Gaul v. Lucent Technologies, Inc.

• Decision Date: 22 January 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-5114,97-5114
• Citation: 134 F.3d 576
• Parties: 7 A.D. Cases 1223, 11 NDLR P 295 Dennis E. GAUL, Appellant v. LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. * ; John Does 1-100; Jane Does 1-100; ABC Corp.; XYZ Corp.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 576

134 F.3d 576

7 A.D. Cases 1223, 11 NDLR P 295

Dennis E. GAUL, Appellant v. LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. ^*; John Does 1-100 Jane Does 1-100; ABC Corp.; XYZ Corp.

No. 97-5114.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued Dec. 4, 1997.

Decided Jan. 22, 1998.

Linda B. Kenney, Gregory S. Schaer (argued), Red Bank, NJ, for Appellant.

Francis X. Dee (argued), Christopher J. Dalton (on the brief), Carpenter, Bennett & Morrissey, Newark, NJ, for Appellee.

BEFORE: COWEN, McKEE and WEIS, Circuit Judges

OPINION OF THE COURT

COWEN, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal by plaintiff-appellant, Dennis Gaul, from the February 21, 1997, order of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granting summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee, AT & T, Inc. (AT & T), and dismissing plaintiff's complaint. Gaul v. AT & T, 955 F.Supp. 346 (D.N.J.1997). The district court held that plaintiff was not disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., because: (1) his depression and anxiety-related disorders were not impairments that substantially limited his major life activity of working; (2) there was no record of such impairment; and (3) plaintiff was not regarded as having such impairment. The district court also held that plaintiff was neither "disabled" under the ADA nor "handicapped" under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq., because his proposed accommodation--transfer to a position where he would not be subjected to prolonged and inordinate stress by coworkers--was unreasonable as a matter of law. Finally, having concluded as a legal matter that plaintiff's proposed accommodation was unreasonable, the district court held that plaintiff's state law claims for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and constructive discharge must also fail. We affirm.

I.

Gaul began working for AT & T in 1981 as a Technical Associate and was promoted to Senior Technical Associate in 1983. He was diagnosed as suffering from depression and anxiety-related disorders in March, 1984. Although his condition was successfully controlled for more than a year with anti-depressant drugs, Gaul suffered a nervous breakdown in 1986. He was hospitalized for several weeks and was absent from work for approximately three months during that year.

Gaul eventually returned to work in early 1987. Once again, he received drug treatment, and his condition appeared under control. Indeed, by late 1988 or early 1989, Gaul received a two-step promotion to Member of Technical Staff. In June, 1990, however, Gaul suffered a relapse after receiving an unfavorable performance review from his manager at that time, Joe Warren, and again went out on disability leave.

While out on disability leave, Gaul was contacted by Tang Jampathon, a supervisor from AT & T's Cordless Telephone Department. Jampathon expressed interest in having Gaul work on a project for which Gaul's skills were required. Gaul explained to Jampathon that he would be unable to work under conditions of prolonged and inordinate stress, and Jampathon assured him that the people in the department would be very supportive. After receiving this assurance, Gaul began seeing Dr. Morris Reby, a board certified psychiatrist, about his desire to return to work when medically able. Dr. Reby diagnosed Gaul as having adjustment disorder with depression, anxiety, and obsessive/compulsive personality. Gaul had several more visits with Dr. Reby and was soon authorized to return to work on a "limited basis."

Gaul returned to work on September 4, 1990, and was permitted to work short hours for one week. From September 4, 1990, until the time he started to work with Donovan Folkes, a coworker, Gaul had no problem with stress, except when a dispute arose in August, 1991, between two coworkers. However, this situation rapidly changed in December, 1991, when he was assigned to work with Folkes on Phase II of the "International Project," also known as the "Herring Project," the purpose of which was to design a cordless telephone for the international market. Gaul was responsible for physical design of the base unit of the telephone set, and Folkes was assigned the handset portion of the unit.

Gaul claims that almost from the outset, he and Folkes had difficulty working together, resulting in a constant source of stress for Gaul. Gaul accused Folkes of using information from "his" data base on the base unit and of not sharing information with him. Gaul also claims that Folkes "may have" taken credit for one of Gaul's ideas and that it "appeared" that Folkes would not acknowledge Gaul's contributions to the team. He also claims that Folkes failed to note Gaul's contribution during a March or April, 1992 meeting and failed to list Gaul as a "co-author" on a tooling estimate.

