Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc.

E560319

Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. is a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowly interpreted who qualifies as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act, prompting Congress to later broaden the law’s coverage through the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Americans with Disabilities Act case ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ
disability law case ⓘ
appliedStatute Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ⓘ
appliedStatutoryProvision 42 U.S.C. § 12102(2) ⓘ
areaOfLaw federal civil rights law ⓘ
labor and employment law ⓘ
citation 119 S. Ct. 2139 ⓘ
144 L. Ed. 2d 450 ⓘ
527 U.S. 471 ⓘ
concurringJustice Anthony M. Kennedy ⓘ
Stephen G. Breyer ⓘ
country United States ⓘ
court Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
criticizedFor restrictive reading of the ADA’s definition of disability ⓘ
decisionDate 1999-06-22 ⓘ
defendant United Air Lines, Inc. ⓘ
linked to: United Airlines
dissentingJustice John Paul Stevens ⓘ
Ruth Bader Ginsburg ⓘ
docketNumber 97-1943 ⓘ
effectOnLaw prompted Congress to broaden ADA coverage through the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 ⓘ
employmentContext airline pilot position ⓘ
factualBackground plaintiffs were twin sisters with severe myopia who were denied employment as global airline pilots ⓘ
holding Individuals whose impairments are corrected by mitigating measures may not be disabled under the ADA ⓘ
Mitigating measures must be considered in determining whether an individual is disabled under the ADA ⓘ
impact limited the number of individuals qualifying as disabled under the ADA before 2008 ⓘ
influenced ADA Amendments Act of 2008 ⓘ
issue definition of disability under the ADA ⓘ
whether mitigating measures are considered in determining disability ⓘ
jurisdiction federal question jurisdiction ⓘ
legalPrinciple disability must be evaluated in its mitigated state under the pre-2008 ADA ⓘ
legalSubject disability discrimination ⓘ
employment discrimination ⓘ
statutory interpretation ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy Sandra Day O’Connor ⓘ
overruledInEffectBy ADA Amendments Act of 2008 ⓘ
plaintiff Karen Sutton ⓘ
Kim Sutton ⓘ
precedentFor narrow interpretation of disability under the ADA prior to 2008 ⓘ
proceduralPosture review of a decision dismissing plaintiffs’ ADA claims ⓘ
relatedCase Albertsons, Inc. v. Kirkingburg ⓘ
Murphy v. United Parcel Service, Inc. ⓘ
result judgment for United Air Lines, Inc. ⓘ
subsequentDevelopment Congress rejected Sutton’s mitigating-measures rule in the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 ⓘ
vote 7-2 ⓘ
yearDecided 1999 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 → respondsTo → Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. ⓘ
United States disability rights law → includesCaseLaw → Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. ⓘ
Public Law 110-325 → rejects → Supreme Court decision in Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc. ⓘ
linked to: Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc.