Rohan v. Networks Presentations LLC

• Decision Date: 08 July 2004
• Docket Number: No. 03-1637.,03-1637.
• Citation: 375 F.3d 266
• Parties: Tess ROHAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NETWORKS PRESENTATIONS LLC, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

375 F.3d 266

Tess ROHAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NETWORKS PRESENTATIONS LLC, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 03-1637.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued: February 26, 2004.

Decided: July 8, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

ARGUED: Peter Charles Cohen, Charlson Bredehoft, P.C., Reston, Virginia, for Appellant. Bruce L. Marcus, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Joseph A. Compofelice, Jr., Marcus & Bonsib, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee.

Before WIDENER, SHEDD, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge DUNCAN wrote the opinion, in which Judge WIDENER concurred. Judge SHEDD wrote a dissenting opinion.

OPINION

DUNCAN, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-appellant Tess Rohan appeals the April 17, 2003 judgment of the District Court for the District of Maryland (J. Frederick Motz, Judge) granting summary judgment to defendant-appellee Networks Presentations LLC ("Networks"). Rohan sued Networks for breach of contract under Maryland law and for wrongful discharge and hostile work environment under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (West 2004). The district court granted summary judgment because it found that Rohan was not a "qualified individual" under the ADA and that Networks did not breach its employment agreement with Rohan. See Rohan v. Networks Presentation LLC, No. JFM-01-1749 (D.Md. Apr. 17, 2003). We affirm the district court's judgment; however, we do so on other grounds.¹

I.

Rohan, an actress and singer, suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder ("PTSD") and severe depression stemming from childhood incest and sexual abuse.² According to Mary Sheahen, Rohan's therapist, and Dr. David Irwin, her psychiatrist, Rohan's PTSD causes her to experience "flashback episodes" of the abuse:

Tess persistently reexperiences the molestation through recurrent and intrusive recollections of portions of the molestation, including images, thoughts and perceptions of what occurred or what she believes occurred, and through dissociative flashback episodes or abreactions (severe flashbacks) in which she acts and feels as if the molestation was reoccurring in the present moment.

In addition, Tess experiences intense psychological distress at exposure to certain external cues that symbolize or resemble her father or her interaction with him as a child. For example, Tess experiences significant mental distress when she observes a parent scolding a child, or when she sees or interacts with a man who resembles or reminds her of the likeness or mannerisms of her father, or sees such a man in a movie. Such interactions often trigger in Tess flashbacks or abreactions to when she was abused as a child. Moreover, when Tess relives the molestation, she experiences a variety of physiological reactions, including (at different times) hyperventilation, inability to speak, inability to open her eyes, gagging, bodily pain, and/or staring off into space.

J.A. at 623, 634. Rohan's mental health care providers opine that her depression and PTSD are severe and chronic, and "have imposed, and will continue to impose for some time, significant limitations on her social and personal functioning, especially her ability to interact with and trust others." J.A. at 627, 634.

In early 2000, Rohan was performing in a production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown in Maryland. Rohan experienced some episodes during this time. Patricia Gentry, Networks' casting director, was also performing in this show. At the same time, Networks, which produces Broadway musicals that tour the United States, was organizing a touring theatre company for the musical Jekyll & Hyde. Gentry, who had known Rohan since high school, believed that Rohan had "the right kind of voice" for the role of "Lady Beaconsfield." Despite her knowledge of Rohan's mental illnesses, she arranged for Rohan to audition.

After several callback auditions before Jekyll & Hyde's director, Michael Jaeger, and the musical director and choreographer, Networks hired Rohan to perform as "Lady Beaconsfield" and as a member of the "Ensemble." Thereafter, Networks and Rohan signed an employment agreement. Rehearsals would take place in New York City from August 23 to September 6, 2000, and in Charleston, South Carolina from September 7 to September 17, 2000. Performances would begin thereafter and Rohan's employment would continue, assuming the show's success, until at least June of 2001.

During the New York City rehearsals, Rohan had at least three episodes. Consequently, Rohan told Gretchen Pfarrer, the Jekyll & Hyde company manager,³ and Janine Vanderhoff, the stage manager, about her past abuse and the resultant mental illnesses, and explained how they could assist Rohan when she experienced an episode. She also provided a list of emergency contact numbers that included her (then) husband, Richard Rohan,⁴ her therapist and her psychiatrist. Pfarrer and Vanderhoff agreed to help Rohan through her episodes and, in fact, did help her through numerous episodes over the next several months.

