Schaefer v. State Insurance Fund

207 F.3d 139, 2000 WL 297104
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedMarch 22, 2000
DocketDocket No. 99-7619
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 207 F.3d 139 (Schaefer v. State Insurance Fund) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schaefer v. State Insurance Fund, 207 F.3d 139, 2000 WL 297104 (2d Cir. 2000).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Plaintiff-appellee Regina Schaefer was diagnosed with diabetes in March of 1991. She has a type of diabetes called “insulin-independent,” meaning that it can be treated without insulin injections using instead dietary restrictions and oral medication that does not contain insulin.1

In April of 1991, Schaefer was dismissed from her job as an office clerk at the New York Office of General Services, where she had worked since 1973. She applied for and obtained a probationary position as a file clerk with defendant New York State Insurance Fund. Plaintiff notified her new employers of her diabetic condition. During her 26-week probationary period, plaintiff received two quarterly written reports that graded her work “unsatisfactory” in several areas. She also received negative verbal feedback from her immediate supervisor, Linda Van Dross. Plaintiff was also told that her accumulated sick leave, much of which she had been using to visit doctors or for other legitimate reasons, had been depleted to a level below office targets. When it became clear that plaintiff would not obtain a permanent position after her probationary period in Van Dross’s unit, she requested and obtained another probationary period of equal length in supervisor Pat Quinones’s unit. During this period too, plaintiff received two largely unsatisfactory written reports and several verbal warnings. Plaintiff testified that during both probationary periods her work was satisfactory and that her evaluations were inaccurate and unfair. On March 11, 1992 she was terminated.

Schaefer filed this action in January of 1995, alleging inter alia that defendants had discriminated against her in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (“the ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. She alleged generally that she was disabled within the meaning of the statute and specifically that she was “perceived by her supervisors and co-workers as suffering from a disability.”2

On March 19, 1998, the district court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The court framed the legal question as whether ameliorative measures should be taken into account in determining whether a diabetic is “disabled” under the ADA. It predicated its inquiry on the observation that there is “no question that plaintiffs condition when uncontrolled by medication does limit major life activities, but when controlled it does not.” Following the majority of circuits, and noting that the Second Circuit had not yet ruled on the question, the district court held that ameliorative measures should not be taken into account when determining whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity. See Arnold v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 136 F.3d 854, 863 (1st Cir. 1998); Matczak v. Frankford Candy & Chocolate Co., 136 F.3d 933, 937 (3rd Cir. 1997); Doane v. City of Omaha, 115 F.3d 624, 627-28 (8th Cir.1997); Harris v. H & W Contracting Co., 102 F.3d 516, 522 (11th Cir.1996); Holihan v. Lucky Stores, Inc., 87 F.3d 362, 366 (9th Cir.1996); Roth v. Lutheran Gen. Hosp., 57 F.3d 1446, 1454 (7th Cir.1995). But see Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 130 F.3d 893, 902 (10th Cir.1997) (“The determination of whether an individual’s impairment substantially limits a major life activity should take into consideration mitigating or corrective measures utilized by the individual.”); Gilday v. Mecosta County, 124 F.3d 760, 766-67 (6th Cir.1997). The court concluded that plaintiff was disabled under the ADA because her condition substantially limited a major life activity.

[142]*142The case proceeded to trial. The district court instructed the jury, after setting out the three definitions of disability in the ADA, that “the plaintiff has a disability within the meaning of the statute and that she is otherwise qualified for the position.” The jury found for plaintiff and awarded damages. Defendants appealed.

The Supreme Court subsequently handed down decisions holding that ameliorative measures should be considered when courts decide whether a plaintiff is substantially limited in a major life activity. See Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471, 119 S.Ct. 2139, 2146, 144 L.Ed.2d 450 (1999); Murphy v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 527 U.S. 516, 119 S.Ct. 2133, 2137, 144 L.Ed.2d 484 (1999); Albertsons, Inc. v. Kirkingburg, 527 U.S. 555, 119 S.Ct. 2162, 2168-69, 144 L.Ed.2d 518 (1999). Defendants now argue that these decisions require reversal because plaintiff is not limited in any major life activity when ameliorative measures are considered. Plaintiff counters that the jury verdict should be upheld but, if it is not and the case is remanded, she should be permitted to show that she is disabled under the ADA, even considering ameliorative measures, because her diabetes is an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, she has a record of such an impairment, and she is regarded as having such an impairment.

Although normally “where summary judgment is denied and the movant subsequently loses after a full trial on the merits, the denial of summary judgment may not be appealed,” this rule does not apply where the district court’s error was purely one of law. McPherson v. Kelsey, 125 F.3d 989, 995 (6th Cir.1997) (internal quotation marks omitted), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1050, 118 S.Ct. 1370, 140 L.Ed.2d 518 (1998). We review the district court’s denial of summary judgment de novo. See Cellular Tel. Co. v. Town of Oyster Bay, 166 F.3d 490, 492 (2d Cir.1999).

In order to make out a prima facie case under the ADA, the plaintiff must prove, inter alia, discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence. See Heyman v. Queens Village Comm. for Mental Health for Jamaica Community Adolescent Program, Inc., 198 F.3d 68, 72 (2d Cir.1999). As one element of the prima facie case — the element at issue in this appeal — plaintiff must show that she has a “disability” within the meaning of the ADA. A disability can be shown following one of three definitions:

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Regina A. Schaefer v. The State Insurance Fund
207 F.3d 139 (Second Circuit, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
207 F.3d 139, 2000 WL 297104, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schaefer-v-state-insurance-fund-ca2-2000.