Court Opinion

ID: 9491769
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:23:26.245502+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:54:56.297324
License: Public Domain

RICHARD S. ARNOLD, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. We are required to draw all reasonable inferences in Ms. Land’s favor. It is my view that Dr. Wheeler’s deposition raises a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Megan’s peanut allergy substantially limits a major life activity. Dr. Wheeler, who saw Megan after she developed swelling of the eyes, discoloration, hives, and itching following exposure to peanut butter, testified that his examination of Megan suggested that she is “exquisitely sensitive” to peanuts and peanut products. He testified that her reaction to peanuts could range from a mild ease of hives to death. He also testified that the recommended treatment is strict avoidance of peanuts and peanut products, and to have available at all times an epinephrine injection in the event that Megan is accidentally exposed to peanuts and has a severe allergic reaction.
On the basis of Dr. Wheeler’s testimony, I believe an inference may reasonably be drawn that Megan is substantially limited in her ability to eat. She (or her care-giver) “must read every label of every product that is purchased from a store and ... she must be very careful whenever she is at a party or a restaurant.” App. Br. at 8. So long as Megan avoids peanuts and peanut products, she can lead the normal, active life of a-toddler. If she ingests a peanut product, however, and has a severe reaction that is not promptly treated, she may go into ana-phylactic shock or, worse, die. The risk, therefore, that Megan may accidentally ingest peanuts (a risk that may be slight, if labels are accurate and those responsible for her care are vigilant) must be understood in light of the potential for serious injury.
An interpretive rule issued by the Department of Agriculture supports this position. The rule, Meal Substitutions for Medical or Other Special Dietary Reasons, Food and Nutrition Service Instruction 783-2, Rev. 2 (Oct. 14,1994), was designed to guide schools and other institutions when deciding whether meal substitutions for handicapped persons are required in certain food programs administered by the Department. The rule interprets, for persons with food allergies, the meaning of the word “handicapped,” as it is used in the Department’s regulations implementing the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. See 7 C.F.R. § 15b.1 et seq. (1998). The rule, which was issued by the Director of the Child Nutrition Division, provides that:
Generally, participants with food allergies or intolerances, or obese participants are not “handicapped persons”, as defined in 7 C.F.R. 15b.3(i), and school food authorities, institutions and sponsors are not required to make substitutions for them. However, when in the physician’s assessment food allergies may result in severe, life-threatening reactions (anaphylactic reactions) or the obesity is severe enough to substantially limit a major life activity, the participant then meets the definition of “handicapped person”, and the food service personnel must malee the substitutions prescribed by the physician.
FNS Instruction 783-2, Rev. 2, at p. 4 (emphasis added). Implementation of the Rehabilitation Act “was not delegated to a single agency,” as the Supreme Court noted recently. Bragdon v. Abbott, — U.S. -, -, 118 S.Ct. 2196, 2207, 141 L.Ed.2d 540 (1998). Indeed, “the well-reasoned views of the agencies implementing a statute ‘constitute a body of experience and informed judgment to which courts and litigants may properly resort for guidance.’ ” Id. (quoting Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134, 149-40, 65 S.Ct. 161, 89 L.Ed. 124 (1944)).
I believe the Agriculture Department’s description of a person as handicapped who has been assessed by a physician as having a food allergy that may result in “severe, life-threatening reactions,” coupled with Dr. Wheeler’s testimony, raises a question of fact that is properly decided by a jury. The *427historical facts presented by the plaintiff in this case are “subject to more than one interpretation,” and, accordingly, “[t]he trier of fact at trial should decide which interpretation is more persuasive.” St. Louis County Bank v. United States, 674 F.2d 1207, 1211 (8th Cir.1982).