Rohan paints a vivid picture of life in the theatre. The cast joked with each other a great deal, and the jokes included ones of a sexual nature. On a number of occasions, when a cast member touched Rohan in a way she felt was inappropriate, she slapped that person in response. Particularly while traveling from one performance to the next on the tour bus, Rohan found the sexually charged antics of her colleagues difficult to bear. According to Rohan, many of the underage cast members drank alcohol and many cast members were smoking marijuana. On one occasion, a cast member urinated on a hotel door. In general, Rohan found certain cast members to be immature (many of them were considerably younger than Rohan) and, at times, offensive. To the extent possible, she avoided these people.

Rohan also made many friends on the tour. According to Rohan, she became friends with, among others, Jennifer Carroll, Rana Fellgraff, Janine Vanderhoff, Annie Berthiaune, and Erik Shark, a male cast member whom Rohan described as "a good friend." J.A. at 280. One indication of the strength of these friendships was that Rohan shared with these individuals some or all of her history of mental illness and sexual abuse.⁵ Carroll, the wardrobe supervisor, told Rohan she was "the easiest female in the show to work with." J.A. at 90.

Rohan had several more episodes during rehearsals in South Carolina, but the episodes abated during the first six weeks of performances. During this time, Rohan was "very upbeat," J.A. at 67, and was "surprised at how good [she] felt most of the time," J.A. at 276. Her happiness stemmed in part from the positive reviews of her performance. Jaeger told her that her performances were "outstanding" and to keep up the "great work on stage." J.A. at 33, 35.

As the finalization of her divorce, and the holidays, approached, however, Rohan began to have episodes with increasing frequency — on October 11, November 7, November 20, November 22, and December 1. The episode on November 7 came during a performance. Although Rohan had to return to the hotel in the middle of the show, she had already completed the "Lady Beaconsfield" role and Pfarrer excused her from her role in the "Ensemble," thereby minimizing the impact of her departure.

As these episodes increased in frequency, Rohan began to talk about suicide. On October 11, she made a small cut on her wrist with another cast member's razor. On November 17, Rohan told Pfarrer that she was "going to walk into traffic and end this once and for all."⁶ J.A. at 54. Pfarrer instructed a crewmember to accompany Rohan to the hotel for safety. Rohan emailed Jaeger that she "came back to the hotel feeling suicidal." J.A. at 27. On December 1, while on the bus, Rohan took several tranquilizers and stated that she "didn't feel like living anymore." J.A. at 56, 98. Rohan then told Pfarrer that she needed to call her therapist. Pfarrer stopped the bus as quickly as possible to permit Rohan to make the phone call.

During her deposition, Rohan explained that this suicidal talk was "passive" — that she never intended harm to herself, but rather used such statements as a sort of cathartic release. Nevertheless, at the time, Pfarrer felt unable to support Rohan further. After the December 1 episode involving the tranquilizers, Pfarrer immediately contacted Gregory Vander Ploeg, Networks' associate general manager. Vander Ploeg suggested that he and Pfarrer have a meeting with Rohan regarding her ability to continue on the tour. According to Pfarrer:

[T]he management had decided to release Ms. Rohan at the beginning of the holiday break. The decision came from want[ing] to help her, and since she had threatened not to come back after the layoff, this would help her get more assistance for her "condition" and get her off the sporadic traveling schedule. This would also resolve the disruptions that the company has been dealing with over the past several months and relieve them from the stress involved with the long bus rides that caused Ms. Rohan's episodes.

J.A. at 56.⁷ On December 3, Vander Ploeg called Sheahen and Rohan's ex-husband Richard Rohan to describe the situation. According to both Sheahen and Mr. Rohan, Vander Ploeg explained that Networks intended to fire Rohan on December 6. Mr. Rohan stated that Rohan should be accompanied on the flight home, and agreed to meet her at the airport in Maryland when she arrived. Vander Ploeg purchased a one-way ticket for Rohan for the afternoon of December 6.

On December 5, Vander Ploeg met the tour in Gainesville, Florida. After that night's performance, Vander Ploeg called Rohan's room. He left a message asking Rohan to meet with him and Pfarrer in the morning. At approximately 2:00 a.m. on December 6, Rohan returned Vander Ploeg's call. Rohan demanded that they meet immediately if she was being fired. Vander Ploeg stated that they should meet in...