Date: 06-12-2002

Case Style: MX Group, Inc. v. City of Covington, et al.

Case Number: 00-6305

Judge: Clay

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

Plaintiff's Attorney: David E. Davidson of Cobb & Oldfield, Covington, Kentucky, for Appellee.

Defendant's Attorney: Stephen T. McMurtry of Otto Daniel Wolff & Associates, Covington, Kentucky, for Appellants.

Description: On January 16, 1998, Plaintiff filed a two-count complaint in the district court, alleging violations of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. On July 21, 1998, Plaintiff amended its complaint, adding as a third cause of action denial of substantive due process. According to the district court's opinion, Plaintiff also asserted a constitutional equal protection claim. Defendants filed an answer on August 20, 1998. Defendants moved for summary judgment on August 2, 1999. The district court held a hearing on the motion and denied it on December 17, 1999. The district court also set a date of January 8, 2000 for a bench trial. At the close of all the evidence, the district court asked the parties to file memoranda in support of their positions. Plaintiff filed its memorandum on March 6, 2000, and Defendants filed their memorandum/brief on April 5, 2000. On August 8, 2000, the district court entered an opinion and order in favor of Plaintiff's ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims. See MX Group, Inc. v. City of Covington, 106 F. Supp. 2d 914 (E.D. Ky. 2000). The district court also entered an order and injunction, which provided that Defendants' ordinance, essentially banning Plaintiff's proposed methadone clinic from operating anywhere in the City of Covington, violated the ADA. The order also enjoined Defendants from withholding the necessary permits and permission from Plaintiff for a methadone clinic. Defendants moved to alter and amend the order; after oral arguments were heard on that motion, the district court denied Defendants' motion on September 8, 2000. Defendants thereafter filed this timely notice of appeal.

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Defendants argue that Plaintiff lacks "prudential" standing to bring this suit under either Title II of the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act. Defendants argue that Plaintiff may not seek redress under the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act without an individualized inquiry into whether at least one of its clients or potential clients is disabled. Defendants contend that Plaintiff was required to join as a plaintiff, a client, or potential client so that an individualized inquiry could be made to determine whether the client or potential client is disabled. We will address each of these contentions below.

As a preliminary matter, we note that Plaintiff asserts claims under both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. The district court analyzed Plaintiff's claims under both acts together, and referred only to the ADA in its analysis, "since the results are the same under both Acts." MX Group, Inc., 106 F. Supp. 2d at 915. We will do the same inasmuch as both acts are interpreted consistently with one another. See e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 12201(a) (ADA is not to "be construed to apply a lesser standard than the standards applied under . . . Rehabilitation Act of 1973 . . . ."); Andrews v. State of Ohio, 104 F.3d 803, 807 (6th Cir. 1997) (explaining that because "standards under both of the acts are largely the same, cases construing one statute are instructive in construing the other"); see also Bay Area Addiction Research and Treatment, Inc. v. City of Antioch, 179 F.3d 725, 731 (9th Cir. 1999) (noting that Congress has instructed that both ADA and Rehabilitation Act are to be interpreted consistently); Innovative Health Sys., Inc. v. City of White Plains, 117 F.3d 37, 44-46 (2d Cir. 1997) (holding that language under ADA and Rehabilitation Act similarly ban discrimination by a public entity and such discrimination includes a public entity's zoning decisions).

). Plaintiff also asserted claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the denial of a permit to operate the methadone clinic violated its rights to substantive due process and equal protection. The district court did not reach those claims inasmuch as it found Plaintiff prevailed on its ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims. MX Group, Inc., 106 F. Supp. 2d at 915. Plaintiff does not raise its constitutional claims on appeal or otherwise challenge the district court's disposition of those claims.

A. STANDING UNDER THE ADA AND REHABILITATION ACT

Whether a party has standing under Article III of the Constitution to bring a claim "involves both constitutional limitations on federal-court jurisdiction and prudential limitations on its exercise." Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498 (1975). Standing is a threshold inquiry in every federal case and it involves an inquiry into whether "a plaintiff has alleged such a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to warrant his invocation of federal-court jurisdiction to justify exercise of the court's remedial powers on his behalf." Id. (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Aside from the minimal standing requirements under Article III, however, prudential considerations may bar a person or entity from asserting standing on behalf of the rights of others. Id. at 500-501. Prudential barriers do not apply in all cases. "Congress may grant an express right of action to persons who otherwise would be barred by prudential standing rules," although Article III's requirements remain. Id. at 501.

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An association or organization may assert standing in one of two ways: (1) on its own behalf because it has suffered a palpable injury as a result of the defendants' actions; or (2) as the representative of its members. Id. at 511; Hunt v. Washington State Apple Advertising Comm., 432 U.S. 333, 341-42 (1977). Of course, as stated, an entity may sue in its own right for injuries sustained as a result of a defendant's actions, without prudential standing concerns, where Congress has provided the entity such a right. See Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, 455 U.S. 363, 372,378-79 (1982) (holding that non-profit organization had standing to bring suit on its own behalf under Fair Housing Act, where organization alleged that defendant's steering practices impaired its ability to perform its goal of providing "counseling and referral services to low and moderate income homeseekers").

Title II of the ADA states that "no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reasons of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity." 42 U.S.C. § 12132. The federal courts have addressed the issue of whether an entity such as MX Group has standing to sue under the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act when it has suffered an injury as a result of discrimination against its clients. See e.g., Innovative Health Sys., 117 F.3d at 46-48; Oak Ridge Care Ctr., Inc. v. Racine County, 896 F.Supp. 867, (E.D. Wisc. 1995). The Second Circuit has engaged in an extensive analysis on this issue in Innovative. A brief factual background of that case before discussing the standing analysis would be helpful.

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Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

Outcome: Affirmed

Plaintiff's Experts: Unavailable

Defendant's Experts: Unavailable

Comments: None