Smith v. Lattimore Materials Co.

287 F. Supp. 2d 667, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18649, 2003 WL 22391254
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 24, 2003
Docket4:02CVC27
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 287 F. Supp. 2d 667 (Smith v. Lattimore Materials Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Lattimore Materials Co., 287 F. Supp. 2d 667, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18649, 2003 WL 22391254 (E.D. Tex. 2003).

Opinion

ORDER

BUSH, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pending before the Court is Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, and having considered the motion, the response, and the reply thereto, the Court finds that the motion should be granted.

Background

This is a case brought pursuant to the American with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (“ADA”) against Plaintiffs former employer Defendant Lattimore Materials Company (“Lattimore”). Plaintiff alleges disability based upon a combination of pain associated with an injury to his neck and right shoulder in 1987 and depression and general anxiety which was diagnosed in 1990 while serving in the military. Plaintiff asserts that his prescribed medications *669 for both conditions prevented him from starting work at the required 7:00 a.m.

On June 3, 1993, Plaintiff was hired by Lattimore. While at Lattimore, Plaintiff worked at various jobs. In March 1999, Plaintiff started working in Special Projects and was required to report to work at 7:00 a.m.

Plaintiff asserts that due to his medications he was unable to start work at the required starting time of 7:00 a.m. Plaintiff asserts that he was allowed to report to work no later than 9:00 a.m. and work each day until he completed his assigned duties. On October 10, 2000, Plaintiff was informed that his work hours were going to change and that he would have to report to work each day by 7:00 a.m. and that he would need to get his forty hours in each week.

Plaintiff responded by indicating that he wanted to go work at a gun range which would put him in a salaried position. Plaintiff indicated to his supervisor that the job at the gun range was something that Plaintiff wanted to do. His supervisor then filled out the resignation forms based upon Plaintiffs request and then discussed it with him. The form states that Plaintiff is resigning his position to take a job at the gun range. Plaintiff signed the form on October 19, 2000 and returned it to Lattimore’s home office. Plaintiff admitted in his deposition and in answers to requests for admissions that he resigned and was not terminated by Latti-more.

On September 11, 2002, Lattimore filed its motion for summary judgment. On November 5, 2002, Plaintiff filed his response. On November 12, 2002, Lattimore filed a reply.

Summary Judgment Standard

The granting of summary judgment is proper if “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The trial court must resolve all reasonable doubts in favor of the party opposing the motion. Casey Enterprises, Inc. v. Am. Hardware Mut. Ins. Co., 655 F.2d 598, 602 (5th Cir.1981) (citations omitted). The party seeking summary judgment carries the burden of demonstrating that there is no actual dispute as to any material fact in the case. This burden, however, does not require the moving party to produce evidence showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party satisfies its burden by “pointing out to the district court ... that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case.” Id.

Once the moving party has satisfied its burden, the nonmovant must “set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). If the nonmovant fails to set forth specific facts in support of allegations essential to that party’s claim and on which that party will bear the burden of proof, then summary judgment will be appropriate. Celotex, 106 S.Ct at 2552-53. Even if the nonmovant brings forth evidence in support of its allegations, summary judgment will be appropriate “unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the nonmoving party for a jury to return a verdict for that party. If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citations omitted).

Analysis

To state a cause of action under the ADA, the Plaintiff must show that (1) he is disabled as defined under the Act: (2) is qualified, with or without reasonable accommodation, to perform essential functions of the job at issue; (3) was terminat *670 ed or denied certain employment benefits for which he was otherwise eligible, by a covered entity; and (4) such termination or denial of benefits was based upon disability. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a); Harding v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., 907 F.Supp. 386 (M.D.Fla.1995).

Plaintiff may establish a claim of discrimination under the ADA by producing direct evidence or by using the McDonnell Douglas analysis. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). In this case, there is no direct evidence; therefore, Plaintiff must establish a prima facie case of discrimination. If Plaintiff makes out a pri-ma facie case, Defendant must then articulate a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for its action. Seaman v. CSPH, Inc., 179 F.3d 297, 300 (5th Cir.1999). Plaintiff then must offer evidence that the nondiscriminatory reason was false and that the real reason for the adverse action was unlawful discrimination. Id.

Lattimore moves for summary judgment asserting that Plaintiff cannot make out a prima facie case. To establish a prima facie case of discrimination based on the ADA, Plaintiff must show that he has a disability, is qualified for the job, an adverse employment decision was made solely because of his disability and he was replaced by or treated less favorably than non-disabled employees. Turco v. Hoechst Celanese Corp., 101 F.3d 1090, 1092 (5th Cir.1996) (Citation omitted); McInnis v. Alamo Comm. College Dist., 207 F.3d 276, 280 (5th Cir.2000).

Is Plaintiff Disabled?

Defendant asserts that the Plaintiff does not have a disability under the ADA. The ADA defines “disability” using three alternatives:

(A)a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;
(B) a record of such an impairment; or

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287 F. Supp. 2d 667, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18649, 2003 WL 22391254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-lattimore-materials-co-txed-2003.