Gaul claims that he spoke to various people at AT & T about his difficulties with Folkes. He first attempted to resolve the problems with Folkes himself, but when these attempts were unsuccessful, he complained, without avail, to Jampathon in February, 1992. Gaul also sought help from Paul Newland, team leader on the Herring Project, and Patricia Kaufman, an Ombudsperson at AT & T. However, neither Newland nor Kaufman provided assistance to Gaul.

In April, 1992, Gaul told Jampathon's replacement, Edwin Muth, that the situation with Folkes was causing him tremendous stress. Gaul again spoke to Muth in April or May, 1992, and advised him that he was still having trouble with Folkes. Muth told Gaul that he should take the matter up with Steve Bourne, the department head.

Gaul spoke briefly to Bourne about Folkes in May or June, 1992, and again in June or July, 1992. Bourne then arranged a meeting with both Gaul and Folkes in mid-August, 1992. Gaul contends that during this meeting he told Bourne he was "stressed out" and suggested that he be moved off the project. Shortly thereafter, Gaul allegedly asked Bourne that he be transferred to a lower-stress position. Specifically, Gaul claims that he told Bourne:

.... "Mr. Bourne, if you don't help me, or if you can't help me at this point, I am going to get very sick, and I'm going to pop."

Again, I looked him in the eye. I said, "Do you know what I mean by pop?"

And I was trying to get an answer from him. He said, "I don't know what you mean by pop."

I said, "Well, I am going to have a nervous breakdown, and I wouldn't be able to come back to work."

App. at 492-93. During this meeting, Bourne did not respond one way or another to Gaul's transfer request. Gaul admits that he never followed up on his transfer request.

Approximately two weeks later, on September 11, 1992, Gaul went out on disability leave. Since that time, he has been out on long-term disability and has been receiving payments from AT & T's disability insurance plan and from the Social Security Administration. He has also made a worker's compensation claim against AT & T, asserting that his disability is work-related. Gaul claims that he cannot perform his former duties at AT & T, nor, in fact, could he work for any employer, unless he is protected from prolonged and inordinate stress.

On September 9, 1994, Gaul filed a complaint against AT & T, alleging four causes of action. In the first count, Gaul alleges that he was handicapped within the meaning of the NJLAD and that AT & T violated the NJLAD by failing to accommodate his alleged handicap. In the second count, Gaul alleges that AT & T violated public policy as embodied in the ADA by failing to accommodate his disability. In the third and fourth counts, respectively, Gaul alleges that AT & T breached a contract with him and breached an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

AT & T subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment. The district court entered an order granting the motion on February 21, 1997. The district court first determined that Gaul's ADA claim must fail because he was not "disabled" within the meaning of the act. More specifically, the district court concluded that Gaul's depression was not an impairment substantially limiting his major life activity of working, that there was no record of such impairment, and that there was no evidence AT & T regarded Gaul as having such impairment. Next, the district court concluded that plaintiff's NJLAD claim must also fail because his request to be transferred away from coworkers who subjected him to prolonged and inordinate stress was unreasonable as a matter of law. ¹ Finally, the district court determined that Gaul's claims for breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and constructive discharge must fail because these claims could not be maintained unless Gaul's proposed accommodation was reasonable. This appeal followed.

II.

The district court had subject matter jurisdiction over plaintiff's ADA claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and supplemental jurisdiction over the plaintiff's state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367. We have appellate jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

In reviewing an order granting summary judgment, we exercise plenary review. Petruzzi's IGA Supermarkets, Inc. v. Darling-Delaware Co., Inc., 998 F.2d 1224, 1230 (3d Cir.1993). Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, we look to see if there was a genuine issue of material fact and, if not, whether the moving party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56; Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510-11, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

III.

The primary issue before us is whether Gaul's request to be transferred away from individuals causing him prolonged and inordinate stress was unreasonable as a matter of law under the ADA. We conclude that it is.

Congress enacted the ADA in 1990 in an effort to prevent otherwise qualified individuals from being...