Summary
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded a summary judgment ruling in favor of Broadmead, Inc. The court held that McGinn lacked standing to seek injunctive relief under the Americans with Disabilities Act and that her Fair Housing Act and Rehabilitation Act claims were untimely or forfeited. It vacated summary judgment on her breach of contract and negligence claims arising from an alleged January 2021 gluten exposure because evidence concerning Broadmead’s acknowledged process failure created genuine issues of material fact.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether McGinn had standing to seek injunctive relief under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Whether McGinn forfeited her challenges to the Fair Housing Act and Rehabilitation Act claims by failing to address an alternative ground for judgment in her opening brief.
- Whether the Fair Housing Act and Rehabilitation Act claims were barred by their applicable statutes of limitations and whether the continuing-violation doctrine or a later accommodation request restarted the limitations period.
- Whether Maryland's discovery rule tolled the limitations period for the breach of contract and negligence claims arising from the February 2018 crab-cake incident.
- Whether the evidence concerning the January 2021 chicken-marsala incident created a genuine dispute of material fact sufficient to preclude summary judgment on the breach of contract and negligence claims.
Holdings
- McGinn lacked standing to seek injunctive relief under the Americans with Disabilities Act because past injury, deterrence, and alleged economic harm did not establish a real or immediate threat that she would be wronged again, and she offered no evidence that she intended to resume eating at Broadmead.
- McGinn forfeited her challenges to the Fair Housing Act and Rehabilitation Act claims by failing to address in her opening brief the district court's alternative holding that the continuing-violation doctrine did not apply to failure-to-accommodate claims outside the hostile-workplace context.
- The Fair Housing Act and Rehabilitation Act claims were untimely because they accrued in January 2019, and neither Broadmead's March 2023 communications nor the continuing-violation doctrine restarted the limitations periods.
- The Maryland discovery rule did not toll the limitations period for McGinn's breach of contract and negligence claims arising from the February 2018 crab-cake incident because she had actual knowledge sufficient to prompt a reasonably diligent inquiry and failed to pursue that inquiry.
- Summary judgment was proper on the breach of contract and negligence claims arising from the February 2018 incident because McGinn's theory that Broadmead used gluten-containing Rice Krispies in the 2018 crab cake was speculative and unsupported by contradictory evidence.
- Summary judgment was improper on the breach of contract and negligence claims arising from the January 2021 chicken-marsala incident because Broadmead's administrator's statements acknowledging a process failure created a genuine dispute of material fact.
Key quotations
“A jury may well find that the statements are admissions of wrongdoing. Or a jury may find that they are mere promises that Broadmead would investigate the matter, without accepting responsibility. But that’s for a jury to decide and weigh alongside the other evidence.” (13-14)
“In sum, we vacate the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Broadmead on McGinn’s breach of contract and negligence claims arising from the alleged gluten exposure in January 2021. We remand for further proceedings on those claims. We otherwise affirm.” (14)
Factual background
McGinn has celiac disease and entered a residential agreement with Broadmead after being assured that Broadmead could accommodate her gluten-free diet. She became ill after eating several meals, including a crab cake in February 2018, a stuffed tomato in June 2020, and chicken marsala labeled gluten free in January 2021. Broadmead later acknowledged that there had been a process failure concerning the chicken marsala incident and implemented several gluten-free food and kitchen changes. McGinn filed suit in September 2023.
Procedural history
McGinn sued Broadmead in the District of Maryland after alleged gluten exposures at her retirement community. The district court denied McGinn's motion for partial summary judgment and granted Broadmead summary judgment on all nine claims. The Fourth Circuit affirmed as to the federal claims and the state-law claims arising from the 2018 crab-cake incident, but vacated summary judgment on the breach of contract and negligence claims arising from the January 2021 chicken-marsala incident and remanded.
Remand instructions
Remanded for further proceedings on McGinn's breach of contract and negligence claims arising from the alleged gluten exposure in January 2021. The judgment was otherwise affirmed.