Davidson v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 26 February 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. 97-70-P-C.,CIV. 97-70-P-C. |
| Citation | 998 F.Supp. 1 |
| Parties | Nellie C. DAVIDSON, Plaintiff, v. LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maine |
Ronald E. Colby, III, Sumner H. Lipman, Robert J. Stolt, Laura J. Garcia, Lipman & Katz, Augusta, ME, for Plaintiff.
Richard G. Moon, Robert M. Hayes, Moon, Moss, McGill & Bachelder, P.A., Portland, ME, for Defendants.
Plaintiff Nellie Davidson has brought this suit against Defendants Liberty Mutual Insurance Company ("Liberty Mutual") and Liberty Life Assurance Company ("Liberty Life"), in which she alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") (Counts I and X), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.; the Maine Human Rights Act ("MHRA") (Count II), 5 M.R.S.A. § 4551 et seq.; and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA") (Counts III and IV), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.1 Now before the Court are Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgement on all five of Plaintiff's remaining counts. See Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum in Support Thereof as to Counts I, II, and X ("Defendants' Motion as to Counts I, II, and X") (Docket No. 21); Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum in Support Thereof as to Counts III and IV ("Defendants' Motion as to Counts III and IV") (Docket No. 23). For the reasons stated below, the Court will deny Defendant Liberty Mutual's Motion as to Counts I, II, and X2 and will grant Defendants' Motion as to Counts III and IV.
Liberty Mutual employed Plaintiff in a variety of positions since September of 1977. Plaintiff's Statement of Genuine Issues of Material Fact in Support of Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment on Counts I, II, III, IV, X ("Plaintiff's Statement") (Docket No. 28) ¶ 1; Defendants' Statement of Material Facts as to Which There Is No Dispute as to Counts I, II and X ("Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X") (Docket No. 22) ¶ 1. From June 1986 to June 9, 1995, Plaintiff held a position as a Senior Office Assistant ("SOA"), a Grade 5 position involving mainly clerical work with an emphasis on data inputting, filing, and other clerical duties. Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 3; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶¶ 2, 4. As a condition of her employment, Plaintiff enrolled in short-term ("STD") and long-term ("LTD") disability benefits plans. Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 4; Defendants' Statement of Material Facts as to Which There is No Dispute as to Counts III and IV ("Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV") (Docket No. 24) ¶ 4. Liberty Mutual was the Plan Administrator of the LTD plan and designated Liberty Life, a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual, to administer the LTD plan. Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV ¶¶ 6, 8.
In 1993, Plaintiff began to experience medical problems with her right shoulder. Plaintiff was absent from work on short-term disability leave between July 13, 1993, and October 19, 1993, during which time she had surgery on her shoulder. Affidavit of Nellie C. Davidson ("Davidson Aff.") ¶ 5; Affidavit of Nancy Duplisea ("Duplisea Aff.") ¶ 32. A recurrence of Plaintiff's shoulder problems prompted her to take disability leave again between March 9, 1994, and February 27, 1995. Davidson Aff. ¶ 7; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 6. When Plaintiff returned to work on February 28, 1995, her doctor indicated that she could work five to six hours a day at a light-duty position with the following restrictions: (1) no lifting greater than fifteen pounds; (2) no overhead activity; and (3) limited repetitive activities. Davidson Aff. ¶ 10. Upon her return, Plaintiff worked for a month in a temporary, part-time Call Attendant position, but she received her full salary and retained her official position as a SOA. Davidson Aff. ¶¶ 10-11; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶¶ 2, 10.
After March 28, 1995, when the temporary Call Attendant position was no longer available, Plaintiff worked full-time in a "work-hardening" capacity and performed a variety of tasks including those of the Call Attendant position. Davidson Aff. ¶ 13; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 10. While working in a work-hardening capacity, Plaintiff applied for two positions, Coder and Insurance Assistant, that were posted as available at Liberty Mutual. Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 20; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 31. Plaintiff was not selected for either the Coder or the Insurance Assistant positions. Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 20; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶¶ 32-37. She was not chosen to fill one of the newly restructured SOA positions following a reorganization of Plaintiff's department in June 1995.3 Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 40; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 65.
