Davila v. Hilton International of Puerto Rico, Inc.

165 F. Supp. 2d 94, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16243, 2001 WL 1173204
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedSeptember 28, 2001
DocketCivil 99-2070(SEC)
StatusPublished

This text of 165 F. Supp. 2d 94 (Davila v. Hilton International of Puerto Rico, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davila v. Hilton International of Puerto Rico, Inc., 165 F. Supp. 2d 94, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16243, 2001 WL 1173204 (prd 2001).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

CASELLAS, District Judge.

Pending is Defendant Hilton International of Puerto Rico, Inc.’s (“Defendant”) motion for summary judgment (Docket # 37), and an opposition filed by Plaintiff Carmen Davila (“Plaintiff’) (Docket # 42). After reviewing the parties’ arguments and the applicable law, Defendant’s motion is GRANTED.

Factual Background

Plaintiff filed the above-captioned suit against Defendant for employment discrimination under the provisions of Section 107(a) of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 12117, which incorporates by reference Section 706 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5; and the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. § 2601 (“FMLA”). In addition, Plaintiff invokes the Court’s supplemental jurisdiction by raising claims under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Specifically, the following local laws are implicated: Law 44 of July 2, 1985, 1 P.R. Laws Ann. § 501 (“Law 44”); and Law 80 of May 30, 1976, as amended, 29 P.R. Laws Ann. § 185(a) (“Law 80”).

Plaintiff Carmen Davila has a ninth grade education (Docket # 42, Ex. 18 at p. 8), and is not fluent in English (Docket # 42, Ex. 19 at p. 9). Plaintiff began her employment for Defendant in February of 1965, as a “locker attendant” for Defendant’s Beach and Pool Department. (Docket #1, ¶ 9). She continued her duties as a locker attendant for approximately five years, at which time she was promoted to the position of “control guard cashier” within the Department, where she continued working until October 15, 1998. (Docket # 1, ¶ 10). On that day, Plaintiff was summoned to the Human Resources Department, where she was informed that *96 Defendant would no longer be needing a control guard cashier. (Docket # 37, Ex. 6). Therefore, based on her seniority, Plaintiff was given the option of either being reassigned to the position of “beach and pool person” or being laid off. (Docket # 37, Ex. 8 at p. 27).

In response to Defendant’s alternatives, Plaintiff stated that she could not perform the duties of the beach and pool person because of its physical demands: including pushing towel carts, lifting chairs and dumping trash bags. (Docket # 37, Ex. 20 at p. 35). In addition, Plaintiff claimed that she could not lift or carry heavy objects because she slipped and fell on the floor of the hotel in 1996, injuring her lower back. (Docket # 37, Ex. 30 (English Translation at Docket # 50)). As proof of her inability to perform the beach and pool person job, Plaintiff points to her referral to the State Insurance Fund of Puerto Rico (“SIF”), where she received a diagnosis and treatment for her injuries. On October 26, 1998, the SIF sent Defendant a letter concerning Plaintiffs condition, which stated:

Carmen Davila-Figueroa, a control cashier at the Caribe Hilton, has been receiving treatment since February 29, 1998 for “lumbosacral strain, sprained left knee, degenerative joint disease facet joints L5-S1.”
On October 23, 1998, we met to inform the injured party of her physical limitation for performing her customary job. The last physiatric examination revealed para-lumbar muscular spasms with pain upon palpitation which limit her ability to lift and move weights over 20 pounds (occasional).
It is recommended that the job duties be adjusted to this restriction.

(Docket # 37, Ex. 30 (English Translation at Docket # 50)). Because Plaintiff refused the reassignment, she was “temporarily suspended from employment and pay (laid-off).” (Docket # 1, ¶ 18).

Plaintiff alleges in the complaint that she was subjected to unlawful discrimination, because she was laid-off and not accommodated by Defendant in October of 1998. In support of this argument, Plaintiff alleges that: (1) as a “beach and pool person” she could have been sub-classified and allowed to carry out the functions of other duties performed by the workers at that position, which did not entail carrying or lifting, such as cleaning the lockers, gymnasium, courts etc; (2) she was not accommodated at any position, and in November of 1998, all of Defendant’s beach and pool employees were recalled except Plaintiff; (3) her position as a control guard cashier was available and given as a promotion to a beach and pool person with less seniority; and (4) Defendant knew of her physical limitations and purposefully assigned her to the position that entailed lifting and carrying in order to “get rid” of her due to her disability.

In response to Plaintiffs allegations of discrimination, Defendant makes several arguments. First, Defendant argues that Plaintiff is not a qualified individual under the ADA because she could not perform the essential functions of the beach and pool person position with or without a reasonable accommodation. Second, Defendant alleges that Plaintiff is not disabled under the ADA. Third, Defendant claims that Plaintiffs sole accommodation request of only performing lighter duties of the beach and pool person classification and not all of the positions essential functions was not reasonable under the ADA. Finally, Defendant claims that Plaintiffs FMLA claim is without merit.

Summary Judgment Standard

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(b) provides that: “A party against whom a claim ... is asserted ... may, at any time, move with or with *97 out supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in the party’s favor as to all or any part [of the claims asserted against him/her].” The Court may grant the mov-ant’s motion for summary judgment when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show 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 also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202(1986); NASCO, Inc. v. Public Storage, Inc., 29 F.3d 28 (1st Cir.1994). “The principal judicial inquiry required by Rule 56 is whether a genuine issue of material fact exists.” Charles A. Wright, Aurthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: CM 3d § 2725, p. 401.

In this regard, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has noted that for a dispute to be “genuine,” there must be sufficient evidence to permit a reasonable trier of fact to resolve the issue in favor of the non-moving party. U.S. v. One Parcel of Real Property, 960 F.2d 200, 204 (1st Cir.1992); see also Boston Athletic Assn. v. Sullivan,

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165 F. Supp. 2d 94, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16243, 2001 WL 1173204, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davila-v-hilton-international-of-puerto-rico-inc-prd-2001.