Opinion ID: 848724
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Ability to Perform Essential Functions

Text: Defendant moved for summary disposition of plaintiff's entire case, arguing that plaintiff is unable to perform the EFL tasks and, therefore, is not entitled to proceed on his ADA and PWDCRA claims. To overcome defendant's motion, plaintiff bears the burden of raising a genuine issue of material fact regarding whether he can perform the EFL tasks. Unless plaintiff can satisfy this burden, summary disposition in defendant's favor is warranted. In our judgment, the evidence supports summary disposition. After plaintiff suffered a heart attack and was diagnosed with heart disease, his physician released him to work on restricted duty only. Accordingly, plaintiff spent the majority of his career as a desk clerk. [23] The record indicates that for approximately ten years, there was never a question that plaintiff's heart condition prevented him from performing the full range of duties normally required of police officers. This is precisely why plaintiff's physician placed him on restricted duty and why he remained in a nonpatrol, desk-clerk position for ten years. Plaintiff's own counsel admitted to the trial court that plaintiff, because of his heart condition, cannot perform regular patrol functions. In attempting to withstand defendant's motion, plaintiff argues that the department failed to undertake an individualized assessment of his condition before placing him on disability retirement in 1995, and, therefore, that a genuine question of material fact necessarily remains regarding whether he can perform the EFL tasks. However, in light of the circumstances of plaintiff's employment history and the nature of his medical condition, we believe that the department was not required to perform an individualized assessment of plaintiff's condition beyond those assessments that were routinely carried out. Department physicians examined plaintiff and consulted the medical records prepared by plaintiff's own physicians. Plaintiff's medical records indicated, as would be expected, that plaintiff's heart condition continued to persist. Under such circumstances, it would be pointless to require the department, before placing plaintiff on disability retirement, to have him undertake agility tests in order to determine whether he could perform the EFL tasks. Such tests would essentially require plaintiff to perform those very tasks that, because of his heart condition, his medical records indicated he was to refrain from performing. When the department stated in 1995 that plaintiff was unable to perform the essential functions of a police officer position, it was relying on evidence that already had been conclusively established by plaintiff's own medical records and accepted as the truth by all parties. Plaintiff has presented evidence that he chased down a purse-snatcher on foot approximately fifteen years ago. This evidence perhaps demonstrates that plaintiff is not incapable of performing on a sporadic basis individual EFL tasks. However, in light of the substantial contrary evidence reflected in plaintiff's medical records and by ten years of employment history, that evidence does not create a genuine question of material fact regarding whether plaintiff is capable of performing the essential functions of a police officer. Accordingly, in light of the evidence in support of summary disposition, the evidence presented by plaintiff does not raise a genuine question of material fact. Because the record establishes that plaintiff is unable to perform the EFL tasks, he may not proceed on his ADA and PWDCRA claims. We therefore reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and reinstate the circuit court's grant of summary disposition in favor of defendant.