Mattingly v. University of South Florida Board of Trustees

931 F. Supp. 2d 1176, 2013 WL 1099804, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36201
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 15, 2013
DocketCase No. 8:11-cv-00961-T-27TBM
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 931 F. Supp. 2d 1176 (Mattingly v. University of South Florida Board of Trustees) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mattingly v. University of South Florida Board of Trustees, 931 F. Supp. 2d 1176, 2013 WL 1099804, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36201 (M.D. Fla. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES D. WHITTEMORE, District Judge.

BEFORE THE COURT is The Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 21), to which Plaintiff has responded (Dkt. 31). Upon consideration, the motion (Dkt. 21) is GRANTED.

I. Factual Background 1

On April 18, 2008, Kenton Mattingly was hired by the University of South Florida Tampa Police Department as a law enforcement officer (Dkt. 1 ¶ 8). USF requires all of its officers to work rotating twelve-hour shifts and to complete a mandatory, sixteen-week field training program (Dkt. 26 at 59:1-60:13; Dkt. 28 ¶ 5; Dkt. 24 at 10:5-8). Even individuals with prior law enforcement experience are not excused from training (Dkt. 24 at 11:19— 20:2).

As a mandatory portion of the field training program, Mattingly was sprayed in the face with pepper spray. According to Mattingly, the trainees were not provided enough water to adequately flush their eyes and were forced to stand in front of fans, further aggravating the effects of the pepper spray (Dkt. 23 at 180:15-17). Despite the fans and lack of water, Mattingly did not immediately report any discomfort or complications from the pepper spray (Dkt. 26 at 37:6-25).

Approximately five to six weeks after the pepper spray, Mattingly notified his superiors of medical complications with his eyes (Dkt. 26 at 37:20-25). The complications were reported to USF’s worker’s [1179]*1179compensation carrier, which, on June 16, 2008, recommended “no work” until Mat-tingly was seen by an ophthalmologist (Dkt. 23-3). The ophthalmologist, Dr. Bradley Fouraker, diagnosed Mattingly with a chemical burn and a congenital dry-eye condition (Dkt. 23-17). As a result, Mattingly was placed on medical leave. When Mattingly returned from medical leave, he was placed on light duty consistent with Dr. Fouraker’s recommendations. Specifically, Dr. Fouraker stated that Mattingly was “not able to perform 12 hour shifts” and should avoid dust, dirt, and “drying conditions” (Dkt. 23-17 at 9).

On May 22, 2009, Rob Liddell, an employee relations consultant for USF, sent Mattingly a letter describing the process for requesting reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (Dkt. 23-6). The letter requested a “description of the aecommodation(s) sought after and, further, asks for physician documentation to support the requested accommodation” (id.). Mattingly first submitted a request for accommodations on November 16, 2009 (Dkt. 23-1), seeking three accommodations: (1) “Preferably assigned to an eight or possibly 10 hour work day”; (2) “Avoid prolonged] periods of using a computer especially in the sunlight, or in very dark conditions”; and (3) “Breaks as needed, to apply eye drops” (id.).

Although the November 16 letter was Mattingly’s first formal request for accommodations, the same accommodations were mentioned in an August 28, 2009 letter from Mattingly to his superiors and Lid-dell (see Dkt. 23-8). In that letter, Mat-tingly discussed a potential law enforcement opening at the USF Medical Center (id.). Mattingly believed a transfer to that position would meet all of his requested accommodations because it would include “a clean environment, limit[ed] exposure to dirt, dust, windy conditions, and decreased computer work” (id.). There is no dispute, however, that the conditions of duty at the Medical Center are not “sterile.” Rather, Medical Center officers utilize an active “zone” approach and officers are responsible for several buildings and open spaces between the buildings, where they encounter dust and dirt (Dkt. 23-9 at 2; Dkt. 26 at 56:13-57:1). Moreover, Assistant Chief of Police J.D. Withrow testified that the Medical Center positions were reserved for “seasoned officers with robust interpersonal skills,” a level Mattingly had not reached (Dkt. 26 at 55:21-15).

On January 25, 2010, Mattingly emailed Lieutenant Donna Rodgers, the patrol commander, regarding his work status. In that email, he stated that Dr. Fouraker “appeared to be very receptive” to Mat-tingly resuming a twelve-hour shift in a patrol car (Dkt. 23-10). Lt. Rodgers responded the next day by informing Mat-tingly that he was to resume his field duty on February 5, 2010, working twelve-hour shifts during the day (id.). Despite that email, Mattingly did not return to field training and continued on light duty (Dkt. 28 ¶ 9).

On March 8, 2010, Mattingly filed an internal complaint with USF (Dkt. 23-11) relaying three grievances: (1) USF rejected his reasonable accommodations requests (except for breaks to use eye drops) and refused to transfer him to the Medical Center; (2) New College of Florida withdrew their conditional offer of employment to Mattingly because he allegedly failed to disclose his medical conditions in his application; and (3) a USF corporal retaliated against Mattingly by forcing him to take a trash bag to the street corner (id.).

As of March 1, 2010, Dr. Fouraker no longer restricted Mattingly to light duty, although he did restrict Mattingly to ten-hour shifts (Dkt. 23-17 at 16). Also at that time, Mattingly was evaluated as having reached maximum medical improve[1180]*1180ment (Dkt. 28 ¶ 11). Based on those evaluations, Mattingly was again informed that he would be required to resume field training on April 2, 2010 (id.). But rather than returning to training, Mattingly took leave under the Family Medical Leave Act to have hernia surgery (Dkt. 23 at 186:14-187:20). While on leave, Mattingly submitted a second formal request for reasonable accommodations, dated June 8, 2010 (Dkt. 23-19). In this second request, he proposed the same accommodations that he requested on November 20, 2009. Namely, he sought an eight to ten hour work day with reduced computer use, breaks to apply eye drops, and reassignment to the Medical Center (id.). In response, USF offered Mattingly an assignment as a Parking Enforcement Specialist “as a reasonable effective accommodation,” which Mattingly accepted (Dkt. 27 ¶¶ 4, 5; Dkt. 27-2).

On July 17, 2010, while working as a Parking Enforcement Specialist, Mattingly rubbed sunscreen in his eyes and aggravated his eye condition (Dkt. 22 at 135:3-10). As a consequence, Mattingly held his position but did not work from the date of the injury until he retired on February 1, 2011 (Dkt. 137:6-16). Mattingly testified that during the leave before his retirement, he received an email demanding that he return to work in parking, or else he would be fired, although that email is not in the record (Dkt. 23 at 167:4-24).

After retiring, Mattingly sued USF alleging discrimination and retaliation in violation of the American with Disabilities Act and the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992. USF moves for summary judgment on all claims (Dkt.21).

II. Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate where “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). “A genuine factual dispute exists only if a reasonable fact-finder ‘could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the [non-movant] is entitled to a verdict.’ ” Kernel Records Oy v. Mosley, 694 F.3d 1294, 1300 (11th Cir. 2012) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)).

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

Related

Kingsolver v. Garland
S.D. Georgia, 2024
Ferguson v. Univ. Hosp. Health Sys., Inc.
2022 Ohio 3133 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
Patton v. Forest River Inc
N.D. Indiana, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
931 F. Supp. 2d 1176, 2013 WL 1099804, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mattingly-v-university-of-south-florida-board-of-trustees-flmd-2013.