Miller v. Wells Dairy, Inc.
| Decision Date | 25 March 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. C01-4072-MWB.,C01-4072-MWB. |
| Citation | 252 F.Supp.2d 799 |
| Parties | Monica MILLER, Plaintiff, v. WELLS DAIRY, INC, d/b/a Wells Blue Bunny, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
Michael J. Carroll, Coppola, Sandre, McConville & Carroll, PC, West Des Moines,
IA,
for Plaintiff.
for Defendant.
On July 10, 2001, plaintiff Monica Miller ("Miller") filed a complaint against her former employer, defendant Wells Blue Bunny ("Wells"), seeking damages resulting from her termination in April 2000. In her complaint, Miller alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 623, et seq., and Iowa public policy. Defendant Wells answered Miller's complaint on August 20, 2001, denying Miller's claims and asserting in its defense that Miller's age discrimination under the ADEA is barred because she failed to timely exhaust her administrative remedies.
On January 21, 2003, defendant Wells filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on all of Miller's claims. In its motion, Wells first argues that Miller is not a qualified individual with a disability because her condition does not substantially limit one or more of her major life activities. Secondly, Wells contends that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on Miller's claim under the ADEA because she made no mention of age bias in her complaint to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and therefore failed to exhaust her administrative remedies. Third, Wells asserts that no evidence of causation exists regarding Miller's claim of retaliatory discharge. On March 4, 2003, Miller resisted Wells's motion for summary judgment, arguing that there are genuine issues of material facts in dispute regarding her claims under the ADA and Iowa Public Policy.1
On March 11, 2003, Wells filed a reply brief in support of its motion for summary judgment.2 On March 14, 2003, Miller requested oral argument on the motion for summary judgment. The court granted that request and held oral arguments on Wells's motion on March 17, 2003.
At the hearing, Ms. Miller was represented by Michael Carroll of Coppola, Sandre, McConville & Carroll P.C., West Des Moines, Iowa. Wells was represented by Richard Moeller of Berenstein, Moore, Berenstein, Heffernan & Moeller, L.L.P., Sioux City, Iowa. A trial in this matter is presently scheduled for April 21, 2003. Before discussing the standards for Wells's Motion for Summary Judgment, however, the court will first examine the factual background of this case.
Whether or not a party is entitled to summary judgment ordinarily turns on whether or not there are genuine issues for trial, Quick v. Donaldson Co., 90 F.3d 1372, 1376-77 (8th Cir.1996); Johnson v. Enron Corp., 906 F.2d 1234, 1237 (8th Cir.1990), and the court must view all the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the facts. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348; Quick, 90 F.3d at 1377 (same). Thus, a summary of the undisputed and disputed facts is essential to the disposition of Wells's Motion for Summary Judgment.
In September of 1999, Miller began working for Wells as a full-time quality control lab technician ("lab tech"). As a lab tech, Miller was responsible for sampling, testing, and analyzing Wells's ice cream and novelty products on one or more of its production lines at its South Ice Cream Plant in Le Mars, Iowa. Miller was hired to work six, ten-hour days per week on the night shift. Miller was regularly assigned one to three different product lines, located on the first or second floors of the plant. On November 30, 1999, during her shift, Miller injured her left knee when she ascended stairs between the first and second floors of the plant. On December 3, 1999, Miller saw her physician, Dr. Steven Meyer, who determined that Miller was suffering from a "significant return of her left knee pain" due to chondromalacia patella. Def.'s App., at F, 1. Miller's condition—chondromalacia patella—was first diagnosed in March 1997, and predated her employment with Wells. Def.'s App., at F, 1. Dr. Meyer permitted Miller to return to work on December 3, but restricted her to light duty work. In addition, Miller's medical release from Dr. Meyer did not permit her to squat, crawl, kneel, or climb stairs. Wells modified Miller's work responsibilities in accordance with Dr. Meyer's medical release for one month, per an agreement between Miller and Brian Pietz ("Pietz"), her lab department supervisor, on behalf of Wells. The agreement did not create a permanent change in Miller's position or duties at Wells. Instead, at the conclusion of one month, Miller was to return to her doctor, after which time, the agreement specified that Wells would determine if it could continue to accommodate Miller's restrictions. However, Miller continued to perform light duty work well over a month until she was able to be reevaluated by Dr. Meyer on February 15, 2000.
At the February 15, 2000, doctor's visit, Miller was placed on permanent restrictions which required her to "refrain completely from stair climbing, kneeling, and squatting." Dr. Meyer released her to work with these permanent restrictions and Pietz informed Miller that she would continue with her light duty work until such time that he was able to determine how to accommodate her restrictions on a permanent basis. Thereafter, Miller met with her immediate supervisor, Lorraine Tilberg, to discuss which lines Miller thought she could test, sample, and analyze Wells's products with her permanent restrictions. At the meeting with Tilberg, Miller indicated she could perform the functions of eleven of the fourteen lines. After her meeting with Tilberg, Miller was assigned one line and other light duty tasks which did not pose any physical problems for Miller.
On March 20, upon her return to work after an absence due to bronchitis, Wells assigned Miller four lines and the load, another term for responsibility for the brines, tank temps and mixes. Pl.'s Dep., at 96. Prior to March 20, Miller had not been assigned four lines and the load, prompting Miller to approach Tilberg and ask for an explanation. According to Miller, Tilberg became angry with Miller and told her to PL's Dep., at 98. After further questioning, Tilberg allegedly told Miller that she had to work four lines and the load because' "The big guys want you back out on the floor." Pl.'s Dep., at 100. Miller told Tilberg that she could not work four lines and the load. Wells asserts that Miller told Tilberg that she could not work four lines because she was still recovering from the bronchitis. Miller admits to having told Tilberg that she was still out of breath from the bronchitis and shaky, but claims that she also asked Tilberg if she could go ahead and use the elevator to do the shift, but Tilberg refused and told her "That [the elevator] will not be available anymore." Pl.'s Dep., at 102. Tilberg proceeded to call Pietz who joined the meeting, and according to Miller told her that the restrictions were going to have to be removed, including the use of the elevator. PL's Dep., at 105. Miller claims that as she and Tilberg continued to talk, Miller became upset, and started to shake and cry. Miller tendered her resignation to Pietz who refused to accept it and told her to go home and think things over. As Miller was leaving the plant that night, she tripped and fell and required medical attention.
On April 3, 2000, Miller was able to return to work on a shortened shift. However, at Pietz's urging, Miller did not return to work until she received a medical release to work full shifts beginning April 17, 2000.3 Before returning to work, Miller's attorney, Roger Carter of Sioux City, wrote a letter to Wells on April 12, 2000, demanding payment of Miller's workers' compensation claims as a result of her fall in the plant parking lot. Additionally, the letter addressed placing Miller in the allergen lab tech position as a possible accommodation.
Sometime before returning to work, Miller spoke with Pietz about the allergen lab tech position. According to Miller, Pietz thought it was the perfect job for her because all of the analysis is performed in one room on one floor. Miller claims that Pietz assured her that if the allergen lab tech job was not full-time, that Miller would be kept busy with computer work. However, Miller contends that she received conflicting information about the responsibilities associated with the position during her interview with Wells's Human Resources manager, Sandy Francis. Miller alleges that Sandy told her that "It's going to entail a lot of running out, grabbing samples, going up and down...
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