Jones v. Nationwide Life Insurance

847 F. Supp. 2d 218, 2012 WL 726675, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30688
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedMarch 5, 2012
DocketC.A. No. 10-cv-30216-MAP
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 847 F. Supp. 2d 218 (Jones v. Nationwide Life Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. Nationwide Life Insurance, 847 F. Supp. 2d 218, 2012 WL 726675, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30688 (D. Mass. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER REGARDING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO AMEND STATEMENT OF FACTS

(Dkt. Nos. 31 and 52)

PONSOR, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff, Mark Jones, initially filed this complaint against his employers (Defendant Nationwide Life Insurance Company and certain affiliates) in the Massachusetts Superior Court, alleging employment discrimination based on disability in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 9 (Count I).1 After removal to this court in November of 2010, he amended his complaint to allege a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (Count II).

On November 10, 2011, Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on both counts. (Dkt. No. 31.) Plaintiff opposed the motion and subsequently filed a motion to amend his reply brief with updated citations to the record. (Dkt. No. 52.) The court will allow Plaintiffs motion to amend but will, notwithstanding this ruling, allow Defendant’s motion for summary judgment as well. As the discussion below will demonstrate, the record fails to support Plaintiffs claim that he suffered from a disability recognized either under federal law or the law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In light of this fatal, threshold defect in Plaintiffs case, the court need not address several other arguments offered by Defendant in support of summary judgment.

II. FACTS

In accordance with the dictates of Fed. R.Civ.P. 56, the facts are viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, the non-moving party here.

Starting in March of 2000, Plaintiff was a Retirement Program Services Director for Defendant. His job was to oversee sales representatives selling 401(k)-like retirement plans to states and localities on behalf of an affiliate of Nationwide Life Insurance Company called Nationwide Retirement Services, Inc. (“NRS”).

During the time of his employment, unbeknownst to Defendant until shortly before Plaintiffs termination, Plaintiff was suffering from brachial plexus palsy, the consequence of a 1979 motorcycle accident. The injury caused Plaintiff pain in his left [221]*221arm and left him with impaired manual dexterity on that side.

In February 2006, Plaintiff broke his left shoulder. As a result, he required bone grafting and eventually developed a severe infection. Through 2008, the discomfort from his condition required Plaintiff to take prescription painkillers. Nevertheless, Plaintiff continued to work quite successfully, surpassing other managers at his level, except during June and July of 2008 when he was absent for surgery on his injured shoulder. Following this period, in a letter dated August 27, 2008, Plaintiffs treating physician described the medical cause for Plaintiffs absence, but she did not note any restrictions or modifications on Plaintiffs post-surgical ability to work. (Dkt. No. 33, Ex. F.37).

At some point, as part of a change in business strategy, Defendant began selling securities products as part of the package of retirement offerings it marketed to clients. In particular, it began offering a so-called managed account product called ProAccount in the spring of 2007. This product, unlike traditional insurance offerings, required sales representatives selling it to be licensed registered investment ad-visors — a certification that could only be obtained by passing the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (“FINRA”) Series 65 and Series 66 exams.

On March 3, 2006, Defendant’s broker-dealer, a company called Nationwide Investment Services Inc. (“NISC”), sent an email to certain employees of Defendant, including Plaintiff, notifying them that they would need to become registered investment advisers in order to sell ProAccount. (Dkt. No. 37, Ex. A.)

In December 2007, Plaintiff was informed by Defendant that any Nationwide employee selling ProAccount was required to take and pass the test under FINRA regulations and become a registered investment adviser by the end of 2008. Any employee who did not pass the test successfully and obtain the new credential would be terminated or reassigned to a different job. (Dkt. No. 34, Ex. 45.)

Plaintiff repeatedly failed the Series 65 exam and so was unable to become a registered investment advisor under Defendant’s new policy. Many years earlier, in 1999, he had attempted to take the exam and failed. From April 2006 to October 2008 he took the exam four more times and failed to pass on each attempt. (Dkt. No. 37, Ex. I.) The record contains no evidence that Plaintiffs failure to pass the exam on these occasions resulted from any physical impairment related to his brachial plexus palsy.

Sometime before Plaintiffs October test, around September 2008, Plaintiff asked his supervisor, Barbara Anderson, for an extension to take the test until December 2008 given that he had undergone surgery over the summer. (Dkt. No. 47, Ex. 6.) It is unclear whether Plaintiff mentioned any medication-related cognitive impairments to Anderson, although Anderson — through her assistant — never noted any such impairments in her communications with Defendant’s Human Resources Department about the issue. (Id.) Furthermore, Plaintiffs physician’s report to Defendant about the surgery only mentioned that Plaintiff was taking the antibiotic Naficillin — not any prescription painkillers. (Dkt. No. 34, Ex. F.37.) The record suggests that Defendant denied Plaintiffs request for an extension at this time, but Plaintiff was somehow able to take the test again in December. Unfortunately, he once again failed. (Dkt. No. 47, Ex. 5.)

On December 23, 2008, Plaintiff called Anderson to report that he had failed the Series 65 exam again. At that point, Anderson told him his employment with [222]*222Defendant would be terminated. (Dkt. No. 33, Def.’s SUMF at ¶ 49).

On December 28, 2008, Plaintiff wrote Steven Angelis, his supervisor’s supervisor and asked for additional time to pass the Series 65 exam. He told Angelis of his poor health resulting from his shoulder injury, and he added that he felt he could pass the exam if he had additional time to study. (Dkt. No. 35, Ex. F.)

For purposes of this memorandum, the court will assume that Plaintiffs December 28 letter constituted a request for an accommodation under the ADA and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B — i.e., a request for more time to take the exam — and Anderson’s response on December 31 constituted a rejection of that request. Anderson also informed Plaintiff on December 31, 2008 that, because of his failure to pass the exam and obtain the required credential, he would be terminated from his job. (Dkt. No. 25, Ex. H.) His employment with Nationwide would be finally terminated within thirty days if he did not obtain some other slot elsewhere in the company. (Dkt. No. 34, Ex. I.) Plaintiff did not find another job within Nationwide, and his formal termination became final on January 31, 2009.

III. DISCUSSION

The fundamentals are uncontroversial. First, the ADA and Mass. Gen. Laws ch.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jones v. Nationwide Life Insurance
696 F.3d 78 (First Circuit, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
847 F. Supp. 2d 218, 2012 WL 726675, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30688, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-nationwide-life-insurance-mad-2012.