Gambini v. Total Renal Care, Inc.
Ninth Circuit
486 F.3d 1087 (9th Cir. 2007)
Gambini (plaintiff), diagnosed with bipolar disorder after an on-the-job breakdown, disclosed her condition and ongoing treatment to supervisors at DaVita (defendant), but her symptoms -- outbursts, irritability, unpredictability, and difficulty concentrating -- worsened over the following year; when supervisors met to present her a performance-improvement plan, Gambini began crying, shaking, and struggling to breathe, then threw the plan, used profane language, and slammed the door, and DaVita fired her days later. Gambini wrote DaVita explaining the outburst was a symptom of her bipolar disorder and asked for reinstatement, which was refused; she sued for ADA disability discrimination, and the district court denied her requested jury instruction that conduct resulting from a disability is part of the disability, then granted DaVita summary judgment, which Gambini appealed.
Whether, under the ADA, conduct that results directly from an employee's disability is treated as part of the disability itself, entitling the employee to a jury instruction allowing the jury to find the termination was based on the disability.