Foley v. City of Lafayette. Ind.

• Decision Date: 08 March 2004
• Docket Number: No. 03-2168.,03-2168.
• Citation: 359 F.3d 925
• Parties: Robert FOLEY and Patricia Foley, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, and Fred Taylor, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 925

359 F.3d 925

Robert FOLEY and Patricia Foley, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF LAFAYETTE, INDIANA, and Fred Taylor, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 03-2168.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued October 29, 2003.

Decided March 8, 2004.

Robert L. Justice (argued), Logansport, IN, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Liberty L. Roberts (argued), Collier-Magar & Roberts, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before FLAUM, Chief Judge, and EASTERBROOK and KANNE, Circuit Judges.

KANNE, Circuit Judge.

Robert Foley alleges that the City of Lafayette violated the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by failing to provide adequate egress from the city-owned train-station platform. The district court, relying on 49 C.F.R. § 37.161, concluded that the inoperable elevators and snow-covered ramp that prevented Foley from an easy exit from the plat-form were non-actionable isolated or temporary conditions as a matter of law. Because we agree with the district court's conclusion, we affirm the grant of summary judgment to the City of Lafayette.

I. History

Robert Foley, a lifetime resident of West Virginia, has suffered from significant pain in his legs and back since a work-related injury in August of 2000. From the time of his injury, he has relied on a wheelchair because of intense pain caused by standing or walking. Robert's health problems are compounded by his morbid obesity — he weighs nearly four hundred pounds — and diabetes.

In December of 2000, Robert decided to travel to Indiana so that he could celebrate the holidays with his extended family. Robert's brother, Greg, hosting the proposed reunion at his home in Battle Ground (a town near Lafayette), made arrangements for Robert to travel from West Virginia to Indiana by train. Greg chose this means of transportation in part because the Lafayette train station is advertised by Amtrak as fully accessible to persons in wheelchairs. Joined by his teenage son, David, Robert left West Virginia on December 17 with an estimated time of arrival in Lafayette of 7:08 a.m. on Monday, December 18.

The sole Lafayette train station is owned and operated by the City of Lafayette. Amtrak, Greyhound, the city bus system, and several other organizations utilize the station as a depot and/or for office space. Fred Taylor was the only City employee assigned to the station on a regular basis during the time period in question. Taylor performed maintenance and janitorial work. He worked from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Bill O'Connor, an employee of the Downtown Business Center,¹ also worked at the station. His duties mirrored those of Taylor, he often followed orders given by Taylor, and he usually started work at 2:30 p.m. and ended work around 11:30 p.m. Two passenger trains stop at the Lafayette station each day of the week; in December of 2000, the northbound train had a scheduled arrival time of 7:08 a.m., and the southbound train had a scheduled arrival time of 11:38 p.m.

The train station is located at Riehle Plaza in downtown Lafayette and is situated on the east side of the tracks. Passenger trains arriving in Lafayette unload at a ground-level platform on the west side of the tracks. The facility has three levels.

In order to reach the parking lot on the east side of the tracks, passengers must go up to the third level, by way of stairs or an elevator, to a short bridge that crosses above the tracks. After crossing the short bridge, passengers can take the east-side stairs or elevator to descend to the middle or ground-floor levels of the station, where they can access the parking lot.

Alternatively, by taking either the stairs or a ramp up one level from the west-side platform, passengers can reach a pedestrian bridge and cross west over the Wabash River into the adjacent community of West Lafayette. This pedestrian bridge is large enough to be accessed by vehicles for emergency purposes from the West Lafayette side of the river.

It is undisputed that significant snowfall, up to nine inches, blanketed the Lafayette area over the weekend prior to Robert's arrival. It is also uncontested that it was extremely cold and that the wind was particularly strong on the morning of December 18. In resolving all factual disputes in favor of Robert, we assume that the bulk of the snow fell early in the weekend, but there is no dispute that blizzard-like conditions prevailed through Monday morning due to a large amount of snow on the ground and strong winds.

