Feliciano v. State of R.I.

• Decision Date: 09 September 1998
• Docket Number: No. 98-1436,98-1436
• Citation: 160 F.3d 780
• Parties: 8 A.D. Cases 1520, 14 NDLR P 3 Rosemary FELICIANO, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, et al., Defendants, Appellees. . Heard
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 780

160 F.3d 780

8 A.D. Cases 1520, 14 NDLR P 3

Rosemary FELICIANO, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, et al., Defendants, Appellees.

No. 98-1436.

United States Court of Appeals First Circuit.

Heard Sept. 9, 1998.

Decided Nov. 18, 1998.

Stephen J. Dennis, with whom Law Office of Stephen J. Dennis, was on brief, for appellant.

Virginia M. McGinn, Special Assistant Attorney General, with whom Jeffrey B. Pine, Attorney General, was on brief for appellees.

Before TORRUELLA, Chief Judge, CYR, Senior Circuit Judge, and STAHL, Circuit Judge.

TORRUELLA, Chief Judge.

Before the Court is appellant Rosemary Feliciano's appeal from: (1) the district court's grant of summary judgment against her claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the "ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.; and (2) the district court's grant of judgment on the pleadings against Appellant's claims under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ("Rehabilitation Act"), 29 U.S.C. § 791 et seq., and under the United States and Rhode Island Constitutions. For the reasons stated in this opinion, we affirm the decision of the district court.

BACKGROUND

In August of 1988, Appellant Rosemary Feliciano was hired by the State of Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals ("MHRH") as an Institutional Attendant ("IA") at the Medical Center General Hospital in Cranston, Rhode Island. An Institutional Attendant "perform[s] a variety of duties in the care, custody, and treatment of persons [who are] physically or mentally incapacitated." According to the State's written job description, the "essential functions" of the position are performing personal hygiene, transferring and lifting patients, administering minor treatments, bathing, dressing and grooming patients, cleaning bed pans and other equipment, exercising and walking patients to various locations, and participating in food service to patients at meal times. The same document lists the position's "critical demands" as lifting 50 pounds maximum, lifting patients from bed to a chair or stretcher, assisting in bathing patients, frequently reaching above and below shoulder level, frequently walking or standing, and frequently pushing or pulling up to 50 pounds.

Appellant injured her lower back at work in 1989 and again in 1991. In November of 1992, the Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court declared that appellant was disabled from July 24 through October 16, 1991. Subsequently, appellant requested a leave of absence due to her disability. The State denied appellant's request because her disability ended on October 16, 1991 and ordered her to return to work by March 15, 1993. On March 19, 1993, appellant was terminated by the State from her position as an IA for failing to return to work as ordered.

On June 14, 1993, the State reinstated appellant and shortly thereafter sent her a letter offering to provide a gradual transition back to the full-time position of an IA. Appellant was given until July 29, 1993 to decide whether to return, and on December 20, 1993, she was terminated again for failing to return to work.

On June 9, 1995, appellant filed the present action in Rhode Island District Court, alleging several claims against MHRH, its Director A. Kathryn Power, and the State of Rhode Island (collectively, "Appellees"). Appellant asserted employment discrimination in violation of the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, the federal and state constitutions, and Rhode Island law.

On February 5, 1996, appellees filed a motion for summary judgment against appellant's ADA claim, arguing that appellant was unable to perform the "essential functions" of her job as an Institutional Attendant, and therefore was not a "qualified individual with a disability" for purposes of the ADA. In support of their motion, appellees offered appellant's deposition testimony in which she stated that "being an IA was too physical for the way I physically am" and "I cannot go back under those circumstances doing full patient care, total patient care". Appellees also submitted the written job description of the IA position.

