Appellate Law

CA1: ADA case less interesting than thought

By S. COTUS

R.-Z. v. Commonwealth of PR, No. 07-2025.  While this claim was filed under the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and 1983, it comes down to a suit against the state employed a teacher that sexually abused a child with cerebral palsy. The teacher was convicted.  There was an allegation of retaliation by the parents for going to the police. 

The most interesting issue is whether the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over appeals of denials of sovereign immunity defenses.  It does.  However, while a number of interesting issues were raised, it seems that the defendants changed their theories and the First says that they were waived.

However, because the plaintiffs sued everyone, the qualified immunity issues get a bit complicated.  The First points out that qualified immunity doesn?t apply to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any official capacity claims because those are usually injunctive.  (I wish the popular press would understand this.) 

The First seems to say that the retaliation claim is hopeless (based on related discussions by the magistrate) but also says that it doesn?t really review the weight of such evidence (even under a qualified immunity defense) on an interlocutory appeal. 

Full post as published by Appellate Law and Practice on June 05, 2008 (boomark / email).