At 6:00 a.m. on December 18, Greg Foley set out with his brother-in-law, Mike Flagg, to pick up Robert. Although the ten-mile trip from Battle Ground usually took about twenty minutes, the harsh winter conditions led to an arrival forty-five minutes later at 6:45 a.m. When Greg arrived at the station, he discovered that neither of the elevators were working. Concerned, Greg notified Fred Taylor. Taylor was surprised and may have tried to fix the problem by switching a circuit breaker. At his deposition, Taylor recalled that the elevators were broken the previous week and stated that he had called his boss to report the problem.² Taylor notified Greg that the train had been delayed for two hours, but provided no further assistance to the Foleys. Greg, believing that Taylor would take care of the necessary repairs, took his family to breakfast. Taylor, in fact, spent most of the balance of his day shoveling snow, assisting other patrons of the depot, and attending to routine duties.

Greg returned to the station at approximately 9:00 a.m., and with Taylor present, he expressed concern about the inoperable elevators to Jane Ness, an employee of the Downtown Business Center. Whereupon Ness contacted the Indianapolis branch of Montgomery Kone, a Moline, Illinois company that was the contract provider of maintenance and repair services for the elevators.

Kone's records show the phone call for service regarding the train-station elevators was received at 9:13 a.m. At 9:31 a.m., Kone dispatched a Lafayette-area repairman to the scene. He arrived at 10:00 a.m. In commencing the repairs, it was discovered that the heating elements necessary to maintain the proper temperature of the oil in the outdoor hydraulic elevators were burned out. Because of the extremely cold temperatures, the elevators were rendered inoperable. Nothing further could be done that day, however, because parts were needed. The Kone repairman left sometime before 11:30 a.m.

In the meantime, Greg received misinformation from the Amtrak hotline that led him to believe that the northbound train would now not arrive until 12:30 p.m. He returned to Battle Ground with his family. The train, in fact, arrived at approximately 11:30 a.m.

Robert and his son, David, were helped off the train by Amtrak employees but were left alone in the cold weather on the platform. Amtrak does not employ personnel at the Lafayette station and the individuals who assisted the Foleys returned to their posts on the northbound train. David searched for Greg in vain. Robert and David considered the option of going up the ramp to the pedestrian bridge. They decided that the snow, not yet removed from the ramp, made maneuvering the wheelchair up the incline too difficult and dangerous. Robert, clad in light clothing, felt he could not endure the frigid temperatures. Robert decided his best option was to slowly walk up the stairs. Bill O'Connor (the Downtown Business Center employee), called in early to help shovel snow, assisted Robert by walking alongside and supporting some of Robert's weight.

Greg arrived around noon, after discovering at 11:30 a.m. that the train was not as late as the faulty estimate had indicated. After assessing the situation, Greg and Flagg drove in Flagg's truck to the West Lafayette side and drove east on the plowed pedestrian bridge. By this point, Robert had successfully reached the top of the first flight of stairs, and everyone helped him to the truck.

The next day, Tuesday, December 19, repairs continued and one elevator was returned to service. Both elevators were made fully operational by December 22.

Robert made several trips to Lafayette's Home Hospital and visited other doctors in West Virginia. He complained of increased pain in his legs due to alleged frostbite caused by the cold air. Robert contends that the City of Lafayette discriminated against him on the basis of his disability in violation of Title II of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. He alleges that the lack of equal egress on the morning of December 18 constitutes a violation of these statutes. The district court granted Lafayette's motion for summary judgment and sent the state law claims to the Indiana courts.

II. Analysis

We review de novo a grant of summary judgment. Ross v. Town of Austin, 343 F.3d 915, 917 (7th Cir.2003). Summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there exists 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). We must construe the facts and draw all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Bombard v. Fort Wayne Newspapers, Inc., 92 F.3d 560, 562 (7th Cir.1996).

The ADA seeks to "provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities[.]" 42 U.S.C. § 12101(b)(1) (2003). In pursuit of this goal, Title II of the ADA requires that "no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services ... of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity." 42 U.S.C. § 12132 (2003). For summary judgment purposes, the district court found that Robert was protected by the ADA as a ...