Source: http://openjurist.org/154/f3d/113
Timestamp: 2015-10-04 17:04:14
Document Index: 557911082

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 12101', '§ 794', '§ 12181', '§ 1331', '§ 1291', '§ 12182', '§ 12182', '§ 12182', '§ 12182', '§ 12182', '§ 12182', '§ 12182', '§ 12182', '§ 12182', '§ 12112', '§ 12111', '§ 12101', '§ 12101']

154 F3d 113 Menkowitz Md | OpenJurist
154 F. 3d 113 - Menkowitz Md HomeFederal Reporter, Third Series154 F.3d
154 F3d 113 Menkowitz Md 154 F.3d 113
8 A.D. Cases 725, 13 NDLR P 123
Elliot MENKOWITZ, M.D.; Susan Menkowitz Appellants,v.POTTSTOWN MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER; Richard Saylor, M.D.,Individually and as an Agent of Pottstown Memorial MedicalCenter; Patricia Draxler, R.N., Individually and as anAgent of Pottstown Memorial Medical Center; Henry Pollak,Individually and as Agent of Pottstown Memorial MedicalCenter; John J. Buckley, Individually as an Agent ofPottstown Memorial Medical Center; Milton D. Martyny,Individually and as an Agent of Pottstown Memorial MedicalCenter; Joseph Krantzler, M.D., Individually and as anAgent of Pottstown Memorial MedicalCenter;Center; JohnLignelli, D.D.S., Individually and as an Agent of PottstownMemorial Medical Center.
No. 97-2041.
Argued June 5, 1998.Decided Aug. 24, 1998.
Alan B. Epstein (Argued), Scott A. Burr, Jablon, Epstein, Wolf & Drucker, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Appellants.
Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General; Jessica Dunsay Silver (Argued), Marie K. McElderry, Washington, DC, for Department of Justice.
Norman E. Greenspan (# 17631) (Argued), George J. Krueger (# 30501), Jordana Cooper (# 62375), Lesley S. Bonney (# 77868), Rebecca C. Ward (# 79547), Blank, Rome, Comisky & McCauley LLP, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for Appellees.
Dr. Elliot Menkowitz ("appellant") appeals the order of the district court granting defendants' Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss claims brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (1994) ("the ADA"), and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (1994) ("the Rehabilitation Act"). In contesting the district court's interpretation of the ADA, appellant raises an issue of first impression in our court--namely, whether Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-12189 ("Title III"), prohibits disability discrimination against a medical doctor with "staff privileges" at a hospital. Appellant also disputes the district court's causation analysis under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The district court exercised subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (1994). Our jurisdiction to consider these issues arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1994). We will review a dismissal for failure to state a claim, and in particular the legal interpretation of the federal statutes at issue, under a plenary standard. Lake v. Arnold, 112 F.3d 682, 684 (3d Cir.1997).
Because this appeal comes to us from an order granting defendants' motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), we take as established the relevant facts alleged in the appellant's complaint. Appellant is an orthopedic surgeon who, in 1973, joined the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center ("PMMC" or "the hospital"), which is a private, non-profit, community hospital. He alleges that he holds an appointment to the medical staff at PMMC, which is defined as "[a]ny duly licensed physician, dentist or podiatrist who has been appointed to membership by the Board and is privileged to attend patients or to provide other diagnostic, therapeutic, teaching or research services at the Hospital." Medical Staff By-Laws of PMMC, App. at 189.
The complaint further alleges that upon being diagnosed for attention-deficit disorder in July of 1995, appellant provided the hospital with a written report from his clinical psychologist and treating physician stating that the disorder would not affect his ability to treat patients or properly interact with the hospital staff. Subsequently, the hospital accused appellant of various infractions of hospital policies--accusations which the appellant considered "a pattern of harassment and intimidation." Pl.'s Compl. p 26, App. at 14. On March 18, 1997, the hospital summarily suspended appellant's medical staff privileges without notice or a hearing in alleged violation of the hospital's own by-laws. The Medical Committee of the Board of Directors later heard testimony from various staff members, not including the appellant, and ultimately approved the decision to suspend staff privileges for a six month period. The hospital also reported the suspension to the National Practitioner Data Bank for Adverse Information on Physicians and Other Health Care Practitioners, which would result in deleterious consequences to the appellant's insurance coverage and professional reputation.
