Williams v. N.C. Admin. Office of the Courts

364 F. Supp. 3d 596
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedDecember 4, 2018
DocketNo. 4:18-CV-63-D
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 364 F. Supp. 3d 596 (Williams v. N.C. Admin. Office of the Courts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. N.C. Admin. Office of the Courts, 364 F. Supp. 3d 596 (E.D.N.C. 2018).

Opinion

JAMES C. DEVER III, United States District Judge

On April 2, 2018, Josephine Cole Williams ("Williams" or "plaintiff"), proceeding pro se, filed a complaint against the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts ("NCAOC") and Sara Beth Fulford Rhodes ("Rhodes", collectively "defendants"), the Pitt County Clerk of Superior Court, seeking relief under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. [D.E. 1]. On April 27, 2018, defendants moved to dismiss the action pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure [D.E. 10] and filed a memorandum in support [D.E. 11]. On June 22, 2018, Williams responded in opposition [D.E. 16]. On July 6, 2018, defendants replied [D.E. 17]. As explained below, the court grants defendants' motion to dismiss [D.E. 10].

I.

On January 31 2007, Williams began working in the Pitt County Clerk of Superior Court Office as a deputy clerk [D.E. 1] ¶ 9. In 2007, Williams hurt her back in a car accident. See id. ¶ 13. In 2010, Williams received a new job assignment and started to have back pain due to her job duties, which required her to stand, bend, stoop, lift, push, and pull. See id. ¶¶ 14-15, 18-19. Williams obtained a letter from an assistant nurse practitioner advising Williams's employer to move Williams to a more sedentary job (e.g., to not perform heavy lifting), to wear athletic shoes to work, and to use an ergonomic chair. See id. ¶ 20; [D.E. 1-4]. Williams provided the letter to Rhodes and requested the listed accommodations. See [D.E. 1] ¶ 21. Upon request from Rhodes, see [D.E. 1-5], Williams also obtained a note from a physician that discussed Williams's back pain. See [D.E. 1] ¶¶ 21-22. After presenting the physician's note, Rhodes told Williams that, to obtain any accommodation, Williams would need a letter from a specialist. See id. ¶ 23. Williams's employer never gave her the requested accommodations. See id. ¶ 24. On July 21, 2010, Williams informed Katheryn Watson ("Watson"), her supervisor, that her workstation at the public counter "was still causing her problems" and that she would like to move to another position in the office. See id. ¶ 26. Watson denied the request. See id. On July 30, 2010, Ford Heath Jr. ("Heath"), a Judicial Branch Risk Manager for the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, evaluated Williams at her workstation "for no more than 10 minutes." See id. ¶ 27. On November 16, 2010, Williams informed Heath that she wanted to file a workers' compensation claim, and Williams was moved to a different workstation and permitted to sit for three hours per day. See id. ¶ 30; [D.E. 1-8].

On October 17, 2011, Williams met with Rhodes and Watson, and they told her not to speak about her back issues in the office anymore because her comments were causing a negative or hostile work environment. See id. ¶ 32; [D.E. 1-9]. On December 7, 2011, Williams filed a grievance with the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts for workplace harassment *600and a hostile work environment under Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. See [D.E. 1] ¶ 33; [D.E. 1-10]. The grievance did not allege disability discrimination. See [D.E. 1-10].

On June 5, 2013, Williams had foot surgery and was placed on "light duty" for two to three weeks. See [D.E. 1] ¶ 36. On July 3, 2014, pursuant to her doctor's instructions, Williams took leave for lower back pain. See id. ¶ 37; [D.E. 1-13]. On July 21, 2014, Williams returned to work. See [D.E. 1] ¶ 37; [D.E. 1-13]. On September 15, 2014, pursuant to her doctor's instructions, Williams took leave for lower back pain, and she was scheduled to return on October 29, 2014. See [D.E. 1] ¶ 41; [D.E. 1-15]. Williams did not, however, return to work on October 29, 2014. See [D.E. 1] ¶ 41. Instead, Williams scheduled back surgery for November 18, 2014. See id.; [D.E. 1-16]. After the November 18, 2014 surgery, Williams was "confined to the house" for six months. [D.E. 1] ¶ 42. Williams did not return to work during 2015, and on November 20, 2015, she had a second back surgery. See id. ¶ 44; [D.E. 1-18]. This surgery, as before, left Williams confined to her house for six months. See [D.E. 1] ¶ 44. On June 9, 2016, defendants terminated Williams's employment because she was unable to return to work. See

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Bluebook (online)
364 F. Supp. 3d 596, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-nc-admin-office-of-the-courts-nced-2018.