Wood v. Crown Redi-Mix, Inc.

218 F.Supp.2d 1094

Charles E. WOOD, Plaintiff, v. CROWN REDI-MIX, INC., d/b/a Crown Building Materials, Inc. and General Team and Truck Drivers, Helpers and Warehousemen, Local 90, Defendants.

No. 4:01-CV-40127.

United States District Court, S.D. Iowa, Central Division.

August 29, 2002.

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Joseph L. Walsh, Hedberg, Owens & Hedberg, Des Moines, IA, Donna M. Schauer, Schauer Law Firm, Des Moines, IA, for plaintiff.

Greg A. Naylor, Pingel & Templer, West Des Moines, IA, Andrea F. Hoeschen, Previant, Goldberg, Uelmen, et al., Milwaukee, WI, Paige E. Fiedler, Fiedler & Townsend, Johnston, IA, for defendants.

RULING ON DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DEFENDANT'S MOTIONS TO STRIKE

GRITZNER, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on two motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff, Charles E. Wood ("Wood"), filed a complaint against General Team and Truck Drivers, Helpers and Warehousemen, Local 90 ("the Union"), Robert E. Jackson (Secretary-Treasurer and Business Agent for the Union), and Frank "Huck" Thompson (Business Agent for the Union), on February 28, 2001, alleging disability discrimination under the ADA. On March 5, 2001, Wood filed a separate complaint against Crown Redi-Mix, Inc., d/b/a Crown Building Materials, Inc. ("Crown"), also alleging disability discrimination. On July 27, 2001, Judge Wolle ordered the two cases consolidated. On September 12, 2001, defendants Robert E. Jackson and Frank "Huck" Thompson were dismissed from the case. The remaining defendants, Crown and Teamsters Local 90, each moved for summary judgment on June 3, 2002.

Arguments on the motions were heard on July 26, 2002. Crown was represented by attorney Greg Naylor, and the Union was represented by attorneys Andrea Hoeschen and Paige Fiedler. Attorney Joe Walsh argued in resistance to Crown's motion, and attorney Donna Schauer argued in resistance to the Union's motion. On July 29, 2002, Crown moved to strike the workers' compensation arbitration decision letter and report of Dr. Robert C. Jones, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). For the reasons discussed below, both motions for summary judgment are granted. Crown's motion to strike is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Wood was hired at Crown in July 1997 as a ready-mix truck driver. Crown was a union company, and Wood was a member of a bargaining unit while employed at Crown. Teamsters Local 90 was the labor organization responsible for representing the bargaining unit during Wood's employment. During Wood's employment, a collective bargaining contract, negotiated by Teamsters Local 90, governed the terms and conditions of employment for members of the bargaining unit, including Wood. Some of the pertinent provisions of the collective bargaining agreement ("Agreement") include: Crown was not allowed to enter into any agreements or contracts with individual employees which conflicted with the Agreement;¹ Crown had the right to lay off employees and to make reasonable rules and regulations to govern the workforce; and bid jobs at Crown were awarded to the most senior, qualified employee interested in the job.

On October 29, 1998, Wood suffered a work-related back injury while working when he slipped and fell into a hole partially covered with plywood. Wood's treating physician, Dr. Boulden, eventually proposed permanent restrictions on Wood which prohibited him from driving a ready-mix truck, lifting over 50 pounds, and from doing extensive bending, twisting, and lifting. Because Wood could no longer drive a ready-mix truck, an essential duty of every position at Crown,² he was terminated on March 29, 1999, ten days after he presented the permanent restrictions to his employer.

After his termination, Wood filed a grievance with the Union. Thompson, the Union Business Agent, reviewed Wood's medical restrictions and, after inquiry, determined that at that time there were no open jobs which Wood could perform. Therefore, the Union concluded that Crown had not breached the Agreement and, as a result, declined to pursue Wood's grievance.

