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French v. Hawaii Pizza Hut9/30/2004
r life activities other than work); Aucutt v. Six Flags Over Mid-America, Inc., 85 F.3d 1311, 1319 (8th Cir. 1996) (twenty-five pound lifting restriction held not to substantially limit any major life activities); Thompson v. Holy Family Hosp., 121 F.3d 537, 539-540 (9th Cir. 1997) ("restriction from lifting more than 25 pounds on a continuous basis" held not to substantially limit the major life activity of lifting); see also Gillen v. Fallon Ambulance Serv., Inc., 283 F.3d 11, 22-23 (1st Cir. 2002) (noting that "cases holding that an inability to lift heavy objects does not constitute a substantial limitation on a person's overall ability to lift . . . seem to be correctly decided" (citing Williams, supra)); Mays v. Principi, 301 F.3d 866, 869 (7th Cir. 2002) (Posner, J.) ("We doubt whether lifting more than 10 pounds is [a major life] activity."). Because HRS § 378-2 and its accompanying agency rules are "textually similar" to the Americans with Disabilities Act and its supporting federal regulations, this court is free to credit our federal bretheren's considerable experience in construing a substantively identical federal statutory scheme. See, e.g., Shoppe v. Gucci America, Inc., 94 Hawaii 368, 377, 14 P.3d 1049, 1058 (2000) ("In interpreting HRS § 378-2 in the context of race and gender discrimination, we have previously looked to the interpretations of analogous federal laws by the federal courts for guidance."); Furukawa v. Honolulu Zoological Soc'y, 85 Hawaii 7, 13, 936 P.2d 643, 649 (1997) ("The federal courts have considerable experience in analyzing these cases, and we look to their decisions for guidance.").
Accordingly, as Appellant's lifting restriction is not substantially limiting on its face, she retains the burden of producing comparative evidence that her impairment renders her either unable to perform, or else significantly restricts the condition, manner, or duration of her ability to perform, a major life activity in comparison to the "average person in the general population." See HAR § 12-46-182 (1998). By her own admission, this Appellant has failed to do.
A party moving for summary judgment bears the "burden of demonstrating that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact relative to the claim or defense," such that he or she "is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." First Hawaiian Bank v. Weeks, 70 Haw. 392, 396, 772 P.2d 1187, 1190 (1989) (citing 10A Wright, Miller & Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d § 2727, at 121 (1983)). Because " he evidentiary standard required of a moving party in meeting its burden on a summary judgment motion depends on whether the moving party will have the burden of proof on the issue at trial," see GECC Fin. Corp. v. Jaffarian, 79 Hawaii 516, 521, 904 P.2d 530, 535 (App. 1995), we have long recognized that a defendant who moves for judgment pursuant to Rule 56 may "discharge his burden by demonstrating that if the case went to trial there would be no competent evidence to support a judgment for his opponent." Weeks, 70 Haw. at 396, 772 P.2d at 1190. Accordingly, a motion for summary judgment is properly granted against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there can be "no genuine issue as to any material fact," since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial. The moving party is "entitled to judgment as a matter of law" because the nonmoving party has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of her case with respect to which she has the bur
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