Walber Leonel v. American Airlines, Inc., Richard Branton v. American Airlines, Inc., Vincent Fusco v. American Airlines, Inc.

400 F.3d 702, 2005 WL 502874
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedMarch 4, 2005
Docket03-15890, 03-15893, 03-15897
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 400 F.3d 702 (Walber Leonel v. American Airlines, Inc., Richard Branton v. American Airlines, Inc., Vincent Fusco v. American Airlines, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Walber Leonel v. American Airlines, Inc., Richard Branton v. American Airlines, Inc., Vincent Fusco v. American Airlines, Inc., 400 F.3d 702, 2005 WL 502874 (9th Cir. 2005).

Opinion

FISHER, Circuit Judge:

Appellants Walber Leonel, Richard Branton and Vincent Fusco, who all have the human immunodeficiency virus (“HIV”), applied for flight attendant positions with American Airlines (“American”). Although they went through the application process at different times, the process was essentially the same for all of them. American interviewed them at its Dallas, *705 Texas, headquarters and then issued them conditional offers of employment, contingent upon passing both background checks and medical examinations. Rather than wait for the background checks, American immediately sent the appellants to its on-site medical department for medical examinations, where they were required to. fill out medical history questionnaires and give blood samples. None of them disclosed his HIV-positive status or related medications. Thereafter, alerted by the appellants’ blood test results, American discovered their HIV-positive status and rescinded their job offers, citing their failure to disclose information during their medical examinations.

The appellants, all California residents, now challenge American’s medical inquiries and examinations as prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1999), and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), Cal. Gov’t Code § 12900 et seq. (1999). They argue that American could not require them to disclose then-personal medical information so early in the application process — before the’ company had completed its background checks such that the medical examination would be the only remaining contingency — and thus their nondisclosures could not be used to disqualify them. They further contend that American violated their rights to privacy under the California Constitution by conducting complete blood count tests (“CBC”s) on their blood samples without notifying them or obtaining their consent.

The district court had diversity jurisdiction over the appellants’ individual suits; it consolidated the actions and granted American’s motion for summary judgment on, all claims. We have jurisdiction over the consolidated appeals under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We hold that the appellants have raised material issues of fact as to all appealed claims except Fusco’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

I.

Leonel, Branton and Fusco all participated in-American’s standard application process for flight attendant positions. They first responded to questions in telephone surveys and then provided more extensive information about their language abilities, previous employment and educational backgrounds in written applications. 1 Based on these initial screening forms, American selected the appellants to fly'to the company’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas, for in-person interviews.

Leonel, Branton and Fusco flew to Dallas- at American’s expense on March 25, 1998, June 25, 1998 and May 27, 1999, respectively. There, they participated first in group interviews, and then, having been chosen to progress in the application process, in individual interviews. Immediately after these interviews, members- of the American Airlines Flight Attendant Recruitment Team extended the appellants conditional offers of employment. Written letters that accompanied the oral offers read:

At this point in our recruiting process, I am pleased to make you a conditional offer of employment as a flight attendant with American Airlines. It is important, however, that you fully understand the conditions of this offer as they are detailed below.... Our offer is contingent upon your successful completion of *706 a drug test, a medical examination, and a satisfactory background check.... 2

After making the offers, American Airlines representatives directed the appellants to go immediately to the company’s medical department for medical examinations.

There, the appellants were instructed to fill out series of forms. 3 One, a “Notice and Acknowledgment of Drug Test,” informed them that they would be -asked to provide a urine specimen which would be tested for certain specified drugs, and solicited their written consent for the testing. This form also required them to list all medications they were taking at the time. None of the appellants listed the medications he was taking for HIV.

American also required the appellants to complete medical history forms that asked whether they had any of 56 listed medical conditions, including “blood disorder” (on Branton’s and Leonel’s forms) and “blood disorder or HIV/[AIDS]” (on Fusco’s form). Here, too, none of the appellants disclosed his HIV-positive status. Fusco, who participated in the application process approximately 14 months after Branton and 11 months after Leonel, also had to sign an “Applicant Non-Disclosure Notice,” which advised that during the examination he would be asked detailed and personal questions about his medical history and that it was important to disclose all conditions fully because of American’s public safety responsibilities. 4 After completing the forms, the appellants met with nurses to discuss their medical histories. Again they said nothing about their HIV-positive status or relevant medications despite questions asking for that kind of information.

At some point during the appellants’ medical examinations, nurses drew blood samples. Unlike the urinalysis procedure, American did not provide notice or obtain written consent for its blood tests. Nor did any of the company’s representatives disclose that a complete blood count would be run on the blood samples. 5 When Fus-co explicitly asked what his blood would be *707 tested for, a nurse replied simply, “anemia.”

A few days after the appellants’ medical examinations, American’s medical department ran CBC tests on their blood samples and discovered that they had elevated “mean corpuscular' volumes” (“MCV”s). According to American’s medical expert, Dr. McKenas, elevated MCV levels result from (1) alcoholism (approximately 26% of cases); (2) medications for HIV, seizure disorders, chemotherapy or transplants (approximately 38% of cases) and (3) sickle cell disease; bone marrow disorder, folate deficiency or liver disorder (approximately 36% of cases). The appellants’ expert, Dr. Shelley Gordon, testified that approximately 99% of individuals with HIV have elevated MCV levels. As nothing in any of the appellants’ medical histories indicated cause for an elevated MCV level, American wrote the appellants and requested explanations for the results. All of the appellants, acting through their personal physicians, then disclosed their HIV-positive status and medications.

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Bluebook (online)
400 F.3d 702, 2005 WL 502874, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/walber-leonel-v-american-airlines-inc-richard-branton-v-american-ca9-2005.