In late May or early June of 1995, Liberty Mutual offered Plaintiff a permanent position as a part-time Call Attendant, which she declined. Davidson Aff. ¶¶ 18-19; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶¶ 50, 57. This Grade 4 position paid less and did not offer long-term disability benefits; further, the position was annually funded, and it was possible that the position might not have been funded after the end of 1995. Davidson Aff. ¶ 17; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 50. Following her rejection of the Call Attendant position, Plaintiff attempted to return to long-term disability leave after her final day of work on June 9, 1995, and thereafter she sought disability benefits. Davidson Aff. ¶ 20; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 69.
Liberty Mutual's LTD plan provides for two distinct periods of disability coverage. Initially, an enrollee is entitled to a twenty-six week period of coverage under Liberty Mutual's short-term disability plan. Affidavit of Ann Wurst ("Wurst Aff.") ¶ 9. Subsequently, a maximum of eighteen months of long-term disability coverage is available, providing the enrollee is totally disabled from her own occupation (the "own-occupation" period). Id. ¶ 10; Summary Plan Description of the Liberty Mutual Long-Term Disability Plan ("Summary Plan Description"), Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV, Ex. 2. At the end of this period, additional long-term coverage is available if the enrollee is totally disabled from any occupation (the "any-occupation" period). Wurst Aff. ¶ 10; Summary Plan Description, Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV, Ex. 2.
Liberty Life requested medical documentation from Plaintiff to support her disability claim, and Plaintiff's physician provided two statements, dated June 29, 1995, and July 17, 1995, setting forth Plaintiff's current diagnosis and physical restrictions. Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV ¶¶ 62-63. The two statements submitted to Liberty Life indicate that Plaintiff was restricted as to overhead lifting and reaching, but they are silent as to limitations on repetitive motion. See Defendants' Motion as to Counts III and IV, Exs. A-8 and A-9. On August 7, 1995, Liberty Life concluded that Plaintiff was not disabled as to either her own occupation or any occupation and denied Plaintiff's claim for long-term disability benefits, retroactively effective on June 9, 1995. Davidson Aff. ¶ 26; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 71. On August 11, 1995, Liberty Mutual terminated Plaintiff, retroactively effective to June 9, 1995. Davidson Aff. ¶ 27; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 72.
Plaintiff subsequently appealed Liberty Life's denial of long-term disability benefits and submitted additional medical information which included her restriction on repetitive motions. Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 63; Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV ¶¶ 72-73. On December 6, 1995, Liberty Life reversed its prior denial and authorized long-term disability payments for the remaining own-occupation period of June 12, 1995, to December 1, 1995. Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 63; Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV ¶ 75. Plaintiff continued to be denied disability benefits for the subsequent any-occupation period. Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 67; Defendants' Statement as to Counts I, II, and X ¶ 84. Plaintiff then appealed Liberty Life's denial of benefits for the any-occupation period. Plaintiff's Statement 67; Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV ¶ 79. After further consideration of the administrative record and the solicitation of a peer review, Liberty Life affirmed its denial on May 9, 1996. Plaintiff's Statement ¶ 67; Defendants' Statement as to Counts III and IV ¶ 97.
The Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has explained the workings and purposes of the summary judgment procedure:
Summary judgment has a special niche in civil litigation. Its "role is to pierce the boilerplate of the pleadings and assay the parties' proof in order to determine whether trial is actually required." Wynne v. Tufts Univ. Sch. of Med., 976 F.2d 791, 794 (1st Cir.1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 1030, 113 S.Ct. 1845, 123 L.Ed.2d 470 (1993). The device allows courts and litigants to avoid full-blown trials in unwinnable cases, thus conserving the parties' time and money, and permitting courts to husband scarce judicial resources.
A court may grant summary judgment "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)....
Once a properly documented motion has engaged the gears of Rule 56, the party to whom the motion is directed can shut down the machinery only by showing that a trial-worthy issue exists. See National Amusements, Inc. [v. Town of Dedham], 43 F.3d [731,] 735 [(1st Cir.1995)]]. As to issues on which the summary judgment...
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