Wilson ex rel. Hinn v. North Carolina

981 F. Supp. 397, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10936, 1997 WL 663078
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedJune 30, 1997
DocketNo. 5:94-CV-878-BR3
StatusPublished

This text of 981 F. Supp. 397 (Wilson ex rel. Hinn v. North Carolina) 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
Wilson ex rel. Hinn v. North Carolina, 981 F. Supp. 397, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10936, 1997 WL 663078 (E.D.N.C. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

BRITT, District Judge.

This case is before the court on (1) defendants’ motion for summary judgment on (a) plaintiffs claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981; (b) plaintiff’s Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act (“RA”) claims; and (c) plaintiff’s claims for injunctive relief; (2) defendants’ motion to strike certain exhibits submitted by plaintiff with his response to defendants’ motion for summary judgment; and (3) defendants’ second motion in limine.

The facts of this case have been set out in prior orders of this court and need not be reiterated here.

I. Discussion

Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c), summary judgment is appropriate where there are no genuine issues as to any material facts, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

A genuine issue exists “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In considering a motion for summary judgment, the court is required to view the facts and draw reasonable inferences in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513-14. The plaintiff is entitled to have the credibility of all his evidence presumed. Miller v. Leathers, 913 F.2d 1085, 1087 (4th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1109, 111 S.Ct. 1018, 112 L.Ed.2d 1100 (1991). The party seeking summary judgment has the initial burden to show absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s ease. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553-54, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The opposing party must demonstrate that a triable issue of fact exists; he may not rest upon mere allegations or denials. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. A mere scintilla of evidence supporting the case is insufficient. Id.

Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 39 F.3d 515, 518 (4th Cir.1994) (quoting Shaw v. [399]*399Stroud, 13 F.3d 791, 798 (4th Cir.) cert, denied, 513 U.S. 813, 115 S.Ct. 67, 130 L.Ed.2d 24 (1994), 513 U.S. 814, 115 S.Ct. 68, 130 L.Ed.2d 24 (1994)).

A. § 1981 Claim

Defendants have moved for summary judgment on plaintiffs claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. In his response to defendants’ motion, plaintiff indicates that he is no longer pursuing a § 1981 claim. (Pl.’s Resp. to Factual Issues (“Pl.’s Resp.”) at 2.) Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs § 1981 claim, therefore, is GRANTED.

B. ADA and RA Claims

Section 504 of the RA provides that “[n]o otherwise qualified individual with a disability ... shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” 29 U.S.C. § 794 (1997). Similarly, the ADA provides that “no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.” 42 U.S.C. § 12132 (1995).

To establish a violation under either the RA or the ADA, plaintiff must prove that (1) he has a disability; (2) he is otherwise qualified for the benefit in question; and (3) he was excluded from the benefit due to discrimination solely on the basis of the disability. Doe v. University of Md. Med. Sys. Corp., 50 F.3d 1261, 1264-65 (4th Cir.1995). In this case, it is undisputed that plaintiff has a disability within the meaning of the RA and ADA.

“The inquiry into whether an applicant is otherwise qualified necessarily involves a determination of whether the applicant could have gained access to the program if the recipient of funds had made reasonable accommodations.” Wagner v. Fair Acres Geriatric Ctr., 49 F.3d 1002, 1014 (3rd Cir.1995). In Southeastern Community College v. Davis, 442 U.S. 397, 99 S.Ct. 2361, 60 L.Ed.2d 980 (1979), the Supreme Court

struck a balance between the statutory rights of the handicapped to be integrated into society and the legitimate interests of federal grantees in preserving the integrity of their programs: while a grantee need not be required to make “fundamental” or “substantial” modifications to accommodate the handicapped, it may be required to make “reasonable” ones.
The balance struck in Davis requires that an otherwise qualified individual must be provided with meaningful access to the benefit that the grantee offers. The benefit itself, of course, cannot be defined in a way that effectively denies otherwise qualified handicapped individuals the meaningful access to which they are entitled; to assure meaningful access, reasonable accommodations in the grantee’s program or benefit may have to be made.

Alexander v. Choate, 469 U.S. 287, 300-01, 105 S.Ct. 712, 720, 83 L.Ed.2d 661 (1985) (citation and footnote omitted). As the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has observed:

[1]t is clear that the phrase ‘otherwise qualified’ has a paradoxical quality; on the one hand, it refers to a person who has the abilities or characteristics sought by the grantee; but on the other, it cannot refer only to those already capable of meeting all the requirements — or else no reasonable requirement could ever violate section 504, no matter how easy it would be to accommodate handicapped individuals who cannot fulfill it.

Brennan v. Stewart, 834 F.2d 1248, 1261 (5th Cir.1988). “The question ... is the rather mushy one of whether some ‘reasonable accommodation’ is available to satisfy the legitimate interests of both the grantee and the handicapped person.” Id. at 1262.

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Related

Ex Parte Young
209 U.S. 123 (Supreme Court, 1908)
Edelman v. Jordan
415 U.S. 651 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Milliken v. Bradley
433 U.S. 267 (Supreme Court, 1977)
Southeastern Community College v. Davis
442 U.S. 397 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Youngberg v. Romeo Ex Rel. Romeo
457 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Alexander v. Choate
469 U.S. 287 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Green v. Mansour
474 U.S. 64 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Papasan v. Allain
478 U.S. 265 (Supreme Court, 1986)
School Bd. of Nassau Cty. v. Arline
480 U.S. 273 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Will v. Michigan Department of State Police
491 U.S. 58 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Patterson v. McLean Credit Union
39 F.3d 515 (Fourth Circuit, 1994)
Kimble v. Solomon
599 F.2d 599 (Fourth Circuit, 1979)
Clark v. Cohen
794 F.2d 79 (Third Circuit, 1986)
Brennan v. Stewart
834 F.2d 1248 (Fifth Circuit, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
981 F. Supp. 397, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10936, 1997 WL 663078, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-ex-rel-hinn-v-north-carolina-nced-1997.