Tampa Partner Brian Rubenstein, Associate Arthur Jones, Law Clerk Renee Daddio, and IT Specialist Dwight Rocha recently obtained a complete defense verdict in Federal Court in Orlando.
CSK’s client was Bethune-Cookman University, and this was CSK’s seventh trial defending the University, which includes six complete defense verdicts and in the other case the judgment was half of what Plaintiff’s lowest settlement demand, which was a success. This particular trial involved a full-time tenured faculty member who worked 25 years at the University. She claimed she was discriminated against and denied a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) based on her disability of chronic back pain that prevented her from being able to drive to campus, walk around campus, climb stairs to classroom, and sit or stand in classroom for prolonged periods of time.
Her requested accommodation was to be able to teach full-time remote virtually from home via Canvas or the other online virtual teaching platforms that the University was using at this time in the Fall of 2021. The case was challenging in the on-line virtual age we currently live in and Plaintiff presented evidence that the University offered over 100 online courses, including some she was already credentialed and qualified for, and that the University could have accommodated her by assigning her strictly on-line courses.
The University’s defense was that on campus presence and office hours is an essential function of a full-time tenured faculty member’s job position at our client’s University, which is a small residential campus with many first generation college students that emphasizes the value of the in-person and immersive experience where teachers interact and mentor students, and teach them not only course subject matter but social skills and life lessons to help them succeed. Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve, is our client’s motto. There is no replacement for in person interaction and talking via Zoom or Teams is not the same as talking to them face-to-face, observing them and being in the same room with them. There is great value to the in-person experience, just like the courtroom during a trial where the jury gets to observe the witnesses, the parties, the judge and be fully immersed with the jury trial experience.
The University offered alternative accommodations such as a comfortable chair, relaxed schedule with breaks in between classes, partially hybrid schedule with some online classes and some in person classes, but denied Plaintiff’s request to be fully remote from home with no on campus presence.
The Jury returned a complete defense verdict after 2.5 hours of deliberation by finding that Plaintiff was no longer a qualified individual or qualified employee for her position for purposes of the ADA in that she could not perform an essential function of the job, which was on campus presence as full-time tenured faculty member. The University’s President, Dean, Department Chair and Human Resources Director all testified and were well prepared by us and excellent witnesses.
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