In September 2003, the Oklahoma City and Dallas district offices of the EEOC brought this ADA suit against Heartway Corporation d/b/a York Manor Nursing Center in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The complaint alleged that the defendant discharged the claimant from her job as a cook because she had Hepatitis C. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment in June 2004 that the court denied in July 2004. The case went to trial on August 16, 2004, and the jury entered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff a day later. Both the EEOC and the defendant appealed the case after the court denied the EEOC's motion to amend judgment and the defendant's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Finding that issues of fact were not given to the jury, the Tenth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the District Court's judgment, and remanded the case. See EEOC v. Heartway Corp., 466 F.3d 1156 (10th Cir. 2006). On remand, the EEOC voluntarily dismissed the suit in January 2007. The defendant filed a notice of filing of bankruptcy in April 2007; however, the court granted the EEOC's motion to enter final judgment in July 2007. The defendant was ordered to pay the claimant $21,240 in compensatory damages and back pay.

Kevin Wilemon - 08/15/2007


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