Burns White Attorneys Matthew Fry and William D’Annunzio obtained dismissal on behalf of a prison counselor accused of violating an inmate’s civil rights and the Americans with Disability Act. The Plaintiff, an inmate, had been removed from his position as a participant in the Guardian Angels Service Dog Program and Certified Peer Support Specialist in the Veterans Service Unit of a state penitentiary. He claimed that this violated his civil rights and was discrimination based on his disability.
In the granted counselor’s Motion to Dismiss, the Federal Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania found that the facts alleging a civil rights violation were insufficient to state a claim because the counselor lacked personal involvement in the Plaintiff’s dismissal from these programs. The Court further found that the counselor could not be found liable under the Americans with Disability Act, as the Plaintiff had not identified a disability or alleged that the counselor had any involvement in his dismissal from these programs. Plaintiff was allowed to amend his complaint but the amendment failed to correct these errors and the case was dismissed in its entirety.