Johnson v. HealthSouth Corporation

Filing 11

INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER: Motion to Amend Pleadings due by 9/26/2014. Discovery due by 1/23/2015. Dispositive Motions due by 3/23/2015. Signed by Magistrate Judge E. Clifton Knowles on 4/30/14. (DOCKET TEXT SUMMARY ONLY-ATTORNEYS MUST OPEN THE PDF AND READ THE ORDER.)(dt)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE DIVISION
JEFFERY JOHNSON,
Plaintiff,
v.
HEALTHSOUTH CORPORATION,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Civil No. 3:14-00598
Judge Campbell
Magistrate Judge Knowles
JURY DEMAND

INITIAL CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER
A. JURISDICTION:

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, the court has jurisdiction over

Plaintiff’s claims pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq., as
amended, and Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §2000e et seq., as amended by §102 of the Civil Rights Act of
1991. The court has supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s state law claims. Jurisdiction is
not disputed.
B. BRIEF THEORIES OF THE PARTIES:
1) PLAINTIFF:
Plaintiff was a disable male employee of the Defendant, hired in March 2001 and worked
at the Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital as a Rehabilitation Nurse Tech II. Plaintiff
is a qualified individual with a disability or, in the alternative a perceived disability, within the
meaning of Section 101(8) of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. Section 12111(8).
In or around September 2012, Plaintiff’s supervisor suggested to Plaintiff to seek help
with weight loss and chose a weight management clinic for Plaintiff to attend. Plaintiff’s
colleagues gave him a card and a monetary gift to help him lose weight. Plaintiff did not seek

1 

help to lose weight and this incident embarrassed and humiliated him. Plaintiff began the weight
loss clinic and paid for the sessions out of his own pocket. Plaintiff’s supervisor asked Plaintiff
to documentation of the weight loss for Plaintiff’s personnel file. No other employees were
required to provide any documentation for weight loss.
Plaintiff’s superiors would tease and bully him in regards to his weight and required
Plaintiff to care for 15-17 patients without assistance from a Registered Nurse like other coworkers. Unlike other co-workers, Plaintiff had to buy his own uniform for work due to his size.
After his purchase, a co-worker complained to Human Resources about the incident and
Defendant reimbursed Plaintiff his cost of the uniforms.

Plaintiff also requested an

accommodation of light duty and assistance in the more strenuous aspects of his employment for
the debilitating medical condition of his knees. Plaintiff’s request was denied. Plaintiff obtained
arthritis of the knee due to the amount of walking and lifting of patients. Plaintiff advised his
supervisor of the arthritis and pain with walking so much, Plaintiff was required to handle
patients across the hospital and different floors.
Since Plaintiff is a male, Plaintiff was assigned to more “difficult” patients with spine
disorders and overweight patients. Male employees are also told to stay at work even if they
don’t feel well or a family member becomes ill. Female employees are allowed to leave when a
family member is sick or they are sick. Plaintiff’s female supervisor called Plaintiff on his way
into work to have him sit on the side of the road to figure out if she wanted him to work that day
or not. Females are not called at the last minute and have their scheduled changed. Plaintiff’s
Manager accused Plaintiff of sexually harassing a patient and Plaintiff was suspended for a
week. Plaintiff denied the allegations and advised he could not accept the suspension and

2 

wanted to give his two (2) week resignation. Plaintiff supervisor denied his request and Plaintiff
quit due to the hostile work environment.
2) DEFENDANT:
Defendant is not a proper party to this action as it never employed Plaintiff. Instead, the
proper defendant in this action is Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital, L.P.
(“Vanderbilt Stallworth”), Plaintiff’s employer at all relevant times. Vanderbilt Stallworth did
not discriminate against Plaintiff in any respect, based upon his gender, his alleged disability, or
any other characteristic. When Vanderbilt Stallworth advised Plaintiff in November 2013 that a
patient had complained about certain statements of a sexual nature made by Plaintiff, and further
advised Plaintiff that he would be suspended pending completion of an investigation, Plaintiff
voluntarily resigned.
C. ISSUES RESOLVED: Jurisdiction and venue.
D. ISSUES STILL IN DISPUTE: Liability and damages.
E. INITITAL DISCLOSURES: The parties shall exchange initial disclosures pursuant to
Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) on or before May 23, 2014.
F. DISCOVERY: The parties shall complete all written discovery and depose all fact
witnesses on or before January 23, 2015. Discovery is not stayed during dispositive motions,
unless ordered by the court. No motions concerning discovery are to be filed until after the
parties have conferred in good faith and are unable to resolve their differences. The deadline for
filing discovery-related Motions is February 1, 2015.
G. MOTIONS TO AMEND: The parties shall file all Motions to Amend the Pleadings
on or before September 26, 2014.

3 

H. DISCLOSURE OF EXPERTS: The plaintiff shall identify and disclose all expert
witnesses and expert reports on or before October 23, 2014. The defendant shall identify and
disclose all expert witnesses and reports on or before November 21, 2014.
I. DEPOSITIONS OF EXPERT WITNESSES: The parties shall depose all expert witnesses
on or before January 23, 2015.
J. JOINT MEDIATION REPORT: The parties shall file a joint mediation report on or
before December 5, 2014.
K. DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS: The parties shall file all dispositive motions on or before
March 23, 2015. Responses to dispositive motions shall be filed within thirty (30) days after
filing of the motion. Optional replies may be filed within fourteen (14) days after the filing of
the response.
L. ELECTRONIC DISCOVERY: The parties have reached agreement on how to conduct
electronic discovery. Therefore, the default standard contained in Administrative Order No. 174
need not apply to this case.
M. ESTIMATED TRIAL TIME: The parties expect the trial to last approximately 3 days.
The Target (Jury) Trial date is August 25, 2015.
It is so ORDERED.

E. CLIFTON KNOWLES
United States Magistrate Judge

4