McClain v. Madison Nat'l Life Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 04 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 3:11-CV-377,3:11-CV-377 |
| Parties | LISA MCCLAIN, Plaintiff, v. MADISON NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and DISABILITY REINSURANCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana |
This matter is before the Court on: (1) Defendant Madison National Life Insurance Company's Motion for Summary Judgment, filed on June 17, 2013 [DE 49]; (2) Defendant Disability Reinsurance Management Services, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment, filed on June 17, 2013 [DE 51]; and (3) Defendants' Motion to Exclude Report and Testimony of Robert DiLisio and Brief in Support Thereof, filed on June 17, 2013 [DE 53]. Upon due consideration, the summary judgment motions are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Counts II and III of the Amended Complaint are dismissed. The motion to exclude DiLisio's report and testimony is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. DiLisio's testimony regarding industry standards is admissible but his opinions on the issue of whether Defendants acted in bad faith are precluded.
Lisa McClain ("McClain") worked as a third grade teacher at Logansport Community School District ("Logansport") for approximately 13 years. In 2006, she suffered a stroke but was able to return to work the following year. She worked until 2010, but then McClain claimed that she was unable to work due to disability. McClain alleges that she had a long term disability benefits policy ("Policy") issued by Madison National Life Insurance Company ("Madison") and administered by Disability Reinsurance Management Services, Inc. ("DRMS"), under which Madison agreed to pay long term disability benefits in the event McClain became disabled. The Policy was issued with an effective date of January 1, 2010. McClain alleges that she became totally disabled on January 22, 2010, but Madison has refused to pay her claim.
McClain has sued Defendants Madison and DRMS asserting that Madison breached their contract (Count I) and the covenant of good faith and fair dealing (Count II). (DE #26). McClain further alleges that both Madison and DRMS breached their fiduciary duties owed to McClain (Count III). Following the close of discovery, the instant motions were filed. They are now fully briefed and ripe for adjudication.
Pursuant to Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper only if it is demonstrated 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. See Nebraska v. Wyoming, 507 U.S. 584, 590 (1993); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986). In other words, the record must reveal that no reasonable jury could find for the nonmovant. Karazanos v. Navistar Int'l Transp. Corp., 948 F.2d 332, 335 (7th Cir. 1991); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobbyr Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250 (1986). In deciding a motion for summary judgment, a court must view all facts in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255; NUCOR Corp. v. Aceros Y Maquilas de Occidente, 28 F.3d 572, 583 (7th Cir. 1994).
The burden is upon the movant to identify those portions of "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits," if any, that the movant believes "demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323. Once the movant has met this burden, the nonmovant must support its assertion that a fact is genuinely disputed by citing to particular parts of materials in the record. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Becker v. Tenenbaum-Hill Assoc., Inc., 914 F.2d 107, 110 (7th Cir. 1990); Schroeder v. Lufthansa German Airlines, 875 F.2d 613, 620 (7th Cir. 1989)."Whether a fact is material depends on the substantive law underlying a particular claim and 'only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Walter v. Fiorenzo, 840 F.2d 427, 434 (7th Cir. 1988) (emphasis in original) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248).
"A party who bears the burden of proof on a particular issue may not rest on its pleading, but must affirmatively demonstrate, by specific factual allegations, that there is a genuine issue of material fact which requires trial." Beard v. Whitley Country REMC, 840 F.2d 405, 410 (7th Cir. 1988) (emphasis in original); see also Hickey v. A.E. Staley Mfg., 955 F.2d 1385, 1391 (7th Cir. 1993). Therefore, if a party fails to establish the existence of an essential element on which the party bears the burden of proof at trial, summary judgment will be appropriate.
From approximately 1996 until 2010, McClain was employed by Logansport School Corporation ("LCS") as a third-grade teacher. (McClain Dep. at 8). Comments from a review of McClain's performance in 2005 indicate she was an effective teacher and aleader in her school.
Mrs. McClain interacts with students and fellow staff members in a positive manner. She takes initiative to develop and promote special programs. She organized and continues to chair the 5-Star Family program at Landis. This has proven to be a successful program in promoting parent and family involvement.
(Lamson Aff. Ex. A at 217-18).
In October of 2006, McClain suffered a cerebrovascular accident ("CVA") or stroke that left her with permanent brain damage. (Id. at 171-209). As a result, McClain spent four weeks in rehabilitative therapy. (Id. at 219).
In February and March of 2007, McClain received neuropsychological testing from Theresa Strout, HSPP Ph.D. ("Dr. Strout") to assess her cognitive function. (Document Production of Lisa McClain, DE 49-2 at 2-6). Dr. Strout opined that McClain's intellectual ability, executive functions, and attention/memoryfunctions were all within "normal" - that is, low-to-high average - ranges. (Id.). Dr. Strout concluded that "there is no evidence of loss of intellectual functioning." (Id.).
By March 13, 2007, Bradley Vossberg, McClain's physician, opined that she could return to work. (Document Production of Lisa McClain, DE 49-2 at 1). Dr. Vossberg wrote in an office note:
McClain returned to work at LCS as a teacher for the 2007 summer school term. (McClain Dep. at 9). McClain testified that she was at this time experiencing the same symptoms, in the same severity, as in 2010 when she first claimed disability. (Id. at 22-23).
At the beginning of the fall 2007 term, McClain was assigned to teach third grade. (Id. at 37). Three weeks later, she took a medical leave due to pregnancy, but she returned to work in October of 2007. (Id.). McClain testified that her principal lacked confidence in her ability to discharge the duties of her job. (Id. at 40). She was almost immediately assigned two mentors. (Id. at 41). These mentors remained assigned to McClain for most of the remainder of her employment with LCS. (Id. at 45).
During the 2008-09 term, McClain received numerous writtencriticisms of her job performance. In March, August, and October of 2008 and May and July of 2009, McClain was issued disciplinary memorandums directing her not to leave her classroom unattended or leave the building during the day except for lunch. (LCS Document Production, DE 49-3 at 4-10). The October 2008 memorandum included a five day loss-of-pay suspension and advised that further misconduct by McClain would result in termination. (Id. at 8). The May 2009 memorandum documented McClain's continued disobedience and noted a recommendation that McClain's contract be terminated. (Id. at 7). The July 2009 memorandum documented still further disobedience and advised McClain for at least a third time that she could be terminated if she continued to leave the building without permission. (Id. at 5).
In December of 2008 and March and November of 2009, McClain received poor performance reviews criticizing a number of aspects of her job performance. A performance review dated December 5, 2008, criticized McClain for not sufficiently managing her classroom, for how she handled allowing students to go to the bathroom, for failing to enter certain data into school computers, and for failing to turn in lesson plans. (McClain Dep. Ex. 2-3; Lamson Aff., Ex. A at 220-31). McClain was also criticized for sitting behind her desk reading to herself for long periods of time rather than walking around and interacting with students. (McClain Dep., Ex. 3). McClain was criticized for leaving her classroomunattended and leaving the building during her prep period without permission. (Id.). The December 2008 review concluded that McClain would "need to improve her teaching ability and opportunities for students if she is to remain a teacher here at Landis Elementary." (Id.).
The March 2009 review similarly criticized McClain for problems such as her failures to enter student grades into the school software, failures to turn in lesson plans, failures to return graded work to the students, and sitting behind her desk rather than interacting with students or supervising their...
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