Simmons, Jannace & Stagg
Debra L. Wabnik, a partner at Simmons, Jannace & Stagg, L.L.P., represented Rx Place, F.W. Woolworth Company and Woolworth Corporation (collectively "Woolworth") in a case entitled Irien Moawad v. Rx Place, F.W. Woolworth Company, Woolworth Corporation, and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Docket No. 95 CV 5243). In a May 27, 1999 Opinion and Order, Judge Gershon granted Simmons, Jannace & Stagg's motion for summary judgment.
Plaintiff took maternity leave from her job at Rx Place, and received additional long-term disability benefits. When the disability benefits ran out, plaintiff tried to extend them. Plaintiff and her doctors represented that plaintiff was totally disabled from performing her job, or any other job. After the disability insurer rejected plaintiff=s claim for extended disability, plaintiff claimed she could have worked if her schedule had been accommodated. She sued Woolworth for sex, disability and pregnancy discrimination. Plaintiff also claimed she had not received Woolworth's Long Term Disability Summary Plan, in violation of ERISA.
Simmons, Jannace & Stagg moved for summary judgment, arguing that the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Pregnancy Amendment to Title VII protect only individuals who can perform the essential functions of their jobs. Plaintiff submitted numerous documents stating she could not work. Moreover, Ms. Wabnik argued there was no evidence plaintiff was treated differently than male employees, or other employees on disability leave. Ms. Wabnik also argued that since there was no evidence of any discriminatory intent toward plaintiff, she could not prove a prima facie case of sex, disability or pregnancy discrimination.
In addition, Simmons, Jannace & Stagg maintained plaintiff could not sustain her ERISA claim because she was provided with a copy of the Summary Plan and she did not request a copy of the plan in writing, as ERISA requires. Simmons, Jannace & Stagg also argued plaintiff was not prejudiced by the alleged failure to provide her with a copy of the plan.
The District Court agreed with Ms. Wabnik's arguments, and ruled in Simmons, Jannace & Stagg's favor. The complaint was dismissed in its entirety.