Court Error – Abuse of Discretion

Listen to this article

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Brigid A. Ford v. Marion County Sheriff’s Office, et al.

Case No.: 18-3217

Officials: SYKES, HAMILTON, and SCUDDER, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Court Error – Abuse of Discretion

Plaintiff Brigid Ford worked as a deputy in the Marion County Sheriff’s Office until her hand was seriously injured in a car accident while on duty. After assigning Ford to light duty for about a year, the Sheriff’s Office told Ford that she must either transfer to a permanent position with a cut in pay or be terminated. After some back and forth, Ford accepted a civilian job as a jail visitation clerk. In the following years, Ford alleges, she suffered disability-based harassment by co-workers, refusals to accommodate her scheduling needs, and several discriminatory promotion denials. Ford sued the Sheriff’s Office for discriminatory employment practices in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.

The district court granted summary judgment on most of Ford’s claims. Two claims were tried to a jury, which rendered a verdict for the defense. Ford has appealed and raised a host of issues. The district court properly granted partial summary judgment as to some of plaintiff’s claims and then exercised its discretion fairly to manage the trial on the remaining claims. The district court committed no reversible error in the trial. We affirm.

Affirmed

Full Text

Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.