In opposition to appellees' motion, appellant submitted medical reports which reflect that she has a back condition which restricts her ability to lift to a maximum of 20-30 pounds, that this condition leaves her partially disabled with restricted activities, and that she is unable to perform any occupation or activity involving repetitive bending. Appellant also submitted her own affidavit in which she states: (1) that she has a disability; (2) that she had been unable to perform many major life activities, including working as an Institutional Attendant, lifting, walking, standing and other manual tasks; (3) that she was otherwise qualified to perform the essential functions of her position, including several less physical functions, such as bathing and dressing patients; and (4) that with reasonable accommodations such as a power Hoyer lift, she would have been able to perform the essential functions of her job that did not require the pushing or pulling of patients.

Appellant also submitted the affidavit and files of Dr. Michael Judge, Dr. Bryan Buchholz, and Mr. Stephen Colella. Dr. Judge stated in his affidavit that he examined appellant and that appellant is partially disabled. Dr. Judge also stated in a letter dated April 1, 1993 that appellant was unable to perform all of the duties of her previous occupation. Dr. Buchholz, an Occupational Ergonomist who reviewed appellant's medical reports, stated that lifting patients places stress on the lower back of all workers and that a power Hoyer lift is an appropriate and important accommodation for workers in appellant's condition. Colella, a Rehabilitation Specialist who reviewed appellant's medical reports, concluded that appellant remained incapable of performing the duties and responsibilities of a nurse's aide.

On October 7, 1996, Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lovegreen issued a Report and Recommendation to the district court in which he recommended that appellees' motion for summary judgment on the ADA claim be granted. Magistrate Judge Lovegreen found that appellant had not raised a genuine issue with regard to whether she could perform the essential functions of an IA with or without reasonable accommodation. Magistrate Judge Lovegreen also found that appellant had not raised a genuine issue with regard to whether there were any reassignment possibilities that would qualify as a "reasonable accommodation" under the ADA. Consequently, Magistrate Judge Lovegreen found that no genuine issue existed with regard to whether appellant was a "qualified individual with a disability", a critical element of her ADA claim. On November 3, 1997, the district court issued an order accepting the findings and recommendation of the magistrate and granting the motion for summary judgment against the ADA claim.

Appellees subsequently filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c), against appellant's claims under the Rehabilitation Act and the federal and state constitutions. On February 24, 1998, Magistrate Judge Lovegreen issued a second Report and Recommendation which recommended that the district court grant appellees' motion. Magistrate Judge Lovegreen concluded that since appellant could not demonstrate that she was a "qualified individual with a disability" under the ADA, she also could not demonstrate that she was a "qualified individual with a disability" under the Rehabilitation Act. The magistrate also recommended that appellant's constitutional claims be dismissed as vague, because appellant failed to argue or even identify them. Finally, the magistrate recommended that the district court decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law causes of action. On March 12, 1998, the district court issued an order accepting the

findings and recommendation of the magistrate. Appellant subsequently filed the present appeal.

DISCUSSION

I. The District Court's Grant of Summary Judgment Against Appellant's Americans With Disabilities Act Claim

Appellant first argues that the district court erred in accepting Magistrate Judge Lovegreen's recommendation that summary judgment be granted on her ADA claim.

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Serrano-Cruz v. DFI Puerto Rico, Inc., 109 F.3d 23, 25 (1st Cir.1997). Summary judgment is proper where "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Once the moving party has pointed to the absence of adequate evidence supporting the nonmoving party's case, the onus is on the nonmoving party to present facts that show a genuine issue for trial. Serrano-Cruz, 109 F.3d at 25; LeBlanc v. Great American Ins. Co., 6 F.3d 836, 841-42 (1st Cir.1993). "[A] party opposing a properly supported motion for summary judgment may not rest upon mere allegation or denials of his pleading, but must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)(citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). "[P]laintiff ... [must] offer[ ] ... 'significant probative evidence tending to support the complaint.' " Id. at 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (quoting from First National Bank of Arizona v. Cities Service Co., 391 U.S. 253, 290, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)).

A. ADA Standard

Section 12112(a) of the ADA states:

No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment....