Keen v. Teva Sales & Mktg., Inc.

303 F. Supp. 3d 690
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 20, 2018
DocketNo. 16 C 9964
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 303 F. Supp. 3d 690 (Keen v. Teva Sales & Mktg., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Keen v. Teva Sales & Mktg., Inc., 303 F. Supp. 3d 690 (illinoised 2018).

Opinion

Chief Judge Rubén Castillo, United States District Court

Janice Keen ("Plaintiff") brings this 37-count employment discrimination lawsuit alleging that Teva Sales and Marketing, Inc. and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (collectively, "Teva" or "Defendants") discriminated and retaliated against her because of her disability and gender in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. , the Illinois Human Rights Act ("IHRA"), 775 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/1-101 et seq. , and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (16-cv-9964, R. 26, Am. Compl. at 1-172.1 ) Plaintiff also brings claims under the Illinois Whistleblower Act ("IWA"), 740 ILL. COMP. STAT. 174/1 et seq. , and a claim for retaliatory discharge under Illinois law. (Id. ) Defendants move for summary judgment on all of Plaintiff's claims.2 (14-cv-9626, R. 81, Mot. for Summ. J. at 1; 16-cv-9964, R. 30, Suppl. Mot. for Summ. J. at 3.) Plaintiff opposes the motion, and moves to strike Defendants' reply brief and sanction Defendants for raising arguments in their reply that were not raised in their motion for summary judgment. (Id. , R. 47, Mot. to Strike.) For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted, and Plaintiff's motion to strike and for sanctions is denied.

RELEVANT FACTS3

*698This suit implicates facts and numerous discrete incidents that occurred over several years during Plaintiff's employment. The Court, therefore, only summarizes those facts that are material to Plaintiff's claims. The following facts are undisputed unless otherwise stated.

I. The Parties and Plaintiff's Supervisors

Defendants are Delaware corporations and pharmaceutical companies. (14-cv-9626, R. 86-1, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Statement of Material Facts [hereinafter "SOMF"] ¶ 1; 16-cv-9964, R. 28, Answer to Am. Compl. at 2.) In June 2005, Keen was hired as a sales specialist by Cephalon, a pharmaceutical company later acquired by Teva. (14-cv-9626, R. 86-1, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOMF ¶ 3.) As a sales specialist, she was responsible for selling pharmaceuticals in the Chicago area. (Id. ) The physical requirements of her job included daily driving, getting in and out of her car, carrying promotional materials, climbing and descending stairs, and walking to and from physicians' offices. (16-cv-9964, R. 28, Answer to Am. Compl. at 3.)

Prior to Teva's acquisition of Cephalon in October 2011, Plaintiff reported to Katherine Stanek. (14-cv-9626, R. 86-1, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOMF ¶ 3.) Shortly after the acquisition, Plaintiff began reporting to Scott Bischoff, Teva's Chicago regional sales manager. (Id. ¶ 4.) Sometime in 2013, Mike Rothweiler replaced Bischoff as the regional sales manager, and Plaintiff then began reporting to him. (Id. ) Stanek, Bischoff, and Rothweiler all reported to Matthew Muller, who was a director of sales at Cephalon and later the director of sales for Teva's "central nervous division" following Teva's acquisition of Cephalon. (Id. ¶ 5.)

II. Plaintiff's Leaves of Absence in 2010-2012

In November 2010, Plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident while she was working and injured her neck and shoulder as a result. (Id. , R. 86-5, Keen Oct. 14 Dep. Tr. at 34, 37.) After the accident, she took a leave of absence for approximately five months and returned to work either "at the end of April or early May" in 2011. (Id. at 40-41.) Shortly after the accident, Plaintiff filed a claim with the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission ("IWCC") related to the accident. (16-cv-9964, R. 41-2 at 86, Workers' Comp. Claims.) In November 2011, Plaintiff underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, and she took a one month leave of absence following her surgery. (14-cv-9626, R. 86-1, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOMF ¶ 11.)

The following year, Plaintiff underwent spinal surgery to repair injuries she suffered in the November 2010 car accident and took another leave of absence. (Id. , R. 86-5, Keen Oct. 14 Dep. Tr. at 51-53.) Her leave began in June 2012 and lasted for twelve weeks, at which time Plaintiff exhausted her leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. (Id. at 52-53.) Just a few months after she returned, Plaintiff discovered that her spinal surgery had failed and that she would need another surgery. (Id. , R. 86-1, Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' SOMF ¶ 16.) On December 12, 2012, Plaintiff met with Teva's director of human resources, Rob Bobrowski, and explained to him that "she was going to be off work for an extended period of time because of her disability of degenerative cervical disc disease" and surgery she had scheduled. (Id. , R. 89, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Statement of Additional Material Facts [hereinafter "SOAMF"] ¶ 22.) Later in December 2012, Plaintiff underwent a second spinal surgery which *699led to an extended leave of absence from Teva. (Id. ¶¶ 5, 11, 22.)

III. Plaintiff's Leave and Return to Work in 20134

While Plaintiff was still on leave, Plaintiff's physician, Dr. Gary Shapiro, wrote a letter to Defendants on May 8, 2013, informing them that Plaintiff was scheduled for another spinal surgery on May 17, 2013, and that she was to refrain from work until the surgery. (Id. , R. 81-12 at 16, May 8, 2013, Shapiro Letter.) Dr. Shapiro also informed Defendants that Plaintiff would need two to six weeks to recover. (Id. ) Plaintiff's surgery, however, was cancelled. (Id. , R. 89, Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s SOAMF ¶ 9.) Soon after, on May 23, 2013, Bobrowski wrote a letter to Plaintiff, which stated:

As you know, you have been out of the workplace and field since December 21, 2012. In addition, this time has not been approved under Teva's Family Medical Leave Policy and Teva's Short Term/Long Term disability plans. Thus, your time is currently categorized as personal, unpaid, non-FML leave. Also, since that time, Teva has provided you with full benefits and use of a company car.
For approximately five (5) months, the Company has accommodated your requested leave and kept your position vacant pending your return. We ask that you notify us no later than May 31, 2013 as to your work status. Please have your physician review your job description and complete the Physical Capabilities Checklist (attached), confirming if you are fit for duty and identifying any restrictions or accommodations necessary and, indicating if/when you will be able to return to work....

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303 F. Supp. 3d 690, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keen-v-teva-sales-mktg-inc-illinoised-2018.