Opinion ID: 2997397
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: An Individual with a Disability

Text: Mr. Branham contends that, on this record, there is a genuine issue of triable fact as to whether he should be considered an individual with a disability under the Rehabilitation Act because his diabetes is a physical impairment that substantially limits the major life activities of eating and caring for himself. See 29 U.S.C. § 705(20)(B)(i). He also claims that he is an individual with a disability under the No. 03-3599 9 Act because the IRS regarded him as having such an impairment. See 29 U.S.C. § 705(20)(B)(iii).
We first consider the applicability of § 705(20)(B)(i). The parties agree that diabetes is a physical impairment and that eating and caring for oneself are major life activities. See Lawson, 245 F.3d at 923. Therefore, the only question is whether Mr. Branham’s diabetes substantially limits one of these activities. For an impairment to limit substantially a major life activity, “the impairment must make the individual ‘[u]nable to perform a major life activity that the average person in the general population can perform’ or ‘[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.’ ” Nawrot, 277 F.3d at 904 (quoting 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(j)). An impairment need not cause an “utter inabilit[y]” to perform the major life activity in order to constitute a substantial limitation on that activity. Bragdon v. Abbott, 524 U.S. 624, 641 (1998). The determination whether a particular person with an impairment is substantially limited must be individualized; in other words, we may not declare that all individuals who suffer from a particular medical condition are disabled for the purposes of the Rehabilitation Act. See Sutton v. United Air Lines, 527 U.S. 471, 483-84 (1999). Underlining the specificity that is required in making an individualized determination of disability, the Supreme Court has noted that it would be contrary to the language of the ADA to find “all diabetics to be disabled,” regardless of whether an individual diabetic’s condition actually impaired his daily 10 No. 03-3599 activities. Id. at 483. Thus, we emphasize that, even though this court has determined on two separate occasions that a person with Type I diabetes can be substantially limited with respect to one or more major life activities, see Nawrot, 277 F.3d at 905; Lawson, 245 F.3d at 926, neither of those cases dictates the outcome here. To hold otherwise would be to contravene the Supreme Court’s determination that “both the letter and the spirit” of the ADA require an individualized assessment of each plaintiff’s “actual condition,” rather than a “determination based on general information about how an uncorrected impairment usually affects individuals.” Sutton, 527 U.S. at 483. Furthermore, we emphasize that our holding in this case does not affect the principle that “diabetic status, per se, is not sufficient to qualify as a disability.” Nawrot, 277 F.3d 904; see also Homeyer v. Stanley Tulchin Assocs., Inc., 91 F.3d 959, 962 (7th Cir. 1996) (“Some impairments may be disabling for particular individuals but not for others . . . .”). For example, a “ ‘diabetic whose illness does not impair his or her daily activities,’ after utilizing medical remedies such as insulin, should not be considered disabled.” Lawson, 245 F.3d at 926 (quoting Sutton, 527 U.S. at 483). An individualized inquiry into each plaintiff’s condition remains the rule in cases under the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA. In this case, it is undisputed that Mr. Branham’s treatment regimen allows him to avoid severe hypoglycemic and hyperglycemic episodes, and protects him from the long term consequences of Type I diabetes (which include heart disease, kidney disease, nerve disease and blindness). However, that is in no way dispositive of our analysis, because “[t]he use . . . of a corrective device does not determine whether an individual is disabled; that determination depends on whether the limitations an individual with an impairment actually faces are in fact substantially limiting.” No. 03-3599 11 Sutton, 527 U.S. at 488 (emphasis in original). A court determining whether a plaintiff’s impairment substantially limits a major life activity must consider “the plaintiff’s condition as it exists after corrective or mitigating measures used to combat the impairment.” Lawson, 245 F.3d at 925. Therefore, we must also take into account “any negative side effects” that Mr. Branham suffers “from the use of mitigating measures.” Sutton, 527 U.S. at 484. For Mr. Branham, these negative side effects are many. He is significantly restricted as to the manner in which he can eat as compared to the average person in the general population. His dietary intake is dictated by his diabetes, and must respond, with significant precision, to the blood sugar readings he takes four times a day. Depending upon the level of his blood sugar, Mr. Branham may have to eat immediately, may have to wait to eat, or may have to eat certain types of food. Even after the mitigating measures of his treatment regimen, he is never free to eat whatever he pleases because he risks both mild and severe bodily reactions if he disregards his blood sugar readings. He must adjust his diet to compensate for any greater exertion, stress, or illness that he experiences. We must conclude that, on the record before us, a trier of fact rationally could determine that Mr. Branham’s diabetes and the treatment regimen that he must follow substantially limit him in the major life activity of eating. Accordingly, we cannot accept the district court’s determination that summary judgment was appropriate on the question of whether Mr. Branham is substantially limited in a major life activity.
The district court also granted the IRS summary judgment on the question of whether Mr. Branham is an individual with a disability under the Rehabilitation Act because the 12 No. 03-3599 IRS regarded him as having an impairment which limited him substantially in one or more major life activities. See 29 U.S.C. § 705(20)(B)(iii). A plaintiff may prove that he is an individual with a disability under the “regarded as” prong of the Rehabilitation Act “by showing that either: 1) the employer mistakenly believes the employee has a physical impairment that substantially limits a major life activity; or 2) the employer mistakenly believes that an actual, nonlimiting impairment substantially limits a major life activity.” Peters, 311 F.3d at 843. On this record, we see no evidence that the IRS regarded Mr. Branham as dis- abled—that is, although the parties agree that diabetes is a physical impairment, there is no evidence that the IRS mistakenly believed that Mr. Branham’s diabetes substantially limited him in one or more major life activities. Our cases make clear that “an employer does not regard a person as disabled simply by finding that the person cannot perform a particular job.” Id. Thus, summary judgment on the “regarded as” claim was properly granted.