Felten v. Eyemart Express, Inc.

241 F. Supp. 2d 935, 2003 WL 179786
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedJanuary 23, 2003
Docket01-C-557
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 241 F. Supp. 2d 935 (Felten v. Eyemart Express, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Felten v. Eyemart Express, Inc., 241 F. Supp. 2d 935, 2003 WL 179786 (E.D. Wis. 2003).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

GRIESBACH, District Judge.

Plaintiff Scott Felten has sued his former employer, defendant Eyemart Express, Inc., for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12117. He alleges that Eyemart failed to accommodate his adult attention deficit disorder (ADD) and improperly fired him from his position as general manager of one of Eyemart’s stores because of his ADD. Eyemart has moved for summary judgment, arguing that Felten’s ADD is not a disability as that term is defined by the ADA and that, in any event, it fired Felten for legitimate reasons unrelated to his ADD.

To be considered a disability under the ADA, an impairment must substantially limit a major life activity. Because there is no evidence that Felten’s ADD limits any major life activity in a substantial way, I conclude that Felten is not disabled within the meaning of the ADA and that summary judgment should be granted in Eye-mart’s favor.

I. UNDISPUTED FACTS 1

Eyemart is a retailer of optical services and supplies, with a principal place of *937 business in Carrollton, Texas, and several stores across Wisconsin. Felten resides in Appleton, Wisconsin, and began working for Eyemart on May 1, 1990. Felten was general manager of Eyemart’s Appleton store, with overall responsibility for all functions of the store, including human resources and operations. At some point during his employment with Eyemart, Fel-ten became the regional manager for the other Eyemart stores in Wisconsin — in LaCrosse, Green Bay, and Eau Claire. He was removed as regional manager sometime prior to September 12, 1996, but continued after that time as manager of the Appleton store.

Felten was diagnosed with ADD on September 12, 1996. His symptoms consisted of some disorganization, forgetfulness, periodic stumbling, jumping from project to project, and being easily distracted. In addition, he had problems with communications, impulsiveness, multi-tasking, and memory. Even though Felten would occasionally jump from one project to another, he would generally return to the incomplete projects and complete them. Felten had no physical limitations as a result of the ADD.

Felten’s psychiatrist did not indicate to him that he would have any difficulty doing his job as general manager as a result of having ADD. (Felten Dep. at 152.) In a letter of May 23, 2000, however, Felten’s psychiatrist has indicated that Felten’s combination and complexity of neurological disorders (ADD plus Tourette Syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder and depression) at times has made it “difficult ... for [Felten] to maintain the effectiveness his job required.” (Manlove Aff. Ex. N at 2.)

Other than difficulties with organization, Felten’s ADD did not impair his ability to perform his job as general manager, keep him from performing any of the functions associated with his position as general manager, or make it more difficult for him to do his job (Felten Dep. at 49-50, 151; Felten Aff. at. ¶ 14) However, when Eye-mart criticized him, for having a disorganized store, he was unable to conform to Eyemart’s requests (Felten Aff. ¶ 11). The medication prescribed by his psychiatrist helped him with his symptoms (Fel-ten Dep. at 151), but even with medication, the stress from work increased the problems that were occurring because of the ADD (Sharon Felten Aff. ¶¶ 14-15).

According to Felten, Eyemart’s discrimination against him began shortly after he was diagnosed with ADD. Mary Jo Samuelson, Eyemart’s senior vice president, learned about the diagnosis when Felten asked her for assistance in getting approval for insurance to cover the medication. He states that Samuelson and Eyemart owner Doug Barnes may have said something to him about ADD, but he cannot recall what they said or when they said it. Felten thinks Samuelson may have asked what ADD was. In a phone conversation between Barnes and Felten, Barnes expressed his belief that he himself had the symptoms or at least some of them.

Felten remained employed with Eye-mart as general manager of the Appleton store for almost three years after being diagnosed with ADD. On August 16, 1999, his employment was terminated following several negative reports concerning his job *938 performance. Felten disputes Eyemart’s claim that his discharge was due to poor job performance and points to evidence of superior performance by the Appleton store in comparison with Eyemart’s other stores as evidence that its claim is a mere pretext for the actual reason he was fired.

Within a few months after the termination of his employment with Eyemart, Felten worked as a manager of the produce section of a grocery store. He later began employment with Target Optical in Appleton. At Target Optical, Felten held the position of “Optical Team Lead,” which involved management responsibility for the optical department at the Target store in Appleton.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is proper if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with any affidavits, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party has the initial burden of demonstrating that it is entitled to summary judgment. Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Once this burden is met, the non-moving party must designate specific facts to support or defend each element of the cause of action, showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. at 322-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

In analyzing whether a question of fact exists, the court construes the evidence in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The mere existence of some factual dispute does not defeat a summary judgment motion, however; there must be a .genuine issue of material fact for the case to survive. Id. at 247-48,106 S.Ct. 2505.

“Material” means that the factual dispute must be outcome-determinative under governing law. Contreras v. City of Chicago, 119 F.3d 1286, 1291 (7th Cir.1997). Failure to support any essential element of a claim renders all other facts immaterial. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

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241 F. Supp. 2d 935, 2003 WL 179786, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/felten-v-eyemart-express-inc-wied-2003.