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") appeal of the MSPB decision. See Compl. ¶¶ 41, 43. Mr. Bonieskie now seeks relief in this Court, claiming that his demotion constitutes a denial of a reasonable accommodation for his purported disabilities — that is, his "drug dependency and chronic debilitating pain." Id. ¶ 32.

II. PROCEDURE AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Procedure

Defendant has moved to dismiss plaintiff's claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or, in the alternative, for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Defendant's arguments refer to and rely upon materials outside the pleadings, as do plaintiff's arguments in opposition. When, on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, "matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under Rule 56. All parties must be given a reasonable opportunity to present all the material that is pertinent to the motion." FED.R.CIV.P. 12(d); see also Colbert v. Potter, 471 F.3d 158, 168 (D.C.Cir.2006); Yates v. Dist. of Columbia, 324 F.3d 724, 725 (D.C.Cir. 2003). Because both parties have had a reasonable opportunity to present all pertinent materials and the Court has considered those materials, the Court will treat defendant's motion as one for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

B. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment "should be rendered if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits [or declarations] show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." FED.R.CIV.P. 56(c); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Holcomb v. Powell, 433 F.3d 889, 895 (D.C.Cir.2006). "A fact is `material' if a dispute over it might affect the outcome of a suit under the governing law; factual disputes that are `irrelevant or unnecessary' do not affect the summary judgment determination." Holcomb v. Powell, 433 F.3d at 895 (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505). An issue is "genuine" if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for' the non-moving party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Holcomb v. Powell, 433 F.3d at 895. When a motion for summary judgment is under consideration, "the evidence of the non-movant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in [his] favor." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see also Mastro v. Potomac Elec. Power Co., 447 F.3d 843, 849-50 (D.C.Cir.2006); Aka v. Washington Hosp. Center, 156 F.3d 1284, 1288 (D.C.Cir.1998) (en banc); Washington Post Co. v. Dep't of Health and Human Servs., 865 F.2d 320, 325 (D.C.Cir.1989). On a motion for summary judgment, the Court must "eschew making credibility determinations or weighing the evidence." Czekalski v. Peters, 475 F.3d 360, 363 (D.C.Cir.2007).

The non-moving party's opposition, however, must consist of more than mere unsupported allegations or denials and must be supported by affidavits, declarations or other competent evidence setting forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. See FED.R.CIV.P. 56(e)(2); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The non-moving party is "required to provide evidence that would permit a reasonable jury to find" in his favor. Laningham v. U.S. Navy, 813 F.2d 1236, 1242 (D.C.Cir.1987). If the evidence is "merely colorable" or "not significantly probative," summary judgment may be granted. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505. To defeat summary judgment, a plaintiff must produce more than "a scintilla of evidence to support his claims." Freedman v. MCI Telecomm. Corp., 255 F.3d 840, 845 (D.C.Cir. 2001). While on summary judgment the Court must accept as true the non-movant's factual assertions and all reasonable inferences therefrom, a non-moving party is obligated to produce affirmative evidence supporting the challenged aspects of his claims by affidavit or other competent evidence setting forth "specific facts" sufficient to allow a reasonable...