Opinion ID: 776928
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Judgment as a Matter of Law or New Trial

Text: 24 We review de novo the district court's denial of a Rule 50 motion for judgment as a matter of law. See Monday v. Oullette, 118 F.3d 1099, 1101 (6th Cir.1997). In reviewing such a motion, we do not weigh the evidence, evaluate the credibility of witnesses, or substitute our judgment for that of the jury. Instead, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is made, and give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences. The motion should be granted, and we should reverse the district court's decision, only if reasonable minds could not come to a conclusion other than one in favor of the movant. Wehr v. Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc., 49 F.3d 1150, 1152 (6th Cir.1995). 25 A district court's disposition of a Rule 59 motion for a new trial is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Workman v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 165 F.3d 460, 467 n. 7 (6th Cir.1999); Holmes v. City of Massillon, 78 F.3d 1041, 1045 (6th Cir.1996). This Court has previously defined an abuse of discretion as a `definite and firm conviction that the trial court committed a clear error of judgment.' Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Byers, 151 F.3d 574, 578-79 (6th Cir.1998) (quoting Logan v. Dayton Hudson Corp., 865 F.2d 789, 790 (6th Cir.1989)). The jury's verdict should not be disturbed as long as it is based upon sufficient evidence and was reasonably reached. Anchor v. O'Toole, 94 F.3d 1014, 1021 (6th Cir.1996). When presented with conflicting evidence, credibility and factual determinations are properly left for the jury to resolve. See Wells v. New Cherokee Corp., 58 F.3d 233, 237 (6th Cir.1995). After reviewing the evidence and allowing the jury all reasonable inferences, we find no reversible error. 26 The FMLA entitles an eligible employee to as many as twelve weeks of leave during any twelve-month period if the employee has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of the position of such employee. 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a)(1)(D). A serious health condition is defined as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves — (A) inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or (B) continuing treatment by a health care provider. Id. § 2611(11). An employee need not specifically mention the FMLA when taking leave — all the employee must do is notify the employer that FMLA-qualifying leave is needed. See 29 C.F.R. § 825.303(b); see also Stoops v. One Call Communications, Inc., 141 F.3d 309, 312 (7th Cir.1998). With exceptions not at issue here, an employer is obliged to restore the employee to her prior position or an equivalent position upon return from leave. 29 U.S.C. § 2614(a)(1). However, the statute emphasizes that [n]othing in [section § 2614] shall be construed to entitle any restored employee to ... any right, benefit, or position of employment other than any right, benefit, or position to which the employee would have been entitled had the employee not taken the leave. Id. § 2614(a)(3)(B). Finally, employers are prohibited from interfering, restraining, or denying the exercise of or attempted exercise of any FMLA right. Id. § 2615(a)(1). This prohibition includes retaliatory discharge for taking leave. See Skrjanc v. Great Lakes Power Serv. Co., 272 F.3d 309, 314 (6th Cir.2001). 27 Specialty argues that Chandler has provided no evidence that she was discharged for exercising her rights under the FMLA. According to Defendant, Beck never considered the cause of Chandler's suicide attempt or the fact that it might result in an absence from work; instead he considered only the act of overdosing, itself. Def.'s Brief at 26. Because the act of intentionally overdosing on drugs is not protected activity under the FMLA, Defendant argues the jury had no legal basis to support the verdict. 28 Chandler counters that this distinction between the act of overdosing and the underlying medical treatment for depression is a false one. She notes that Specialty acknowledged that she requested medical leave while hospitalized on May 18, 1998. She was on leave for one week and she was not offered her position or a similar one upon her return; instead, she was fired. 29 In analyzing this case, it is important to note what this case is not. This is not an action arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.). Neither does this portion of the case address the merits of Plaintiff's THA claim. The FMLA protects an employee from adverse action as a result of his taking leave for a serious medical condition. It does not protect an employee from adverse action motivated by the underlying medical condition itself. Although the factual scenarios that give rise to an FMLA or ADA cause of action may often coincide, the legal entitlements that flow from these facts will differ. Cf. Navarro v. Pfizer Corp., 261 F.3d 90, 101 (1st Cir.2001) (noting that [t]he ADA and the FMLA have divergent aims, operate in different ways, and offer disparate relief). 