Jeannot v. Phila. Hous. Auth.

356 F. Supp. 3d 440
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 19, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION No. 18-1977
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 356 F. Supp. 3d 440 (Jeannot v. Phila. Hous. Auth.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jeannot v. Phila. Hous. Auth., 356 F. Supp. 3d 440 (E.D. Pa. 2018).

Opinion

ROBERT F. KELLY, Sr., District Judge

Plaintiff Jeffrey Jeannot ("Jeannot") brings this action against Defendants Philadelphia Housing Authority (the "Housing Authority"), Branville G. Bard, Jr. ("Bard"), and Wiliam Britt1 ("Britt"), alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. , the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act ("PHRA"), 43 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 951 et seq. , and the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Defendants move to partially dismiss the Second Amended Complaint, contending that Jeannot fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Jeannot has filed a Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint. For the reasons noted below, Defendants' Motion is granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND2

The Housing Authority manages and operates a police department commonly known as the "Philadelphia Housing Authority Police Department." (Second Am. Compl. ¶ 8.) Jeannot began working there as a police officer in approximately September 2014. (Id. ¶ 16.)

On May 7, 2017, Jeannot was working a shift from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM with his partner for the night, Officer Roland Rodgers ("Officer Rodgers").3 (Id. ¶ 17.) During his personal time on the shift, Jeannot filled a prescription for Adderall at a Rite Aide. (Id. ¶ 18.) Jeannot alleges that his physician prescribed Adderall "so that he could maintain the focus, concentration and cognitive functions necessary for him to perform his duties as a police officer." (Id. ¶ 19.) He further claims that *446he provided prior notice to his supervisor that he was prescribed Adderall. (Id. )

Later that night, Jeannot and Officer Rodgers responded to a domestic dispute "which [Jeannot] resolved peacefully." (Id. ¶ 20.) Jeannot claims that Officer Rodgers secretly recorded him during the response to the domestic call and was away from the patrol car speaking on the phone for a significant amount of time. (Id. ) According to Jeannot, Officer Rodgers recorded him at the instruction of Defendants because of "the Defendants' perception and suspicion that [he] was abusing his prescription medication and/or other narcotics, acting erratic as a result of abusing such prescription ... and otherwise behaving in a manner which purportedly made him unfit to perform his duties...." (Id. ¶ 21.)

On the morning of May 8, 2017, at approximately 1:50 AM, Officer Rodgers received a call from the sergeant who said to return to the police headquarters to complete some "Municipal Police Officer Training." (Id. ¶ 22.) When Jeannot and Officer Rodgers returned to the headquarters, the on-duty sergeant informed Jeannot that he could go home early, or else he would have to sit in the office for the remainder of the shift without anything to do. (Id. ¶¶ 22-23.) Jeannot went home around 3:45 AM and provided his patrol log and paperwork for the night to Sergeant Matthew Richardson, who said, "Ok, you're good to go. See you later." (Id. ¶ 24.)

Later that same day, Jeannot received a knock on his front door from Lieutenant Hakeem Dunbar ("Lt. Dunbar"). (Id. ¶ 26.) Lt. Dunbar informed Jeannot that he was under investigation and was being placed on restrictive duty, but he would not give a reason why such actions were being taken. (Id. ) Because Jeannot was placed on restrictive duty, he was required to provide Lt. Dunbar with his locker combination for his firearm. (Id. ) Additionally, Lt. Dunbar told Jeannot that he was required to come to his shift the following day in business casual clothing, rather than in his uniform. (Id. ) Lt. Dunbar said he could not speak about the reason for restrictive duty, but he asked whether anything "unusual happened" the previous night and whether Jeannot "was ... not feeling well the night before." (Id. ¶ 27.) Jeannot believes these inquiries to mean Defendants perceived him as "having abused his prescription medication and was purportedly acting in an erratic manner thereby affecting his ability to perform the essential functions of his duties as a police officer." (Id. ¶¶ 25, 28.)

When Jeannot arrived for his next shift, Lt. Dunbar stated he was taking Jeannot to Episcopal Hospital for a drug test based on reasonable suspicion. (Id. ¶ 29.) Jeannot inquired why, if he was on reasonable suspicion on the night/early morning of May 7 and 8, 2017, did the police department not require a drug test then. (Id. ¶ 31.) Lt. Dunbar responded that the sergeant had made a mistake, but that if everything came back clear, Jeannot would be back working on the street in a few days. (Id. ¶¶ 30-31.)

On May 9, 2017, Jeannot received a call from his union shop steward "confirming that Defendants perceived Plaintiff as acting in an erratic manner due to an alleged abuse of Adderall or some other prescription drug/opioid." (Id. ¶ 32.) The following day, another union member informed Jeannot that he "should 'tell the truth about whether the drug screening would reveal some other narcotic.' " (Id. ¶ 33.) The union member said that if Jeannot was abusing his prescription medication, "they could get 'ahead of this' and get [Jeannot] into drug 'rehab.' " (Id. ) "Lastly, the union representative[ ] added that, based upon the Defendants' perception of *447[Jeannot's] drug abuse, if any other narcotic or opioid was revealed in the drug screening, [Jeannot] would be 'screwed.' " (Id. ) Jeannot assured the union member that he was "confident that no other narcotic/opioid would be revealed in the drug screening and that he believed the Defendants' perception of his alleged drug abuse was unfounded." (Id. ¶ 34.)

Jeannot asserts that several police officers confirmed that Defendants perceived Jeannot as a potential prescription drug abuser and unable to perform his job. (Id. ¶ 35.) Jeannot further alleges that Defendants "approached several officers and asked them whether they had observed anything unusual about [Jeannot's] behavior while on duty." (Id. ¶ 36.)

On May 26, 2017, Jeannot was placed on suspension with a recommendation for "Discharge/Probationary Separation." (Id. ¶ 37.) Allegedly, Defendants did not provide him with the results of the drug test or an opportunity to make a statement in response to the reasonable suspicion of his apparent drug use. (Id.

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356 F. Supp. 3d 440, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jeannot-v-phila-hous-auth-paed-2018.