## Facts

- J. Scott Seawright worked for Charter Furniture Rental, Inc. as an account manager from 1986 until his termination in 1995.
- Seawright lived with John Hull, with whom he had a homosexual relationship; Hull had AIDS.
- Seawright concealed the relationship at work, describing Hull as a “roommate,” and the court found Seawright repeatedly deceived Charter to conceal any association suggesting AIDS risk.
- Charter terminated Seawright citing poor performance and maintained personnel documentation reflecting performance problems.
- Seawright filed suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), alleging Charter fired him because it perceived he was at risk of contracting AIDS due to his association with Hull.
- The court previously granted summary judgment for Charter, finding no evidence that Charter knew of Seawright’s association with a person with AIDS and therefore no basis to infer ADA-prohibited motive.
- After prevailing, Charter sought attorneys’ fees and expenses from Seawright under the ADA fee-shifting statute and sought fees/sanctions from Seawright’s counsel based on inadequate pre-filing investigation and pursuit of a factually unsupported claim.

## Issues

1. Whether a prevailing ADA defendant could recover attorneys’ fees and expenses from the plaintiff on the ground that the claim was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation.
2. Whether Seawright’s counsel should be sanctioned (including shifting fees/expenses) for filing and litigating an ADA claim without adequate factual investigation and evidentiary support.

## Decision

- The court granted in part and denied in part Charter’s motion for attorneys’ fees and expenses against Seawright.
- The court granted in part and denied in part Charter’s request for fees and expenses against Seawright’s counsel as a sanction.
- The court modified the requested sanction to impose the least severe sanction sufficient to deter similar conduct.

## Legal Principles

- Under the ADA’s fee-shifting provision, a prevailing defendant may recover attorneys’ fees only when the plaintiff’s claim was frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation, even absent subjective bad faith.
- ADA associational/perceived-disability theories require evidence that the employer knew of the alleged disability or association; absent employer knowledge, an inference of discriminatory termination cannot be supported.
- Rule 11 principles require counsel to conduct a reasonable pre-filing inquiry into facts and law; reliance on a client’s unverified speculation, without checking readily available sources (such as employer records or basic witness inquiries), may warrant sanctions.
- Sanctions must be calibrated to deterrence and limited to the least severe measure adequate to deter comparable violations.

## Conclusion

The court awarded partial defense fees and imposed a limited sanction because the ADA claim proceeded without evidentiary support—particularly regarding employer knowledge—and counsel failed to conduct a reasonable factual inquiry before filing and continuing the litigation.


Seawright v. Charter Furniture Rental, Inc., 39 F. Supp. 2d 795 (N.D. Tex. 1999)