Luke Romero v. County of Santa Clara

MEMORANDUM

Dr. Luke Romero appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) on his disability discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination claims. Romero also appeals the entry of judgment in the defendants’ favor following a jury trial on the claims not dismissed at summary judgment. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment on Romero’s interactive-process claim because Romero bears responsibility for the breakdown in the interactive process. See Zivkovic v. S. Cal. Edison Co., 302 F.3d 1080, 1089 (9th Cir. 2002). Romero not only repeatedly asserted that he was not seeking reasonable accommodations other than additional medical leave, but also characterized the County’s attempts to initiate the reasonable accommodations process as harassment. Additional medical leave of unspecified duration—the sole accommodation that Romero sought and was willing to accept—was not reasonable because Romero had already been given three extensions to the initial period of leave granted, Dr. Collyer viewed his potential return to SCVMC as…