Opinion ID: 200809
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the Plaintiff's Mental Impairment Limit a Major Life Activity?

Text: 78 Calero has highlighted numerous life activities that she says were limited by her depression: sleeping, eating, learning, concentrating, thinking, working and interacting with others. A major life activity is an activity of central importance to people's daily lives. Toyota Motor, 534 U.S. at 197, 122 S.Ct. 681. Many of the activities cited by the plaintiff have been recognized, by this court or others, as major, including sleeping and eating, Criado, 145 F.3d at 442-43; Lawson v. CSX Transp., Inc., 245 F.3d 916, 923 (7th Cir.2001), learning, Bercovitch v. Baldwin Sch., Inc., 133 F.3d 141, 155 (1st Cir.1998), and thinking and concentrating, Whitney v. Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli, P.C., 258 F.3d 30, 33 n. 4 (1st Cir.2001). The Supreme Court has assumed, without deciding, that working itself may be considered a major life activity for purposes of the ADA. Sutton, 527 U.S. at 492, 119 S.Ct. 2139. Likewise, this court has on occasion assumed arguendo that working might be deemed a major life activity under the Rehabilitation Act. See, e.g., Bailey, 306 F.3d at 1168 n. 5; Carroll, 294 F.3d at 239; Gelabert-Ladenheim v. American Airlines, Inc., 252 F.3d 54, 58 (1st Cir.2001). 79 In granting summary judgment for the defendant, the district court did not take issue with plaintiff's claim that her disability interfered with one or more of these recognized major life activities. Moreover, as noted, the appellees' brief has offered us not a word of discussion on the issue. In view of the documented severity of plaintiff's disability, we assume that the defendants concede, at least for purposes of summary judgment, that it interfered with one or more of the major life activities specified by Calero. 80