Moore v. J.B. Hunt Transport

• Decision Date: 19 July 2000
• Docket Number: No. 99-1853,99-1853
• Citation: 221 F.3d 944
• Parties: (7th Cir. 2000) GREGORY W. MOORE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT, INC., d/b/a J.B. HUNT DRIVER TRAINING CENTER, Defendant-Appellee
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 944

221 F.3d 944 (7th Cir. 2000)

GREGORY W. MOORE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT, INC., d/b/a J.B. HUNT DRIVER TRAINING CENTER, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 99-1853

In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Submitted January 5, 2000

Decided July 19, 2000

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

Before POSNER, Chief Judge, and EASTERBROOK and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

Gregory Moore brought this action pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101 et seq. He claimed that his former employer, J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. ("Hunt"), terminated his employment as a result of his rheumatoid arthritis. The district court granted summary judgment for Hunt, finding that Mr. Moore was not disabled for purposes of the ADA. For the reasons set forth in the following opinion, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I BACKGROUND

A. Facts¹

1.

Mr. Moore has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis with Heberden's nodes since 1989. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease of the joints that causes the joints to swell and to stiffen. It is a chronic condition, permanent in nature. The impairments resulting from arthritis, however, cover a wide range and vary from individual to individual. Heberden's nodes are bumps that form on the joints of individuals who have had arthritis for two or more years. Individuals with advanced rheumatoid arthritis also can be subject to "flare-ups," which result in temporary incapacitation.

Mr. Moore controls the effects of his arthritis with medication. He normally does not use a cane, and his condition has not prevented him from consistently walking distances up to a mile. According to Mr. Moore, "[i]t just takes me a bit longer to do what everyone else can do quicker." R.31, Moore Dep. at 52. However, Mr. Moore's impairment is also episodic. He has one or two flare-ups per year that last one or two days. During those flare-ups, his joints swell and he is not able to move. Mr. Moore has told Dr. David Hamilton, his former treating physician and also Hunt's referral physician, that the only discernable cause of his flare-ups is a quick change in barometric pressure. Dr. Hamilton has stated that Mr. Moore's arthritis would "probably" make it "a little bit" more difficult to perform manual tasks; that you "might" catch him on a good day; that it "might be" that he could not get out of bed; that he "may not" be able to bend his fingers as well; and that he could "possibly" have difficulty walking. R.37, Hamilton Dep. at 15-17.

2.

In October 1993, Mr. Moore was working in the motor pool at an Air Force base when he applied for a job at Hunt's facility in Rantoul, Illinois. The Director of Hunt's Driver Training Center, Carl Martin, with full knowledge of Mr. Moore's medical condition, hired Mr. Moore for the position of driver training instructor in November 1993.

Hunt has three classifications of driver training instructor range, road and classroom. A range instructor stands outside the truck on an internal driving range and teaches the student to perform driving maneuvers such as backing, turning and hooking. A road instructor rides as a passenger in a cab while the student drives over external streets and highways. Finally, a classroom instructor teaches rules and procedures in a classroom setting.

At the time he started with Hunt, Mr. Moore was a combined road and range instructor. In February 1994, a notice was posted for anyone interested in a classroom position. Mr. Moore and two other employees responded to the posting and were given an opportunity for a two-week trial period. After two weeks, the candidates were evaluated, and a candidate more qualified than Mr. Moore received the position.

In August 1994, Mr. Moore informed his supervisor, Rick King, that he needed to be transferred from road instructor to range instructor because the jolts and vibration caused by the inexperienced drivers aggravated his arthritis. Hunt transferred Mr. Moore to range instructor as requested.

In October 1994, Hunt sent Mr. Moore to Dr. Hamilton for his required annual Department of Transportation physical.² As a result of the physical, Dr. Hamilton reported that Mr. Moore should not be exposed to "excessive cold" or "wet cold damp" environments. R.31, Moore Dep. Ex.A. Dr. Hamilton also noted that Mr. Moore "needs constant monitoring of [blood pressure]" and that he "takes Darvocet W-100 for arthritis." Id. After receiving Dr. Hamilton's report, Hunt sought clarification concerning Mr. Moore's limitations; Dr. Hamilton advised Hunt that Mr. Moore should not be exposed to "excessive cold, wet, damp conditions for prolonged times. That means for anything over, say five minutes, depending on the wind chill factor and absolute temperatures." R.31, Moore Dep. Ex.3.

