ANTHONY G. MARTIN, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus BREVARD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, an entity of the State of Florida, Defendant-Appellee., 543 F.3d 1261

Summary

The employee contended that he stood in loco parentis to his granddaughter and was therefore entitled to FMLA leave to care for her. The employee created a genuine issue of material fact. During that FMLA leave period, the employee provided his granddaughter and his daughter (the granddaughter's mother) substantial financial support, including a home, food, and health insurance. He played a significant role in caring for his granddaughter even though his daughter was never deployed overseas (though she was a member of the Army Reserve and had been informed that her unit would be soon deployed overseas). Even if his leave were not FMLA-qualifying, the employee claimed that the school district was estopped from challenging his entitlement to that leave because the school district originally approved his leave request. However, the employee could not invoke the estoppel doctrine. As to the employee's interference claim, summary judgment was not proper; whether he would have been retained ...