Skonieczny, P. v. Cooper, D.

Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided April 28, 2017·No. Skonieczny, P. v. Cooper, D. No. 1166 WDA 2016·Unpublished

Opinion

NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION – SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37

PATRICIA SKONIECZNY, : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA

Appellant :

:

v. :

:

DANIEL W. COOPER, COOPER AND : LEPORE, :

:

Appellees : No. 1166 WDA 2016

Appeal from the Judgment Entered July 22, 2016, in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Civil Division at No(s): GD 01-018372

BEFORE: BOWES, OLSON, and STRASSBURGER,* JJ. MEMORANDUM BY STRASSBURGER, J.: FILED APRIL 28, 2017 Patricia Skonieczny appeals pro se from the judgment entered on July 22, 2016, after the trial court directed a verdict in favor of Daniel W. Cooper, Esquire, and his law firm, Cooper and Lepore, LLC (collectively, Appellees), in this legal malpractice action. Upon review, we affirm.

We summarize the relevant factual and procedural history of this case as follows. In 1969, Skonieczny was hired by USAir1 as a flight attendant. Skonieczny‟s “active service career was studded with several intervals due to her having a large family and being pregnant a number of times because of her religious belief.” Amended Complaint, 5/25/2012, at ¶ 5. During this

1 At the time she was hired, the airline was called Allegheny Airlines. That airline eventually became USAir, and then USAirways. Because the airline was called USAir for the time period relevant to the issues in this case, we will refer to it as USAir.

*Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

time period, USAir had a policy governing the weight of flight attendants when returning from maternity leave. Under the policy, flight attendants were weighed upon returning to work. “If the flight attendant exceeded the required weight pursuant to USAir‟s weight chart, the flight attendant remained on active status … but was required to lose a certain amount of weight every three months until the flight attendant met the required goal.” Id. at ¶ 8. “If the flight attendant was unable to lose the required weight within the time frame allotted, USAir‟s policy was to place the flight attendant on weight suspension.” Id. at ¶ 9.

In October 1990, after Skonieczny gave birth to her eighth child, she was placed on weight suspension status upon returning to work. Unable to reach the weight goal, Skonieczny remained on weight suspension status in December 1990. While on this weight suspension, Skonieczny became pregnant with her ninth child. On May 21, 1992, Skonieczny was removed from weight suspension status and placed on maternity leave status.2 Skonieczny‟s ninth child was born on November 3, 1992, and she was scheduled to return to work on April 28, 1993. She was immediately placed on weight suspension status. She remained on weight suspension status until March 3, 1994, when she notified USAir she was pregnant with her tenth child. From March 3, 1994 until her expected due date, October 10,

2 “Due to complications during [that] pregnancy, [Skonieczny] applied for and received a disability benefit from USAir as permitted in USAir‟s Flight Attendant Maternity Policy [(Maternity Policy)] and pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement [(CBA)].” Amended Complaint, 5/25/2012, at ¶ 19.

1994, Skonieczny‟s status was changed to maternity leave. Sadly, Skonieczny miscarried on April 3, 1994. Pursuant to the CBA, Skonieczny was still entitled to six months of maternity leave.

Meanwhile, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC)

had filed a class-action lawsuit against USAir in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (EEOC v. USAir, Inc., C.A. No. 6:92CV00272 (M.D.N.C.)) alleging USAir was discriminating against flight attendants “on the basis of sex and age in the application of its weight policy.” Amended Complaint, 5/25/2012, at ¶ 30. The lawsuit settled on March 23, 1994, and Skonieczny learned about this lawsuit when she received a letter in the fall of 1994 requiring her to sign a release. Id. at Exhibit 4. As part of that lawsuit, USAir agreed to change its weight policy to a performance-based policy in order to comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (Title VII).

Skonieczny was unable to return to work in the fall of 1994, and she informed USAir she was unable “to medically take the Performance Test” as requested by USAir. Id. at ¶ 53. Pursuant to the EEOC lawsuit settlement agreement, Skonieczny was placed on weight suspension status as of October 9, 1994. Skonieczny was informed that she would remain on weight suspension until she could complete the performance test. Skonieczny passed the performance test in early 1995, but was still unable to return to work due to medical issues she was experiencing.

Skonieczny formally applied to USAir for long-term disability (LTD)

benefits on May 5, 1995, stating that “she had been disabled due to „panic disorder with agoraphobia and depression disorder [not otherwise specified (NOS)]‟ since September 1994.” U.S. District Court Opinion in C.A. No. 97- 2357, 11/18/1998, at 5. On October 3, 1995, USAir sent a letter to Skoneiczny conceding that she was disabled, but concluded she was entitled to zero dollars in LTD benefits. USAir reached this conclusion based on the section 22.F.3 of the USAir Flight Attendant Agreement, which provided that the “monthly [LTD] benefit shall be based on the previous year‟s gross salary divided by the number of months actually worked.” Id. Skonieczny did not earn any salary in 1994 due to her being on maternity leave; thus, according to USAir, she was not eligible for any disability compensation even though she was disabled.

Thereafter, Skonieczny, through her union, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), filed a grievance against USAir. 3 Additionally, on April 25, 1996, Skonieczny pro se notified the EEOC of discrimination claims against USAir. The EEOC conducted a telephone inquiry, and sent a charge of discrimination form to Skonieczny. Skonieczny filled out, signed, and returned the form. Skonieczny checked the box on the form indicating that she believed USAir was violating her rights pursuant to the Americans with

3 Counsel from the AFA represented Skonieczny with respect to the grievance process.

Disability Act of 1990 (ADA). On September 30, 1997, the EEOC sent Skonieczny a right-to-sue letter.

In October 1997, Skonieczny first consulted with Appellees about these claims. On December 29, 1997, Appellees filed a lawsuit against USAir in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on Skonieczny‟s behalf (C.A. No. 97-2357). In her complaint, Skoneiczny alleged claims for violations of Title VII, the ADA, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 951 et seq. (PHRA). In addition, Appellees sent a letter to Skonieczny, which stated the following.

With regard to the merits of this matter, we do have significant obstacles for success. Obviously, if you win the arbitration case based on the union contract and past practice, this case is moot. You cannot collect more than the long term disability benefits. If you lose the arbitration, we are left with a “discrimination” argument instead of the union contract.

However, I am concerned because the only charge you filed with the EEOC is … [an ADA] charge. Quite frankly, this is not an ADA case. In fact, [USAir] admits you are disabled. If anything, this is a sex discrimination or retaliation case under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Unfortunately, no charge was ever filed with the EEOC on these issues.

In any event, we will see what develops.

Amended Complaint, 5/25/2012, at Exhibit 44.

On February 25, 1998, Skonieczny received a letter from the AFA attorney informing her that her grievance was “without legal merit” and that it would withdraw “the case from arbitration before the Flight Attendant Retirement Board.” Id. at Exhibit 26. Skonieczny informed Appellees of this development.

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