Opinion ID: 2302154
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Claims Against Narraguagus

Text: [¶ 13] Daniels argues that the Superior Court erred in concluding that his disability discrimination claim failed as a matter of law. We review the grant of a summary judgment de novo and view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonprevailing party to determine whether there are genuine issues of material fact and whether the prevailing party was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See M.R. Civ. P. 56; HSBC Bank USA, N.A. v. Gabay, 2011 ME 101, ¶ 8, 28 A.3d 1158. [¶ 14] We follow a three-step, burden-shifting analysis to evaluate employment discrimination claims at the summary judgment stage. See Cookson, 2009 ME 57, ¶ 14, 974 A.2d 276; Whitney v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2006 ME 37, ¶ 9, 895 A.2d 309, superseded by statute on other grounds by P.L. 2007, ch. 385, § 3. Pursuant to this analysis, an employee must first establish a prima facie case that (1) he has a disability; (2) he is otherwise qualified, with or without reasonable accommodations, to perform the essential functions of his job; and (3) his employer adversely treated him based in whole or in part on his disability. See Whitney, 2006 ME 37, ¶ 9, 895 A.2d 309. [¶ 15] If the employee establishes prima facie evidence of these three elements, the burden then shifts to the employer to produce evidence of a legitimate, nondiscriminatory basis for its action. Doyle v. Dep't of Human Servs., 2003 ME 61, ¶ 15, 824 A.2d 48. If the employer does so, the employee can survive a motion for summary judgment by presenting sufficient evidence from which a fact-finder could determine that either (1) the circumstances underlying the employer's articulated reason are untrue, or (2) even if true, those circumstances were not the actual cause of the employment decision. Cookson, 2009 ME 57, ¶ 16, 974 A.2d 276. We are mindful that discrimination claims in general are often difficult to assess at the summary judgment stage, and particularly that the issue of whether an employee has generated an issue of fact regarding an employer's motivation or intent is one heavily dependent on the individual facts before the court. Id. ¶ 21. [¶ 16] The Superior Court correctly placed the burden on Daniels to demonstrate prima facie evidence of his disability, his ability to perform his job, and an adverse action by his employer. It erred, however, when it concluded: There are no facts to establish the essential functions of plaintiff's job. In fact, the parties' summary judgment filings agree that Daniels's job responsibilities included tasks required to achieve regulatory compliance and provided examples of those tasks. The descriptions of Daniels's work duties are sufficient to satisfy the second element of his prima facie case. Whether some or all of these responsibilities were essential, and whether Daniels can actually perform them, as he claims, are questions for a fact-finder. See Pinkham v. Rite Aid of Me., Inc., 2006 ME 9, ¶ 11, 889 A.2d 1009. [¶ 17] The motion court further concluded that the summary judgment record did not establish the third element of Daniels's prima facie case  causation. This conclusion was in error. Although there is conflicting evidence on this issue, there is some evidence of animus based on Daniels's disability that could permit a fact-finder to conclude that Daniels was fired for discriminatory reasons. This sort of factual dispute must be resolved through fact-finding, even if Daniels's likelihood of success is small. See Curtis v. Porter, 2001 ME 158, ¶ 7, 784 A.2d 18. [¶ 18] The motion court did not address the second and third prongs of the burden-shifting analysis, presumably because it concluded that Daniels had not established his prima facie case. The undisputed facts do include a series of disciplinary actions against Daniels that could satisfy the employer's prong of the analysis. Daniels alleges that the discipline was simply a pretext, however, pointing to the email from Dr. Weisberger, the fact that he was rehired twice during his total employment, and deposition testimony presenting disputed facts. [¶ 19] The summary judgment filings indicate that Daniels has generated prima facie evidence that (1) he has a disability; (2) he is otherwise qualified to perform the essential functions of the maintenance position, with or without reasonable accommodations; and (3) Narraguagus discharged him. The summary judgment filings also indicate, however, that there is evidence that could lead fact-finders in two different directions when considering whether Narraguagus's discharge of Daniels was or was not due to factors related to his claimed disability. In addition, there are issues of material fact concerning all aspects of Daniels's claim including, as mentioned above, whether or when Daniels was able to perform the core functions of his job. Therefore, summary judgment is not available to Narraguagus on Daniels's discrimination claim.
[¶ 20] Daniels also argues that the Superior Court failed to address his retaliation claim against Narraguagus. The Superior Court did address the claim, but in concluding that Narraguagus could not be liable to Daniels for retaliation, the court may have conflated the causation analysis of Daniels's discrimination claim with causation in the retaliation context. [¶ 21] To establish a prima facie retaliation claim, Daniels must demonstrate that he engaged in a statutorily protected activity, that Narraguagus made an employment decision that adversely affected him, and that there was a causal link between the two. See Doyle, 2003 ME 61, ¶ 20, 824 A.2d 48. Temporal proximity of an employer's awareness of protected activity and the alleged retaliatory action may serve as the causal link for purposes of a prima facie case. See Watt v. UniFirst Corp., 2009 ME 47, ¶ 33, 969 A.2d 897; Doyle, 2003 ME 61, ¶ 20, 824 A.2d 48. Although Narraguagus argues that the protected activity and discharge are too far removed from each other to give rise to an inference of causation, only two months passed between the Commission's issuance of a right-to-sue letter, which is the protected activity against which Daniels alleges Narraguagus retaliated, and his discharge. [¶ 22] Even though the Superior Court concluded that Daniels had not demonstrated that disability discrimination was the cause of his discharge, retaliation is a separate claim that does not require there to have been underlying discrimination. In the discrimination context, causation links disability status to discharge, whereas in the retaliation context, causation links protected activity to discharge. Therefore, the Superior Court's analysis as to causation in the discrimination context was not applicable to Daniels's retaliation claim. Even if one party's version of events appears more credible and persuasive to the court, the competing inferences that could be drawn from the temporal proximity of the Commission's right-to-sue letter and Daniels's termination, along with Dr. Weisberger's email, create a triable issue precluding summary judgment. See Watt, 2009 ME 47, ¶ 35, 969 A.2d 897. As a result, we vacate the summary judgment entered in favor of Narraguagus on Daniels's retaliation claim.