30 It is apparent that hospitalization for severe depression is covered by the statute. See 29 U.S.C. § 2611(11)(A). Moreover, Specialty stipulated that Plaintiff was entitled to take leave. Defendant only argues that an employer is free to terminate an employee while on FMLA leave so long as the termination is not because the employee exercised her rights under the FMLA. Def.'s Brief at 27. The central question is whether the jury could have reasonably found that Beck fired Chandler for taking leave rather than for ingesting an overdose of drugs, or even for having been diagnosed with depression. 31 We find that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury verdict. We are mindful that the trial court is always better able to judge witness credibility than is the appellate court. Beck insists that he took no account of whether Chandler was on leave in his decision to terminate her. The jury did not believe him. There was no special verdict, so we cannot determine what specific facts the jury found compelling. However, these facts were known to the jury: Beck knew that Chandler was on medical leave. He knew that she had been hospitalized for a suicide attempt. He decided to terminate her employment shortly after finding out she was hospitalized. The timing of her termination coincided with the end of her period of leave. He did not think that she was qualified for leave under the FMLA. In addition, Beck admitted that, prior to her termination, Chandler had been an excellent employee; her periodic reviews, admitted into evidence, were exemplary. 32 The district judge clearly instructed the jury that they could not find Defendant liable unless they found a causal connection between Chandler's leave and her termination. Proximity in time can raise a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge. See Skrjanc, 272 F.3d at 314. But proximity alone may not survive summary judgment, see id. at 317, nor does it necessarily imply causation. But where, as here, the jury weighed additional evidence, including the credibility of Defendant's proffered reason for termination, the demeanor of witnesses on the stand, and the evidence of Plaintiff's prior work habits, we are loath to substitute our judgment for that of the jury. It may be that the jury mistook the legal standard to be applied and treated this as an ADA and not an FMLA case-but the jury returned a simple verdict based upon clear and proper instructions and it was not unreasonable for the jury to infer from the evidence that Chandler was fired for taking leave. 33 Defendant's reliance on Maddox v. Univ. of Tenn., 62 F.3d 843 (6th Cir.1995), Brohm v. JH Props., Inc., 149 F.3d 517 (6th Cir.1998), and Doe v. King County, No. 97-35876, 1999 WL 50860 (9th Cir. Jan.7, 1999), is misplaced. In Maddox, an assistant coach was fired for outrageous public behavior while intoxicated. The plaintiff asserted that he was fired for his alcoholism in violation of the ADA. This Court upheld summary judgment against the plaintiff, finding that it was his behavior and not his alcoholism that precipitated the termination. 62 F.3d at 848. Maddox can be distinguished. First, as Defendant consistently points out, the case at bar arises under the FMLA and not the ADA; hence, Maddox can only be cited as analogous authority. Second, Chandler's case comes to us after a full jury trial and not after summary judgment. Defendant had ample opportunity to support its position that Chandler was fired for taking a drug overdose, and not for taking leave. The jury concluded otherwise. We see nothing in the record that would permit us simply to assume the jury made a legally infirm factual inference. Therefore, we decline to find Maddox persuasive. In Brohm, the plaintiff suffered from sleep apnea and was fired from his position as an anesthesiologist for sleeping on the job. Unlike the present case, the plaintiff in Brohm never requested FMLA-qualifying medical leave, and it was on that basis that summary judgment was entered for the defendant. 149 F.3d at 523. Finally, we refuse to accord any persuasive value to Doe. See 1999 WL 50860 at 2 (holding that a superior court judge who fired his bailiff for taking leave for cocaine addiction had fired him for illegal conduct and not for taking leave). That case went unreported in the Ninth Circuit and is accorded even less weight in our own circuit. 34 For the above reasons, we affirm the judgment denying Defendant's Rule 50 and Rule 59 motions.