Luckett v. Dart

Decision Date07 August 2017
Docket Number14-CV-6089
PartiesJOHN LUCKETT, PLAINTIFF, v. THOMAS DART, DEFENDANT.
CourtU.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

Judge Thomas M. Durkin

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Plaintiff John Luckett has brought suit against his employer, the Cook County Sheriff's Office ("CCSO").1 The complaint alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. Before the Court is the CCSO's motion for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, the CCSO's motion is granted as to Counts I and III (ADA and Title VII disparate treatment claims) and denied as to Count II (ADA failure to accommodate claim).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317,322-23 (1986). The Court considers the entire evidentiary record and must view all of the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences from that evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Ball v. Kotter, 723 F.3d 813, 821 (7th Cir. 2013). To defeat summary judgment, a nonmovant must produce more than "a mere scintilla of evidence" and come forward with "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Harris N.A. v. Hershey, 711 F.3d 794, 798 (7th Cir. 2013). Ultimately, summary judgment is warranted only if a reasonable jury could not return a verdict for the nonmovant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986).

BACKGROUND

The following facts are supported by evidence in the record and are undisputed unless otherwise indicated. Luckett has been employed by the CCSO as a correctional officer in the jails at the Cook County Department of Corrections ("CCDOC") since February 7, 1994. The CCDOC is divided into specific areas and divisions. Those areas include Divisions 1 through 11, the Visitor Information Center, External Operations, Transportation, Sanitation, Emergency Response Team, and clothing. When Luckett first began working at the CCDOC, he was assigned to Division 8. This assignment was followed by an assignment to Division 11, then to External Operations, then to Transportation, then to Division 9, and finally to Division 11. The officer-to-inmate ratio varies depending on the area or division in question. Thus, for example, the officer-to-inmate ratio in External Operations was around 1:2 when Luckett worked there, whereas the ratio inDivisions 1 through 11 was approximately 1:42-48. R. 49 at 56-57 (¶¶ 6, 8).2 The extent to which a correctional officer has contact with inmates also varies with the area or division within the CCDOC. For example, inmates in their living quarters (Divisions 1-11) spend time in common areas without any barriers or restraints between them and the correctional officers guarding them. In Transportation, by contrast, the officers handcuff the inmates from outside the cell while the inmates are still inside the cell, and then transport the inmates in handcuffs. Id. at 57 (¶ 7).

Luckett suffers from Moyamoya disease (sometimes written as "Moya Moya"), which "is a rare, progressive cerebrovascular disorder caused by blocked arteries atthe base of the brain." https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Moyamoya-Disease-Information-Page (last visited on 7/10/17).

[T]he first symptom of Moyamoya disease is often stroke, or recurrent transient ischemic attacks (TIA, commonly referred to as "mini-strokes"), frequently accompanied by muscular weakness or paralysis affecting one side of the body, or seizures. . . . Individuals with this disorder may have disturbed consciousness, problems with speaking and understanding speech, sensory and cognitive impairments, involuntary movements, and vision problems.

Id. Luckett experienced some of these symptoms in 2010. He was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease after suffering a stroke and subsequently undergoing emergency brain surgery. This occurred in August 2011. The physicians with knowledge of Luckett's medical condition include his long-time primary care physician, Dr. Legrand, his treating neurologist, Dr. Schneck, and the neurosurgeon who performed his brain surgery, Dr. Anderson. See R. 36 at 22-24 (Luckett Dep. 80-86).3

Luckett was off work after undergoing brain surgery for approximately three months. Afterwards, Dr. Legrand and Dr. Anderson both wrote letters releasing him to work with no restrictions including clearance to carry a firearm. Luckett returned to work in November 2011. Id. at 24 (Luckett Dep. 87-88). When he returned to work, Luckett was assigned to Division 9, which houses violent inmates. Less than a year later, in September 2012, Luckett was attacked and beaten by an inmate. Neither party gives any details regarding the attack, but a report in the record indicates that Luckett remembers a door hitting him in the face and an inmate on him, punching him on the left side of his head. See R. 31-1 at 148. Luckett reported that he lost consciousness and woke up later at the hospital. Id. at 150. As a result of the attack, Luckett was again off work, this time on what the parties refer to as "duty injury." R. 36 at 25 (Luckett Dep. 89). During this time, Luckett sought treatment from a neuropsychologist named Dr. Randolph, who specializes in concussions. R. 36 at 17 (Luckett Dep. 58-59). Luckett testified that Dr. Randolph, as well as Dr. Schneck, diagnosed him with post traumatic distress disorder ("PTSD") as a result of the September 2012 inmate attack. Id.; R. 49 at 65 (Luckett Aff., ¶ 3); R. 31-1 at 169-70.4

