Court Opinion

ID: 9881905
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-04 17:00:50.424588+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:18.929308
License: Public Domain

NOT PRECEDENTIAL

                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                            FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
                                 _____________

                                      No. 22-2767
                                     _____________

                           DUNCAN MORGEN-WESTRICK,
                                           Appellant
                                     v.

                       PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

                                    ______________

                      On Appeal from United States District Court
                        for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
                                (D.C. No. 2-20-cv-03335)
                      District Judge: Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe
                                    ______________

                  Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) on
                                 September 19, 2023
                                   ______________

                Before: RESTREPO, McKEE, RENDELL Circuit Judges

                             (Opinion filed: October 4, 2023)

                               _______________________

                                      OPINION
                               _______________________


 This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and under I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
McKEE, Circuit Judge.

       Duncan Morgen-Westrick appeals the District Court’s grant of summary judgment

to Pennsylvania State University in this dispute over a grade he received in a course he

took at the defendant university. Morgen-Westrick contends that he was “constructively

discharged over failure to carry out defendant’s promises to provide reasonable

accommodation” for him. Appellant’s Br. at 3. He asserts claims under the Americans

with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., and for breach of contract, promissory

estoppel, and due process violations. Essentially, the grade given to Morgen-Westrick,

after extensions were provided for him to complete assignments, was below the grade he

needed to be reimbursed by his employer for his tuition, which limited his ability to

pursue a master’s degree.

       In her detailed and thoughtful opinion, Judge Rufe carefully and clearly explained

her reasons for granting summary judgment for Pennsylvania State University in this case

arising from the disputed grade.1 We can add little to Judge Rufe’s analysis and

discussion and we will therefore affirm the District Court’s order substantially for the

reasons set forth in that opinion.

1
 See Morgen-Westrick v. Pa. State Univ., No. 2-20-cv-03335, 2022 WL 3691014 (E.D.
Pa. Aug. 25, 2022).
                                             2