Dunlap v. Liberty Mutual Products, Inc., No. 15-35395 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of defendant's renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law on a claim of disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Oregon state law and the grant in part of plaintiff's motion for an award of attorney's fees. The panel held that the district court's instructional error by conflating the elements of plaintiff's disparate treatment and failure to accommodate claim was harmless where it was more probable than not that the jury's verdict was not affected. The panel also held that, construed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the evidence supported the jury's verdict. In this case, the record reflected that plaintiff satisfied her burden to prove the existence of reasonable accommodations that would enable her to perform the essential job functions of her position. Finally, the district court adequately explained and calculated the attorney fee award and did not abuse its discretion.
Court Description: Employment Discrimination. The panel affirmed (1) the district court’s decision denying the defendant’s renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law on a claim of disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Oregon state law, and (2) the district court’s order granting in part the plaintiff’s motion for an award of attorney’s fees. The panel held that the district court committed instructional error by conflating the elements of the plaintiff’s disparate-treatment and failure-to-accommodate claims. Nevertheless, the instructional error was harmless because the defendant was on notice of the need to accommodate, and it was more probable than not that the jury’s verdict was not affected. The panel held that, construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the evidence supported the jury’s finding that DUNLAP V. LIBERTY NATURAL PRODUCTS 3 a reasonable accommodation existed that would have enabled her to perform the essential functions of her shipping clerk position. The panel also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in reducing the plaintiff’s fee award by 50 percent based on the degree of success she achieved in the overall litigation.
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