Appellate Law Team Prevails: Defense Verdict Upheld in Employment Law Case

San Francisco Partner Mark R. Wilson successfully defended an Employment Law case that was taken to the California Court of Appeal, Second District. The plaintiff and appellant sued our client, a health care company, for disability-related causes of action under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) after he was terminated for failure to return to work following the expiration of his approved medical leave. San Diego Managing Partner Alfred M. De La Cruz took the case to trial, and the Court ruled in favor of our client based on the jury’s factual findings. 

Plaintiff subsequently appealed, arguing that he was entitled to a new trial due to inconsistent factual findings by the jury. The jury had found that plaintiff requested a reasonable accommodation for a physical condition, but it had also determined that our client was unaware of plaintiff’s physical condition. Plaintiff asserted that these positions were inherently inconsistent. However, he did not rely on any facts to support his position, nor did he provide evidence in the record demonstrating that he told our client anything specific about his physical condition. Further, neither the record nor plaintiff’s argument on appeal disclosed the specific physical condition from which he suffered.

On appeal, the Court found that a request for reasonable accommodation does not necessarily impart knowledge to an employer that an employee does, in fact, suffer from a qualifying physical disability under FEHA, which requires that the physical condition limit a major life activity. While our client had received an ADA Medical Assessment Form from plaintiff’s doctor stating that plaintiff required a leave of absence until a specified date, as well as a doctor’s note requesting a reduced schedule, neither the form nor the note specified plaintiff’s physical condition that required an accommodation. Additionally, the doctor’s note did not indicate when the work restriction would end. Therefore, our client could not have known the physical condition plaintiff was suffering from nor if plaintiff’s condition would last beyond the specified date. The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision, securing the favorable verdict for our client.

Mark R. Wilson is a member of the Appellate Law (Strategy, Writs, & Appeals) team. He has litigated in the California Courts of Appeal, California Supreme Court, and United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Wilson also serves on the Amicus Committee of the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California and Nevada.