As a result of these alleged events, appellant instituted this action under Title III of the ADA, alleging that PMMC discriminated against him on the basis of his disability by denying him the opportunity to participate in the medical staff privileges offered by the hospital. He also alleged a violation of the Rehabilitation Act through the hospital's interference with patient relationships solely by reason of his disability. The district court, in considering the ADA claim, relied on the "normal usage" of the phrase "public accommodation," and the statutory limitation in 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(iv), to conclude that Title III addresses discrimination only against individuals who patronize places that accommodate the public--such as patients, customers, guests, and so forth. In the context of health care providers, the district court surmised that Title III protects only "those persons seeking medical care, and not the employees and other staff who serve them." Because the appellant in this case was not a person seeking medical care, the district court dismissed the ADA claim. With respect to the section 504 Rehabilitation Act claim, the district court held that the appellant failed to allege facts showing that the hospital had suspended staff privileges "solely by reason of ... his alleged disability," and dismissed that claim as well. We turn to these issues seriatim.1
42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(i). The statute also defines as discrimination, and hence conduct prohibited under the general rule, the "participation in unequal benefit," 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(ii), and "separate benefit," 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(iii). It is noteworthy that these defining subparagraphs contain a limitation as set forth in 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(iv): "For purposes of clauses (i) through (iii) of this subparagraph, the term 'individual or class of individuals' refers to the clients or customers of the covered public accommodation that enters into the contractual, licensing or other arrangement."In addition to these delineations of discriminatory practices, Title III sets forth another set of "specific prohibitions" that define the term discrimination for purposes of the general rule announced in 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a). See 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(i)-(iv). Among these is:
C. Are Medical Staff Members "individuals" Protected by
Title III When they Are Denied the "full and equal enjoyment
or accommodations of any place of public accommodation"?
Given the language of the statute and the parties' arguments, we now turn to the issue directly posed in this appeal--may a medical doctor with staff privileges properly assert a cause of action under Title III? It is not argued on appeal that the appellant failed to allege that the hospital's conduct would be discriminatory within the meaning of the ADA. Appellant has, in addition, alleged that the discrimination occurred on the basis of a disability as understood under the Act. Also, the parties do not dispute on appeal that appellant is "disabled" as that term is defined in the ADA.2 Hence, the only remaining issue is whether the appellant is an "individual" who was denied the "full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of [the] place of public accommodation." 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a).
While the ADA does not define the terms "individual" or "goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations," we would ordinarily seek to construe these words under their ordinary, plain meaning without a more involved inquiry into legislative history, congressional intent, or otherwise. See Curtiss-Wright Corp. v. Schoonejongen, 514 U.S. 73, 81, 115 S.Ct. 1223, 131 L.Ed.2d 94 (1995); Ford v. Schering-Plough Corp., 145 F.3d 601, 613 (3d Cir.1998). Reading the language of the statute, however, immediately raises several problems in its construction. First, it is not abundantly clear whether an "individual" protected by the general rule in Title III refers only to "clients or customers of the covered public accommodation," as contained in 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(A)(iv). Although the term "clients or customers" does not directly apply to the general rule itself, the district court surmised from this phrase that Title III protects "members of the public--actual and would be guests, customers, and clients--who seek the 'full and equal enjoyment' of the services, facilities, or other accommodations of places that serve the public."
Perhaps more importantly, the term individual in Title III, if read broadly, may encroach upon the scope of Title I, which grants a cause of action not to an "individual" but to a "qualified individual with a disability." 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). Title I explicitly defines the phrase "qualified individual with a disability," see 42 U.S.C. § 12111(8), and federal courts have long since explored and construed its meaning. Nevertheless, it is by now well established that "[h]owever inclusive may be the general language of a statute, it 'will not be held to apply to a matter specifically dealt with in another part of the same enactment.' " Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Prods. Corp., 353 U.S. 222, 228, 77 S.Ct. 787, 1 L.Ed.2d 786 (1957) (citations omitted). This canon of construction carries particular force where, as here, Congress has enacted a comprehensive legislative scheme and has "deliberately targeted specific problems with specific solutions." Varity Corp. v. Howe, 516 U.S. 489, 519, 116 S.Ct. 1065, 134 L.Ed.2d 130 (1996) (Thomas, J., dissenting); HCSC-Laundry v. United States, 450 U.S. 1, 6, 101 S.Ct. 836, 67 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981) (per curiam). Hence, we face a statutory puzzle; because of the potentially expansive nature of the term "individual," and ultimately the scope of Title III protection, we run the risk of rendering meaningless in many cases the differences between Title I and Title III. This would include, for example, significant disparities in coverage, remedies, and construction. As a result, we are compelled to explore the ADA's legislative history in order to fully understand the scope and meaning of Title III as applied to this case.
Among the broadly stated purposes of the ADA, see 42 U.S.C. § 12101(b), is the intent to "invoke the sweep of congressional authority ... in order to address the major areas of discrimination faced day-to-day by people with disabilities." Id. § 12101(b)(4). This comes after a specific finding by Congress that discrimination against individuals with disabilities pe