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Hoover v. Norwest Private Mortgage Bank6/9/2004
After respondents terminated appellant's employment, appellant filed a claim against respondents, alleging disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, and reprisal. Following a bench trial, the district court dismissed appellant's claims. On appeal from the denial of her motion for a new trial and from the final judgment, appellant argues that the district court erred by concluding that she failed to establish a prima facie case on any of her claims. Because we conclude that (1) the district court's evidentiary rulings were not an abuse of discretion, its findings were not clearly erroneous, and its conclusions of law were not in error and (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying appellant's motion for a new trial, we affirm.
FACTS
Appellant Dianne Hoover was hired by respondent Norwest Private Mortgage Banking (PMB) in 1992 as a private mortgage banker, a position commonly referred to as a loan originator. In May 1995, Hoover was diagnosed with fibromyalgia; her symptoms included severe headaches; deep pain in her neck, shoulder, and back; fatigue; and sleep disturbances. Hoover informed her supervisor, Colleen McCullough, of the diagnosis. According to Hoover, by September 1995, her fibromyalgia began to affect her ability to work; she suffered from exhaustion and a diminished ability to concentrate. Hoover testified that she sought help from McCullough, stating that (1) at an October 1995 meeting with McCullough, Hoover told McCullough that she did not have the additional support that she needed to do her job and that the stress was causing her fibromyalgia to flare up and (2) at a November 1995 meeting, Hoover told McCullough that she needed loan-processing support because of her fibromyalgia. PMB employs loan processors who assist the loan originators with their files. McCullough testified, however, that Hoover never tied her requests for loan-processor support to her fibromyalgia.
In late 1995, after receiving complaints from three loan processors that Hoover's files were not in "regulatory compliance," McCullough requested a special audit of Hoover's files. The auditor's December 1995 report indicated that (1) there was "significant evidence that the dates and types of applications taken been altered by [Hoover] in order to have the files appear to be in compliance," (2) Hoover's files did not comply with PMB policies, and (3) in several instances, Hoover's files may have been in violation of federal fair-lending laws.
Hoover testified that, on February 7, 1996, she told McCullough that she was going to the human-resources department to talk about her need for accommodation and about the lack of loan-processor support that she was receiving. On February 9, Hoover called PMB's human-resources department and left a message stating, "Call me." Later that morning, Hoover met with McCullough and McCullough's supervisor, Craig McWilliams, to discuss, among other things, what PMB considered to be possible violations of law found during the special audit of Hoover's files. At the meeting, after Hoover mentioned her fibromyalgia, McWilliams asked Hoover if the fibromyalgia prevented her from performing her job, and Hoover answered, "No." Following the meeting, McCullough terminated Hoover's employment.
On January 30, 1997, Hoover filed a charge of discrimination against PMB and McCullough with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR). After an investigation, on February 3, 1998, the MDHR issued a finding that probable cause existed to believe that PMB had committed unfair discriminatory practices against Hoover, including disability discrimination, failure to accommodate a disability, and reprisal.
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