Dallas County Schools v. Green

518 S.W.3d 449, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 484, 2016 WL 229434
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 19, 2016
DocketNo. 05-14-00432-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 518 S.W.3d 449 (Dallas County Schools v. Green) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dallas County Schools v. Green, 518 S.W.3d 449, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 484, 2016 WL 229434 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Opinion by

Justice Whitehill

The decisive question in this disability discrimination case under the Texas Commission of Human Rights Act (the “TCHRA”) is whether there is legally sufficient evidence that an employee’s disability was a motivating factor in his employer’s decision to terminate his employment.

Paul Green had a congestive heart failure condition during the time Dallas County Schools (“DCS”) employed him as a bus monitor. His employment was terminated after an episode of incontinence while he was on his assigned school bus. He thereafter sued DCS under the TCHRA, claiming that he was disabled and that his disability was (or its related effects were) a motivating factor in DCS’s decision to fire him.

The case was tried to a jury. In that trial, Green argued that DCS terminated his employment because of his disability and the side effects of the medication he took for that disability.1 DCS denied Green’s claim, and argued that his disability and medication did not cause his incontinence. DCS further argued that it had legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for terminating Green’s employment. The jury found for Green and awarded him $166,292.

On appeal, DCS argues that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the jury’s finding that Green’s disability was a motivating factor in DCS’s decision to terminate his employment because the evidence does not support a finding that (i) the decision maker knew of the disability, or (ii) Green’s disability or the medication he was taking for it caused his incontinence. DCS further argues that the evidence is legally or factually insufficient to support the jury’s finding that DCS would not have made the same decision to terminate Green’s employment if it had not considered his disability. Finally, DCS challenges the attorney’s fees award.

For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that the evidence was legally insufficient to establish that Green’s disability or his related medication for it was a factor in the event that precipitated Green’s termination. Thus, it necessarily follows that neither was a motivating factor in the termination decision. We therefore reverse the trial court’s judgment and render judgment for appellant Dallas County Schools.

I. Background

DCS in 2009 hired Green to work as a bus monitor. The bus transported special needs children, and Green was responsible for their care and safety regarding the bus. His duties included things like strapping in wheelchairs, adjusting tubes, and helping students with their seatbelts and backpacks. When he was hired, Green told his supervisor, Yvonne Stuart, about [452]*452his medical conditions and that he took the drug Lasix. Lasix is a diuretic.

Before the incident in question, Green received two disciplinary referrals, neither of which involved incontinence. The first event resulted in an oral warning, and the second resulted in a four-day suspension.

On August 22, 2011, Green transferred from Irving to DOS’s Lawnview Service Center, where he reported to Rhonda Davis. On August 30, Green was assigned to monitor a bus driven by Carlos Barcena.

On that day, after dropping the sole student on the bus at his destination, Green told Barcena that he needed to use the restroom and asked Barcena to stop at a gas station. Barcena initially said that he would, but he then instead turned into a residential area rather than toward the gas station.

Green thereafter urgently repeated his request, and begged Barcena to stop. In response, Barcena asked Green to wait until the next scheduled stop.

Green, however, was unable to control his bladder and involuntarily urinated in his pants. Green then asked Barcena to stop again. When Barcena complied, Green concealed himself behind the bus doors and used an empty water bottle to finish urinating.

Although the front of Green’s pants was wet, Green did not get urine on the seat, and no part of the bus needed cleaning. Green did not wash his hands or clean himself.

When the bus reached the next scheduled stop, a student in a wheelchair boarded the bus. Green secured the wheelchair with straps, but did not touch the child. When the bus reached its destination, Green released the wheelchair straps.

Barcena reported the incident to Davis, and Davis notified the area director, Dennis Johnson. Green and Barcena were asked to prepare written accounts of the incident. Their statements were then given to Johnson.

Green and Johnson later met on September 16, and Johnson terminated Green’s employment. Green was given a letter stating that his employment was being terminated because he “failed to protect the health and safety of the students boarding at [his] next scheduled stop from exposure to bodily fluids, by continuing to perform [his] functions as a bus monitor after the incident.”

Barcena, however, was suspended for one day without pay, and although he was required to complete additional training, he never completed it.

Green appealed his termination through DOS’s grievance process, and the termination was upheld at each level. Green then began this lawsuit, claiming that DCS terminated his employment because he was disabled.

At trial, three medical experts testified about congestive heart failure, the drug Coreg, and urinary incontinence. The jury also heard considerable testimony about the termination process and the reasons for DOS’s decision. And there was testimony that prior to the incident at issue here, when Green needed to urinate, the bus drivers would take him to a public restroom and tell DCS dispatch about the unscheduled stop. No driver was ever disciplined for this.

Green maintained that he was fired for urinating on himself. DCS, however, said that it terminated Green’s employment because he failed to protect the students’ health and. safety.

When the evidence concluded, the jury was instructed, without objection, that:

[453]*453Plaintiff Paul Green claims he was discriminated against because of his disability.
Specifically, Mr. Green claims Defendant Dallas County Schools terminated his employment because of his disabilities, the side effects of his disabilities, and/or the side effects of the medications he takes to treat his disabilities.
Defendant Dallas County Schools denies Mr. Green’s claims, and contends that Mr, Green’s disabilities did not cause him to urinate on the school bus and, regardless, Dallas County Schools had legitimate non-diseriminatory l-easons for its decisions and actions. Dallas County Schools maintains that Mr. Green’s acts and omissions after urinating on the school bus warranted the termination of his employment.
It is unlawful to terminate the employment of a qualified individual with a disability because of the individual’s disability.
To succeed in this case, Mr. Green must prove the following three items by a preponderance or the evidence:
a. Mr. Green had a disability;
b. Mr. Green was qualified for the job he held; and
c. Mr. Green’s disability was a motivating factor in Dallas County Schools’ decision to terminate Mr.

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Related

Green v. Dallas County Schools
537 S.W.3d 501 (Texas Supreme Court, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
518 S.W.3d 449, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 484, 2016 WL 229434, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dallas-county-schools-v-green-texapp-2016.