Hunt also sent Mr. Moore for a computerized strength evaluation recommended by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health ("NIOSH"). The NIOSH test reflects the strength of various motions that a person is able to make as compared to the general population. It also provides weight restrictions for occasional lifting, frequent lifting, and continuous lifting. Mr. Moore's NIOSH test results showed no diminished strength when compared to the general population of his size, age and weight; in general, it reflected above average strength for Mr. Moore in most areas, and below average in none. The lifting restrictions for Mr. Moore were average for the general population.

The Training Coordinator at Rantoul, Owen DeWert, advised Martin that, based on Dr. Hamilton's report, Hunt did not have positions that Mr. Moore could fulfill. DeWert, therefore, recommended that Mr. Moore be terminated. Before Mr. Moore was terminated, however, Greer Woodruff, Director of Driver Recruiting for all of Hunt's facilities, was consulted. Woodruff believed that Mr. Moore was not the best candidate to fill classroom vacancies and that the positions of road and range instructors were foreclosed to Mr. Moore because of his prior complaints and Dr. Hamilton's limitations. Martin therefore terminated Mr. Moore's employment on October 27, 1994.

Subsequent to his termination, Mr. Moore gained employment as a charter coach bus driver. In that position, Mr. Moore travels extensively and loads and unloads luggage on a regular basis.

B. District Court Proceedings

Mr. Moore filed this action in the district court; he claimed that Hunt had terminated his employment as a result of his arthritis and, therefore, in violation of the ADA. After conducting discovery, Hunt moved for summary judgment on the ground that Mr. Moore did not fall within the statutory definition of disability. Hunt argued that Mr. Moore was not disabled in fact and that Hunt did not perceive him as disabled.

In addressing whether Mr. Moore met one of the definitions of disabled, the district court reiterated that, to be disabled under the ADA, an individual's impairment must substantially limit his ability to perform a major life activity. The district court concluded that Mr. Moore's "own deposition testimony reveals that he is able to [walk, sit and stand], but at a pace slower than most people," which would not render him disabled under the ADA. R.42 at 3-4. The court also rejected Mr. Moore's argument that his condition must be assessed in the absence of his medication, which was the sole reason he could maintain his level of functioning. The court held that Mr. Moore had not shown that his level of functioning diminished in the absence of his medication.

Similarly, the district court did not accept Mr. Moore's attempt to show he was disabled because his arthritis limited his ability to work. The court stated

To prove that he is substantially limited in working, the plaintiff must show that he is significantly restricted in his ability to perform either a class of jobs, or a broad range of jobs in various classes, as compared to the average person having comparable training, skills, and abilities.

Id. Mr. Moore, stated the court, had not shown that he was precluded from a large class of jobs for which he had training, nor did Hunt perceive him as precluded from a large number of jobs, as opposed to unable to perform only the positions of range and road instructor. Consequently, the district court concluded that Mr. Moore was not disabled for purposes of the ADA and entered summary judgment in favor of Hunt. Mr. Moore now appeals the district court's adverse judgment.

II DISCUSSION

A. Applicable Standards

We review de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment. See Silk v. City of Chicago, 194 F.3d 788, 798 (7th Cir. 1999). Summary judgment is proper if the record as a whole shows "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." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); see Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986). The burden is on the non- moving party to come forward with "'specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial' by referring to the record evidence on file." McClendon v. Indiana Sugars, Inc., 108 F.3d 789, 795-96 (7th Cir. 1997) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)). "A genuine issue for trial exists only when a reasonable jury could find for the party opposing the motion based on the record as a whole." Pipitone v. United States, 180 F.3d 859, 861 (7th Cir. 1999) (citation omitted).

To establish disability discrimination, Mr. Moore must show that (1) he is disabled within the meaning of the ADA (2) he is qualified to perform the essential functions of the job either with or without reasonable accommodation and (3) he suffered from an adverse employment action because of his disability. See Byrne v. Board of Educ., 979 F.2d 560, 563 (7th Cir. 1992). Mr. Moore's "threshold burden" is to establish that he is disabled as that term is defined in the ADA. Roth v....