In a prior blog entry, I discussed a situation where the police intentionally aggravated a person with a disability pre-existing condition eventually leading to that person’s death. The court in that case held that the police force could be liable for violating title II of the ADA. This particular blog entry will once again
rehabilitation act
IDEA, Rehab Act, and the ADA: Have to keep in mind all three
By William Goren on
Back in 1997, I wrote an article for the Florida bar Journal discussing the relationship between the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. I have had the good fortune to see that article cited numerous times in various law review articles. If I were to update that article today,…
ADA compliance auditing: higher education version
By William Goren on
In a previous blog entry, I talked about a case that illustrated what not to do if you are a place of higher education seeking to dismiss a student with a disability from your program. This particular blog entry will briefly talk about another case involving a medical school and then explore the concept of…
Police response and ADA liability
By William Goren on
In a comment to a prior blog post, I mentioned a case, Gipson v. Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits, where a court, the Northern District of Georgia, found no ADA liability when a police officer not knowing the ADA, told a person who otherwise had a right to be in a restaurant with his service…
Suing a state court system for disability discrimination: it can be done but it’s complicated
By William Goren on
What happens if a state court system discriminates against a person with a disability? That was the situation in Prakel v. State of Indiana, 2013 WL 3287691 (S.D. Ind. June 28, 2013). In this case, a deaf individual (while the court refers to him as hearing impaired, I use the term deaf because you…
Getting to first base: what you need to show standing in title II or title III cases
By William Goren on
In our system, the judiciary, in general, does not render advisory opinions . There are a couple of exceptions. Some states have a system, such as Massachusetts, whereby a legislature can request an advisory opinion from their Supreme Court with respect to the constitutionality of proposed legislation. A couple of other instances look like advisory…
What do you have to show to get damages under title II of the ADA?
By William Goren on
With respect to title II of the ADA, and title I for that matter as well, the only way you can get damages is to show intentional discrimination. With respect to suing a governmental entity for violations of title II, what exactly is it that you have to show to get damages? A recent Rehabilitation…
Enshrinement of unfair advantage as a legal standard: OCR, 504, and Sports
By William Goren on
For years (every edition of my book starting with the very first edition published in 2000 has had a chapter on the ADA and sports), I’ve written about how the ADA applies to sports. The United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights has just issued a guidance dealing with their section 504 regulations…
“Regarded as” and title II and are there different rules for “direct threat” depending upon the context
By William Goren on
Recently, I read a case out of the Western District of Pennsylvania which I found absolutely fascinating. In this particular case, the court dealt with three issues. First, does the plaintiff have a disability at all? Second, does “regarded as” even apply outside of the title I context? Finally, was the plaintiff a direct threat…
Mixed motive: another permutation and do lawyers have it backwards
By William Goren on
Posted in Federal Cases, Title I
A hot area of the Americans with Disabilities Act jurisprudence is the question of mixed motive. That is, can a plaintiff get a mixed motive jury instruction in Americans with Disabilities Act cases, or for that matter in Rehabilitation Act cases as well, in light of Gross v. FBL Financial Services? Previously, we have…