Michael Godbey v. Iredell Memorial Hospital, Inc

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 5:12-cv-00004-RLV-DSC. Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999402735]. [13-2153]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-2153

MICHAEL GODBEY,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
IREDELL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, INCORPORATED,
Defendant - Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Statesville.
Richard L.
Voorhees, District Judge. (5:12-cv-00004-RLV-DSC)

Submitted:

May 23, 2014

Decided:

July 25, 2014

Before MOTZ and THACKER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Robert M. Elliot, ELLIOT MORGAN PARSONAGE, PLLC, Winston-Salem,
North Carolina; Mary C. Vargas, Michael S. Stein, STEIN &
VARGAS, LLP, Frederick, Maryland; Marc P. Charmatz, Caroline E.
Jackson, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF LAW AND ADVOCACY
CENTER, Silver Spring, Maryland, for Appellant. Deborah Whittle
Durban, Columbia, South Carolina, Donald R. Pocock, NELSON
MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for
Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
In the present appeal, Michael Godbey (Godbey), a male in
his

mid-30s

who

has

been

deaf

since

birth,

challenges

the

district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Iredell
Memorial Hospital, Inc. (Iredell) with respect to his claim for
money damages under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973

(the

Act),

29

U.S.C.

§ 794(a).

According

to

Godbey,

Iredell violated section 504 of the Act by failing to ensure
effective communication between himself and Iredell staff while
a

patient

at

Iredell

on

six

occasions

in

2010

of

the

Act

provides

that

individual

with

and

on

one

occasion in 2011.
Section
qualified

. . . shall,

504

solely

by

a

disability

reason

of

her

in
or

“[n]o

the
his

otherwise

United

States

disability,

be

excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity
receiving

Federal

financial

assistance

. . . .”

29

U.S.C.

§ 794(a).

In granting summary judgment in favor of Iredell, the

district court held that, although “a genuine issue of fact has
been presented as to multiple instances of [Iredell’s] failure
to communicate effectively with [Godbey][,]” Godbey failed to
create a genuine issue of material fact that such failure was
caused

by

Iredell

being

deliberately

indifferent

to

Godbey’s

need to effectively communicate with Iredell staff about his
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medical

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condition

and

medical

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treatment.

Godbey

v.

Iredell

Mem’l Hosp., No. 5:12-cv-00004-RLV-DSC, 2013 WL 4494708, at *7
(W.D.N.C. Aug. 19, 2013).
district court.

We affirm on the reasoning of the

Id., at *1-8.

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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