Slane v. Mariah Boats, Inc., s. 98-1127
| Decision Date | 09 February 1999 |
| Docket Number | 98-1128,Nos. 98-1127,s. 98-1127 |
| Parties | 14 IER Cases 1291, 14 NDLR P 84 Rex SLANE, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. MARIAH BOATS, INCORPORATED, Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
A. Courtney Cox (argued), Hart & Hart, Benton, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Paul G. Schoen, Mary L. Rouhandeh, Edward E. Renshaw (argued), Feirich, Mager, Green & Ryan, Carbondale, IL, Defendant-Appellant.
Before BAUER, MANION, and EVANS, Circuit Judges.
Rex Slane, a diabetic, worked in the upholstery department at Mariah Boats, Inc. from 1992 until June 1994, when Mariah fired him for refusing to take a drug test (at least that's what Mariah said). Under Mariah's "Drug--and Alcohol-Free Workplace Policy," which started in January of 1994, an employee who refuses to take a drug test is fired immediately unless he certifies his refusal in writing at the time he is asked to take the test and provides a valid medical reason (we assume promptly) for refusing to be tested. Mariah tested its employees on random and "reasonable suspicion" bases, both designed to surprise employees. Mariah hired a third-party administrator, National Safety Alliance, to test employees and report the results.
On June 8, 1994, two employees reported seeing Slane in the bathroom with white powder under his nose. The company took no immediate action to confirm whether Slane was using drugs or to remove Slane from his job, where he handled knives, scissors, and a powerful stapler. Eight days later, however, the company asked Slane to take a drug test. Slane apparently agreed but then got sick, either from a diabetic attack or from heat exhaustion triggered by hot temperatures--there was evidence that it was over 80 degrees--in the factory that day. Slane was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted. NSA tried to conduct the drug test despite Slane's illness but was unable to do so. The parties presented conflicting evidence as to why NSA was unable to test Slane. Mariah presented evidence that Slane refused to take the test; Slane introduced evidence that he was physically unable to take the test. But in either case, the evidence clearly showed that NSA told Mariah Slane refused to be tested and Mariah then fired Slane. Slane eventually took the test the next day and passed. But by then the company had already fired him.
Slane sued Mariah claiming it fired him to avoid having to give him health benefits in violation of ERISA. Slane also claimed Mariah fired him in retaliation because he exercised his rights under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act. Slane later filed another complaint claiming Mariah fired him because of his diabetes in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court consolidated the two complaints.
Before Slane filed his second complaint, Mariah moved for summary judgment on the ERISA count, arguing that it fired Slane for a legitimate reason: refusal to take a drug test. Mariah also moved for dismissal of Slane's IWCA claims, arguing that without the ERISA claim the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the IWCA dispute. The court ruled on the motion after Slane filed the ADA claim and therefore denied the motion with respect to the IWCA claims (because the ADA claim provided a basis for supplemental jurisdiction). But the court granted the motion with respect to the ERISA claim, finding that Mariah had a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for firing Slane and Slane failed to offer evidence that Mariah's stated reason was a pretext to cover an alleged discriminatory motive.
Mariah later filed a second motion for summary judgment on the ADA claim. For purposes of this motion, Mariah conceded that Slane stated a prima facie claim of discrimination under the ADA but argued that Slane's inability to show pretext should have entitled Mariah to judgment on the ADA claim, just as it had on the ERISA claim. Mariah asked the court to dismiss the IWCA claims for the same reason. This time, Slane offered additional evidence to support his theory that Mariah's stated reason for firing him was pretext and, because of that evidence, the court denied Mariah's motion in its entirety.
The case was tried to a jury and, after Slane presented his case-in-chief, Mariah moved for judgment as a matter of law, arguing for the first time that Slane failed to make out a prima facie case of discrimination under the ADA. The court agreed and snatched the ADA claim from the jury. After the close of all the evidence, Mariah moved for judgment as a matter of law on the IWCA claims, still pushing its theory that Slane failed to show pretext. The court denied that motion and sent the IWCA claims to the jury, which awarded Slane $100,000 in back pay and compensatory damages and $125,000 in punitive damages.
After the verdict, Mariah again moved for judgment as a matter of law. Alternatively, Mariah moved for a new trial or remittitur, arguing that the evidence did not support the jury's verdict and that the award was excessive, the result of passion and prejudice. The court denied the motion. Slane moved for costs and, in response, so did Mariah. The court found Slane to be the prevailing party and awarded him $5,157.42. Mariah's motion for costs, of course, was denied.
The parties filed cross-appeals, claiming error in virtually every single pre-- and post-trial ruling by the district court. Mariah also challenges the jury's verdict and the court's decision to award costs to Slane. Slane's counsel conceded at oral argument that he appealed only to salvage some basis for damages in the event we overturn the jury's damages award on the IWCA claims. Because we are upholding the award, we will not discuss Slane's arguments on appeal except to say that they lack merit. Nor will we discuss point by point each of Mariah's challenges to the proceedings below. Mariah, subscribing to the shotgun theory of appellate practice, argues that all of the court's rulings below should be reversed. Mariah's arguments about how the court handled its first and second summary judgment motions and its original...
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