Affirms grant of SJ in favor of Allstate on suit under ADA

FLAUM, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff Mobley worked for Allstate Insurance (“Allstate”) for 16 years before being laid off with 31 other employees in Oct. 2003 as part of a reduction in force. In July 2001, Mobley had begun having problems concentrating and staying awake at work, due to what was ultimately diagnosed as essential tremor and nocturnal myoclonus. From fall 2002 until April 2003, Mobley wrangled with her supervisors over workplace accommodations for her conditions. In May 2003, Allstate permitted Mobley to regularly work in a private room rather than a cubicle. Although Mobley’s earlier, temporary placement in this private room had improved her work performance, Mobley’s performance level never reached the “meets” level after May 2003, causing her name to be included on the RIF in Oct. of that year. Mobley subsequently brought suit against Allstate under the ADA, bringing claims for failure to accommodate her disability, discriminatory termination, and unlawful retaliation. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Allstate on all claims, which Mobley now appeals.

Conclusion (slip op. at 18): We affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in Defendant’s favor.

Key Analysis (slip op. at 14, 16): Mobley’s claim that Allstate failed to reasonably accommodate her disability fails because she has failed to meet her burden of showing that her other requests did in fact constitute reasonable accommodations . . . Given that Mobley acknowledges that her performance had slipped during that time and does not challenge Allstate’s methodology for finding that she was performing below a “meets” level, Mobley cannot establish her prima facie case for discriminatory termination.

WOOD, Circuit Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part: ". . . while I join the majority’s resolution of Mobley’s retaliation claim, I respectfully dissent from its decision to affirm summary judgment on the other two theories."