Opinion ID: 2995264
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence of the Dadians’

Text: disabilities. The Village’s first argument is that the Dadians did not establish a prima facie case under the McDonnell Douglas method of proof because they did not prove that they were disabled. We are baffled as to why the Village is arguing about the application of McDonnell Douglas because once the case has been decided on the merits, the McDonnell Douglas framework drops out of the analysis. See United States Postal Serv. Bd. of Governors v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 714-15 (1983); Hasham, 200 F.3d at 1044. After trial, the issue becomes whether the jury’s verdict is against the weight of the evidence, see Knox v. State of Indiana, 93 F.3d 1327, 1334 (7th Cir. 1996), with the focus being on whether there was sufficient evidence on the ultimate question of discrimination. Hasham, 200 F.3d at 1044; Heerdink v. Amoco Oil Co., 919 F.2d 1256, 1259-60 (7th Cir. 1990). Therefore, we recast the Village’s argument as a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence as to whether the Dadians’ impairments rendered them disabled. Title II of the ADA and the FHAA prohibit housing discrimination because of a person’s disability or handicap./3 Both acts provide that a person is disabled, or handicapped, if she has 1) a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, 2) a record of such an impairment, or 3) is regarded as having such an impairment. 42 U.S.C. sec. 12102(2); 42 U.S.C. sec. 3602(h). Because both acts contain the same definition, we use the terms disabled and handicapped interchangeably throughout the opinion, and construe them consistently with each other. See Bragdon v. Abbott, 524 U.S. 624, 631 (1998). Whether a plaintiff has an impairment and whether it substantially limits a major life activity is to be decided on a case-by- case basis. Byrne v. Bd. of Educ., Sch. of West Allis-West Milwaukee, 979 F.2d 560, 565 (7th Cir. 1992). The jury heard testimony from one doctor and both of the Dadians about the disabling and degenerative nature of Mrs. Dadian’s osteoporosis. Dr. Semerjian testified that Mrs. Dadian’s osteoporosis caused her to have a femur fracture, a total knee replacement, compression fractures of her vertebrae, and degenerative disease of the joints. He further testified that these problems substantially limited her ability to walk (a major life activity). Mrs. Dadian testified that her osteoporosis created problems with her sense of balance and that she had to hold onto the rails on her stairwell to pull herself up the stairs leading to her bedroom. She also stated that although she could walk the 80 feet from her rear garage to her home, she does so very slowly and carefully. Even so, she has fallen and fractured her femur on this walk. Mr. Dadian also testified to the problems Mrs. Dadian has walking due to her osteoporosis. In light of the procedural posture of this case, it is not our role to come to a decision as to whether either of the Dadians was disabled under the ADA or FHAA. Rather, we only need to decide after reviewing the testimony in the light most favorable to the Dadians whether there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to come to such a conclusion. Keeping in mind the jury’s ability to assess the Dadians’ credibility, we believe there was sufficient evidence to find that Mrs. Dadian’s osteoporosis rendered her disabled. We also recognize that the evidence could have led reasonable men and women to reach different verdicts; therefore, we also conclude that the court was correct not to grant the Village’s motion for a directed verdict./4 Because the permit sought by the Dadians and the requirements of the FHAA require only one of the Dadians to be disabled, we do not consider whether Mr. Dadian could be considered disabled (although we express our doubt as to whether a reasonable jury could have so concluded).