Luckett's workers compensation claim for disability benefits was approved by the Department of Risk Management in November 2012. R. 36 at 25 (Luckett Dep. at 92). Thereafter, the Department of Risk Management directed Luckett to submit to an Independent Medical Examination ("IME"), the purpose of which was "to inform" the CCSO when Luckett was "released to return to work." R. 31-1 at 146 (Zalas Decl., ¶ 5). The IME was conducted on March 13, 2013 by Dr. Levin (see footnote 4). After examining Luckett and reviewing Dr. Randolph's neuropsychological evaluation, Dr. Levin concluded that Luckett had at most "a mild concussion with a headache" from the inmate attack, which Dr. Levin thought "[c]ertainly . . . should have resolved very quickly and definitely by six months after injury." R. 31-1 at 151. Dr. Levin stated that Luckett's "current symptomatology makes no sense with his alleged injury," and observed that, "as far as this possibly being a psychogenic problem [referring to Dr. Randolph's report], [Dr. Levin] would defer the possible etiologies to a psychologist . . . ." Id. Dr. Levin concluded that,"from a neurologic standpoint, [Luckett] is at maximum medical improvement and can work . . . full duty." Id.

After receiving Dr. Levin's report, the Department of Risk Management reported to the CCSO that Luckett's temporary disability benefits had been terminated as of June 11, 2013 and that Luckett was not entitled to remain on duty injury after that date. R. 49 at 83. As a result, Luckett received word from the CCSO that he was to return to full duty work. Luckett objected because his psychiatrist had said he should not return to work until he had received treatment for his PTSD, and Luckett claims that the CCSO denied his request for psychiatric treatment. R. 31-1 at 172; see also R. 9 at 3 (¶ 21).5 It appears to be undisputed that the Department of Risk Management later changed its position from that stated in the June 11, 2013 notice because Rosemarie Nolan, who was the then-Deputy Chief of Human Resources for the CCSO, testified at her deposition that Luckett's disability benefits in fact were not terminated at that time and that Luckett remained off duty.

Approximately four months later, in October 2013, the Department of Risk Management directed Luckett to submit to a second IME. See R. 31-1 at 147 (Zalas Decl., ¶ 8). This time Luckett was sent to a neuropsychologist rather than aneurologist. See R. 31-1 at 105 (Hartman Decl., ¶¶ 2-4). The neuropsychologist, Dr. David Hartman, agreed with Dr. Levin's conclusion from seven months earlier that Luckett's "workplace injury was consistent with, at most, a mild concussion that would normally be expected to resolve quickly." Id. at 135. He also agreed that there was "no objective neurological evidence of brain injury related to the workplace injury." Id. As to Luckett's psychological condition (on which Dr. Levin had not opined), Dr. Hartman concluded that Dr. Randolph's previous diagnosis of PTSD was "nondispositive and below standard of care in its failure to objectively assess for the possibility of symptom endorsement exaggeration." Id. at 136. Specifically, Dr. Hartman believed that Luckett's self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety were likely "simulate[d]," id. at 135, because Luckett had "displayed implausibly poor effort in both Dr. Randolph's neuropsychological evaluation and in my own assessment," id. at 132. While Dr. Hartman acknowledged that Dr. Randolph considered Luckett's "failed validity testing" to "be of subconscious origin," id. at 133 (emphasis in original), Dr. Hartman disagreed, stating that Luckett's "below-chance findings" on Dr. Randolph's testing "represent evidence of deliberate under-performance, and when occurring within a secondary gain context, supports a conclusion of malingering," id. at 133 (internal quote marks omitted). According to Dr. Hartman, because Luckett "was engaged in litigation or planning to litigate workplace injury, this profile would be more consistent with malingering for potential secondary gains of compensation and/or work avoidance." Id. In other words, Dr. Hartman discounted Luckett's treating physicians' medicalopinion of PTSD based on Luckett's workers compensation...

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