Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani Partner Matt Wise secured an appellate victory for a child placement agency and its employees before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which affirmed the dismissal of all claims brought by a former foster care applicant.
The case arose from a former foster care applicant’s allegations that the defendants violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state law in connection with her application to foster children as a quadriplegic. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants, including the child placement agency and the State of Michigan, and the Sixth Circuit affirmed in full. The Sixth Circuit held that the plaintiff had not established that a reasonable accommodation was requested or warranted under the circumstances and further concluded that the record contained no evidence of discriminatory animus. The court’s decision recognized that the defendants supported the plaintiff’s efforts to become a foster parent while appropriately adhering to applicable legal requirements.
The Sixth Circuit’s decision represents a significant appellate victory for GRSM’s clients, underscoring the strength of GRSM’s advocacy from the district court through the appellate process, and provides published guidance on a sensitive and disputed issue arising under the ADA and related state law.