United States Third Circuit

District court judgment certifying a class of employees alleging unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act is reversed where: 1) the court abused its discretion in identifying the Teamsters legal standard as controlling plaintiffs' claims and in granting certification after adopting the Teamsters method of proof to adjudicate plaintiffs' claims without considering the ADA's statutory elements; and 2) the required inquiry under the ADA into the elements of qualification and reasonable accommodation cannot be evaluated on a classwide basis in a manner consistent with FRCP Rule 23, and thus the class cannot be certified as plaintiffs cannot adjudicate their claims and requested relief without it.

Appellate Information

• Argued 11/20/2008
• Decided 07/23/2009
• Published 07/23/2009

Judges

• Before:  SCIRICA, Chief Judge, and RENDELL, Circuit Judges, and O'CONNOR, Associate Justice (Ret.).

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Mark A. Perry, Esquire, (Argued), Eugene Scalia, Esquire, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Washington, D.C., Rachel S. Brass, Esquire, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, San Francisco, CA, Perry A. Napolitano, Esquire, Reed Smith, Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellant., Rae T. Vann, Esquire, Norris Tysse Lampley & Lakis, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae-Appellant, The Equal Employment Advisory Council., Robin E. Shea, Esquire, Constangy Brooks & Smith, Winston-Salem, NC, for Amicus Curiae-Appellant, The Society for Human Resource Management., John H. Beisner, Esquire, O'Melveny & Myers, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Curiae-Appellant, Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America.


• For Appellees:
  
• Judith S. Scolnick, Esquire, (Argued), Scott & Scott, New York, NY, David R. Scott, Esquire, Scott & Scott, Colchester, CT, Geoffrey M. Johnson, Esquire, Scott & Scott, Cleveland Heights, OH, Christian C. Bagin, Esquire, Wienand & Bagin, Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellees, Mark Hohider, Robert DiPaolo and Preston Eugene Branum., Michael D. Lieder, Esquire, Sprenger & Lang, Washington, D.C., for Amici Curiae-Appellees, The National Employment Lawyers Association and AARP., Brad Seligman, Esquire, Impact Fund, Berkeley, CA, for Amici Curiae-Appellees, The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc., Disability Rights Legal Center, The Impact Fund, The Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, The National Disability Rights Network, New Jersey Protection and Advocacy, Inc.