Darby v. Childvine, Inc.

Shortly after Sherryl Darby (plaintiff) started working at Childvine, Inc. (defendant), she informed her manager, Tyler Mayhugh (defendant), that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and was scheduled for a double mastectomy. Mayhugh told Darby he thought she would lose her job because her surgery was within her 90-day probationary period. Darby delayed the surgery to one day after the period ended. Samantha Doczy (defendant), one of Childvine’s owners, approved Darby’s leave request. After the surgery, Darby contacted Mayhugh about returning to work, and he advised her to bring a medical release. However, when Darby returned with her medical release, Mayhugh told her that she had been sent a termination letter. The letter stated that she was terminated because of an unpleasant attitude, dress-code violations, and being unable to work. Darby sued Childvine, Mayhugh, and Doczy, alleging, among other things, that Childvine violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by terminating her because of a disability. She claimed that Childvine’s stated reasons for the termination were merely a pretext. When Childvine moved to dismiss Darby’s claim, the court allowed discovery to continue pending the motion’s resolution. Childvine learned that Darby was never actually diagnosed with breast cancer. Darby amended her complaint to reflect that her doctor had discovered an epithelial-cell abnormality and that genetic testing had revealed she had the BRCA1 gene, which impairs normal cell growth. The complaint also stated that Darby had opted to follow medical advice by undergoing a double mastectomy to avoid cancer. The district court dismissed Darby’s claim, reasoning that Darby’s genetic mutation had not yet caused any disability cognizable under the ADA. Darby appealed.