On April 14, 1999, Wood filed a charge with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the EEOC claiming that he was disabled in his ability to "work, walk, and in the general activities of daily living", that Crown discriminated against him on the basis of physical disability when it terminated him, that he "believed the company could have accommodated [him], as they had with others", and that the Union discriminated against him on the basis of disability when it declined to pursue his grievance. On December 5, 2000, the EEOC notified Wood that it was unable to conclude that the information contained in Wood's charge established a violation of the statutes, and that it was also unable to certify that Crown and the Union were in compliance with the statutes. The EEOC also notified Wood of his right to sue under Title VII and/or the ADA.

Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Wood, as this Court must, the effects of Wood's purported disability are as follows: he is unable to walk more than one-half mile before resting and walks with a cane on occasion; he has numbness in his toes and the back of his left leg; his left knee is weak and collapses, and he has "drop foot" in his left leg; he is able to tie his shoes and do lawn care, but with some difficulty; he is able to help with household chores "as long as they don't require a lot of bending"; he would require assistance if furniture needed to be moved around the house; he is able to lift up to 50 pounds, and he has some difficulty at his current job when he has to lift 60-65 pounds; he does not have a handicapped parking sticker because he has "too much pride to apply for one"; and he has sexual dysfunction.

Wood testified that he is currently employed as a truck driver for Brown Logistics, where he occasionally lifts up to 60-65 pounds, with some difficulty. Wood asserts that, while he can drive a truck, he has "recurring pain and must watch how [he] lift[s] things, the weight of the objects [he] lift[s], and how [he] turn[s] and bend[s]". Wood states that at his current position he is not required to do much lifting because the trucks are loaded with a forklift or crane. He has also had three other truck driving jobs in the interim: hauling Pella windows, driving for Chicago Tube & Iron as a rental driver, and driving for U.S.F. Dugan.

II. STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Defendant is entitled to summary judgment "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that [defendant] is entitled to judgment as a matter of law". Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). To survive a properly-supported motion for summary judgment, Wood is required to go beyond the pleadings and "set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial". Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). "All reasonable inferences of fact from the record are construed in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment." Hughes v. 3M Retiree Med. Plan, 281 F.3d 786, 789-90 (8th Cir.2002). "If the party with the burden of proof at trial is unable to present evidence to establish an essential element of that party's claim, summary judgment on the claim is appropriate because `a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial'." St. Jude Med., Inc. v. Lifecare Intern., Inc., 250 F.3d 587, 595 (8th Cir.2001) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)); see also Pony Computer, Inc. v. Equus Computer Sys. of Missouri, Inc., 162 F.3d 991, 997 (8th Cir. 1998) ("Summary judgment is appropriate where there is no independent evidence, other than [plaintiff's] unsubstantiated allegations.").

The Eighth Circuit has cautioned that "summary judgment should seldom be used in employment discrimination cases". Crawford v. Runyon, 37 F.3d 1338, 1341 (8th Cir.1994). "Although summary judgment is to be used sparingly in employment discrimination cases, it is appropriate where one party has failed to present evidence sufficient to create a jury question as to an essential element of its claim." Whitley v. Peer Review Sys., Inc., 221 F.3d 1053, 1055 (8th Cir.2000) (citations omitted); see also Kellogg v. Union Pac. R. Co., 233 F.3d 1083, 1086 (8th Cir.2000) (summary judgment is proper if the employee fails to establish any element of his prima facie ADA claim).

III. LEGAL ANALYSIS

Both defendants have moved for summary judgment on the grounds that Wood cannot establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination under the ADA. Wood has the initial burden to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. St. Mary's Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 506, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993). To establish a prima facie case of disability discrimination under the ADA, Wood must prove all of the following elements: (1) that he is disabled under the ADA; (2) that he is qualified to perform the essential functions of his job with or without reasonable accommodation; and (3) that he has suffered an adverse employment action under circumstances giving rise to an inference of unlawful discrimination. E.g., Sprenger v. Fed. Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, 253 F.3d 1106, 1113 (8th Cir.2001).

Both defendants argue that Wood is not disabled within the meaning of the ADA. Under the ADA, "disability" means "(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 (C) being regarded as having such an impairment". 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2) (1994); Otting v. J.C. Penney Co., 223 F.3d 704, 708 (8th Cir. 2000). According to the EEOC regulations, "substantially limits" means:

(i) Unable to perform a major life activity that the average...