Court Opinion

ID: 9957633
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-04 18:01:38.076665+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:18:30.344181
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 22-13778    Document: 51-1     Date Filed: 04/04/2024   Page: 1 of 3

                                                  [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                   In the
                United States Court of Appeals
                        For the Eleventh Circuit

                          ____________________

                                No. 22-13778
                          ____________________

       JAMES GREGORY HOWELL, JR.,
                                                     Plaintiﬀ-Appellant,
       versus
       THE MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, INC.,

                                                   Defendant-Appellee.

                          ____________________

                 Appeal from the United States District Court
                    for the Northern District of Georgia
                    D.C. Docket No. 1:20-cv-03389-MHC
                          ____________________

       Before BRANCH, GRANT, and ED CARNES, Circuit Judges.
USCA11 Case: 22-13778     Document: 51-1     Date Filed: 04/04/2024   Page: 2 of 3

       2                     Opinion of the Court                22-13778

       PER CURIAM:
               James Howell, Jr., a former student, sued Morehouse School
       of Medicine after he was dismissed for academic deficiencies during
       his third year of medical school. Howell was granted an extensive
       array of disability accommodations while he was a student at
       Morehouse.       To ameliorate the effects of his Attention-
       Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, he was given private testing
       rooms, designated note-takers in his classes, access to audio and
       video taped lectures, double time for examinations and in-class
       assignments, breaks during examinations and in-class assignments,
       and preferential seating in class. He claims, however, that
       Morehouse did not administer his note-taking accommodation
       effectively during his first two years because he did not receive
       notes for every class, and when he did receive notes, they were not
       always delivered within the 48-hour timeframe that Morehouse
       allegedly promised.
              Though the problems with the note-taking accommodation
       had been indisputably corrected by Howell’s third year of school,
       Howell struggled even more in his classes; he failed multiple
       courses and was academically dismissed from Morehouse School
       of Medicine. He admits, though, that during his third year he
       “really had to disengage from medical school” because he was
       researching his rights and “looking through over two years of
       emails.” While ostensibly preparing for this lawsuit, he did not
       study, attend classes, or even take his exams.
USCA11 Case: 22-13778      Document: 51-1      Date Filed: 04/04/2024     Page: 3 of 3

       22-13778               Opinion of the Court                          3

              Howell sued Morehouse, pleading fifteen counts related to
       the school’s allegedly inadequate administration of his disability
       accommodations. Howell’s basic theory of the case is that, because
       his note-taking accommodation was ineffective during his first two
       years, he never absorbed the foundational medical knowledge
       required to succeed in his later coursework. As a result, he argues
       that he is entitled to the novel relief of having his entire transcript
       wiped clean and being permitted to restart medical school “afresh.”
       The district court dismissed all of Howell’s claims and denied his
       third motion to amend the complaint.
               After careful consideration of the record and the parties’
       briefs, and with the benefit of oral argument, we find no reversible
       error in the district court’s well-reasoned orders dismissing
       Howell’s federal and state law claims against Morehouse School of
       Medicine and denying his motion to amend his complaint a third
       time.
              AFFIRMED.