JOHN A. GIBNEY, JR., District Judge.
This is an action seeking damages for failure to accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The plaintiff, Stephen Mobley, was employed by the defendant, Advance Stores Company, Inc. ("Advance"), from August 21, 2006 through July 16, 2008. He was originally hired as a store manager at Advance Auto Parts Store 9022 in Chantilly, Virginia, but was transferred to a Fredericksburg, Virginia branch in January of 2008. Over the course of his employment, Mobley experienced medical difficulties and took several leaves of absence pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
When serving as store manager, however, Mobley was disciplined several times for violating a company policy that required management to make at least one bank deposit prior to 2:00 PM daily. The policy clearly noted that any violation could result in disciplinary action including termination. According to the defendant, Mobley violated the deposit policy on eight separate occasions from June 2007 to April 2008.
On September 25, 2008, Mobley filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Virginia Council on Human Rights and the Equal
On April 29, 2011, the plaintiff filed a pro se complaint (the "Complaint") in this Court, alleging violations of sections 12112(b)(5)(A) and (B) of the ADA as well as section 2000e-3 of Title VII. Thereafter, Mobley filed an "amended complaint," which the Court treated as a motion to amend the Complaint and name the correct defendant. (See Dk. No. 12.) On October 27, 2011, Advance filed the instant motion for summary judgment. Mobley was granted an extension of time to respond to the motion; yet, he never made a filing by the December 19, 2011 deadline. (See Dk. No. 22.) To this date, no response to the defendant's motion has been filed. The matter is ripe for review.
Summary judgment is appropriate where there is no genuine issue as to any material fact in the case. See Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). Once a motion for summary judgment is properly made and supported, the opposing party has the burden of showing that a genuine dispute exists. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Masterson v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, No. 3:08cv484, 2009 WL 1106748, at *2 (E.D.Va. April 23, 2009). A genuine issue of material fact exists when there is sufficient evidence on which a reasonable jury could return a verdict in favor of the nonmoving party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
Hence, a court will grant summary judgment when a party fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of any essential element of the party's case on which that party has the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); see also Griffin v. Prince William Health System, No. 01:10cv359, 2011 WL 1597508, at *2 (E.D.Va. April 26, 2011). A movant need only show that there is an absence of evidence or support for the opposing party's case. Id. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. If the nonmovant fails to identify specific facts that demonstrate a genuine and material issue for trial, then the court will grant summary judgment "to prevent `factually unsupported claims and defenses' from proceeding to trial." Felty v. Graves-Humphreys Co., 818 F.2d 1126, 1128 (4th Cir.1987) (quoting Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548); see Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
The ADA prohibits discrimination against any "qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment." 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). In his Complaint, the plaintiffs disability-discrimination claims under the ADA are solely based on the statute's "failure to accommodate" provisions, 42 U.S.C. § 12112(b)(5)(A) and (B). (See Compl. 1, ¶¶ III.A.1-A.2 ("Advance... violated the [ADA] by not providing reasonable accommodation.").) Because the plaintiff lacks any direct evidence of discrimination, he must employ circumstantial evidence to prove his claims, using the three-step, burden-shifting approach from McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). As such, Mobley has the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of discrimination.
To establish a prima facie case for failure to accommodate, the plaintiff must demonstrate that: (1) he had a disability; (2) the defendant had notice of the disability; (3) he could perform the essential functions of his job with a reasonable accommodation; and (4) the defendant refused to make such an accommodation. Rhoads v. FDIC, 257 F.3d 373, 387 n. 11 (4th Cir. 2001) (quoting Mitchell v. Washingtonville Cent. Sch. Dist., 190 F.3d 1, 6 (2d Cir. 1999)); see Sydnor v. Fairfax County, No. I:10cv934, 2011 WL 836948, at *6 (E.D.Va. Mar. 3, 2011). "Disability" is defined as: "(1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities; (2) a record of such impairment; or (3) being regarded as having such an impairment." 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2). "Substantially limited" means "[s]ignificantly restricted as to the condition, manner or duration under which an individual can perform a particular major life activity as compared to ... the average person in the general population." 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)(1)(ii); see Bateman v. Am. Airlines, Inc., 614 F.Supp.2d 660, 670 (E.D.Va.2009) (Noting that, to determine substantial impairment, courts look to "the nature and severity of the impairment, the duration or expected duration of the impairment, and the permanent or long term impact of the impairment."). "Major life activities" include: "caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working." 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(i).
Here, the plaintiff has failed to show that he was disabled within the meaning of the ADA. His Complaint provides the conclusory statement: "The plaintiff has been diagnosed by a medical physician with numerous medical disabilities." (Compl. 2.) Mobley also implies that a physician's work release he submitted following a period of FMLA leave establishes
The Court finds that the plaintiff has not shown a disability within the meaning of the ADA; therefore, he has failed to carry his burden and demonstrate a prima facie case for failure to accommodate.
Title VII, in pertinent part, prohibits employers from retaliating against an employee "because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by [Title VII], or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under [Title VII]." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). "It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer — (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge ..., or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex or national origin." Johnson v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, 682 F.Supp.2d 560, 569 (E.D.Va.2009) (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3). To establish a prima facie case of Title VII retaliation, the plaintiff must prove that: "(1) he engaged in protected activity; (2) he suffered an adverse employment action at the hands of [the defendant]; and (3) [the defendant] took the adverse action because of the protected activity." Johnson, 682 F.Supp.2d at 568 (quoting Bryant v. Aiken Reg'l Med. Ctrs. Inc., 333 F.3d 536, 543 (4th Cir.2003)).
In this case, Mobley claims that he was retaliated against, through his corrective interviews and ultimate termination, as a
First, Mobley has never engaged in, nor alleged he engaged in, a protected activity under Title VII. As admitted in the Complaint, the 2007 EEOC charge dealt solely with Mobley's alleged disability, not his race, color, religion, sex or national origin. (Compl. 4.) He, therefore, has not made a claim involving a status protected under Title VII, and cannot satisfy the first prima facie element.
Second, assuming the mediation agreement implicated Title VII's protections, Mobley cannot show that his corrective interviews and termination were a result of the protected activity. On the contrary, the evidence before the Court clearly demonstrates the plaintiffs repeated violation of company policy. Moreover, these violations occurred both before and after the 2007 charge and were the sole force behind Advance's ultimate decision to fire him. See Mehta v. Potter, No. I:07cvl257, 2009 WL 1598403, at *11 (E.D.Va. June 4, 2009) ("Because adverse actions had been taken against [plaintiff] before the filing of her EEOC complaint, one cannot infer retaliatory animus from the other similar, adverse employment actions taken against her over a year after the filing of the EEOC complaint.").
Accordingly, the Court finds that the plaintiff has not demonstrated a prima facie case of retaliatory discrimination under Title VII. The defendant's motion will be granted.
For the reasons stated above, the Court will grant the defendant's motion for summary judgment. The case is dismissed.
It is so ORDERED.
Let the Clerk send a copy of this Memorandum Opinion to all counsel of record and mail a copy via U.S. mail to the pro se plaintiff.