Dryer v. Flower Hospital

383 F. Supp. 2d 934, 17 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 458, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18020, 2005 WL 2037364
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedAugust 25, 2005
Docket3:04 CV 7631
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 383 F. Supp. 2d 934 (Dryer v. Flower Hospital) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dryer v. Flower Hospital, 383 F. Supp. 2d 934, 17 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 458, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18020, 2005 WL 2037364 (N.D. Ohio 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KATZ, Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Flower Hospital’s (“Flower Hospital” or “Hospital”) Motion for Summary-Judgment (Doc. No. 9) and Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Plaintiffs Americans with Disabilities Act Claim (Doc. No. 6). Plaintiff Catherine Dryer (“Dryer”) has filed a response (Doc. No. 10) and a supplement thereto (Doc. No. 17-1). Defendant has filed a Reply (Doc. No. 20). This Court has federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 over the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., claims and supplemental jurisdiction over all other claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a). For the foregoing reasons, the Court grants Defendant’s motions.

BACKGROUND

On January 31, 2003 Dryer filed a negligence claim against Flower Hospital in state court (Doc. No. 1, Attachment 1, Exhibit A), which was amended on September 27, 2004 to include claims under the ADA (Doc. No. 1, Attachment 1, Exhibit B). On October 7, 2004, Flower Hospital filed a Notice of Removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1441 (Doc. No. 1), which was granted on October 14, 2004 (Doc. No. 4).

Dryer suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (“COPD”), a disease which inhibits lung function. 1 (Doc. No. 17-3, Consultation, pg. 1). As a result of this condition, she has been prescribed oxygen to assist with her breathing. (Doc No. 9-2, Deposition of Catherine Dryer at 24). In addition to an oxygen tank for long-term home use, id. at 39, Plaintiff has portable tanks, which hold four hours worth of oxygen, id. at 38.

On April 3, 20Ó2, Dryer’s husband was admitted to Flower Hospital pending admission to Hospice. (Doc. No. 17-3, Consultation, pg. 1). Over the course of the next week, Plaintiff spent between twelve and fourteen hours a day in his hospital room. (Dryer at 24). She brought her oxygen tank to the Hospital daily, but due to the tank’s limited capacity she consistently ran out of oxygen. Id. at 24-25. Flower Hospital has oxygen ports installed in hospital rooms to facilitate the administration of oxygen, and the room in which Dryer’s husband was staying had two such ports. Id. at 27. These ports required the installation of an oxygen flow meter before they were usable. (Deposition of Mary Koepfer at 8-9). These meters were kept in a locked room that was accessible only to Hospital staff. Id. at 10. On some occasions, members of the respiratory staff assisted Dryer in hooking her breathing apparatus into the oxygen port in her husband’s room. (Dryer at 26-27). However, Hospital staff ultimately told Dryer it was against Hospital policy to allow non-patients to use in-room oxygen ports. (Doc. No. 1, Exhibit R, Deposition of Laura Lane at 12). A physician, Dr. Joel Re-tholz, offered to write a prescription allowing Dryer access to the ports (Doc. No. 20, Deposition of Joel Retholz at 7) but this request was denied as well, since Dryer was not herself a patient of the Hospital. On April 13, 2002, while at the Hospital, Dryer experienced difficulty breathing and went to the emergency room, where she *937 was personally admitted to Flower. (Doc. No. 17-3, Discharge Summary, pg. 1). She was placed on a respirator and hospitalized until April 20, 2002. (Doc. No. 17-3, Consultation, pg. 1).

Discussion

A. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate where “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show 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). The moving party bears the initial responsibility of “informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of ‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,’ which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The movant may meet this burden by demonstrating the absence of evidence supporting one or more essential elements of the non-mov-ant’s claim. Id. at 323-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Once the movant meets this burden, the opposing party “must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)).

Once the burden of production has so shifted, the party opposing summary judgment cannot rest on its pleadings or merely reassert its previous allegations. It is not sufficient “simply [to] show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Rather, Rule 56(e) “requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings” and present some type of evidentiary material in support of its position. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548; see also Harris v. General Motors Corp., 201 F.3d 800, 802 (6th Cir.2000). Summary judgment must be entered against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

In considering a motion for summary judgment, the Court must view the facts and draw all reasonable inferences therefrom in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Williams v. Belknap, 154 F.Supp.2d 1069 (E.D.Mich.2001) (citing 60 Ivy Street Corp. v. Alexander, 822 F.2d 1432, 1435 (6th Cir.1987)). However, “ ‘at the summary judgment stage the judge’s function is not himself to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter,’ ” Wiley v. United States, 20 F.3d 222

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383 F. Supp. 2d 934, 17 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 458, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18020, 2005 WL 2037364, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dryer-v-flower-hospital-ohnd-2005.