Nonprofit Firm Backs Provider in SCOTUS Disability Bias Suit

A deaf woman’s claim for emotional distress damages in a disability bias suit should be rejected because Congress never intended to promote that remedy, the Washington Legal Foundation told the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jane Cummings had a legal remedy for emotional upset caused by a health-care provider’s denial of her request for an American Sign Language interpreter—she could have sued Premier Rehab Keller PLLC for intentional infliction of emotional distress, the nonprofit public interest firm told the top court.

Instead, Cummings sued the physical therapy provider for intentional disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act’s Section 504 and, by extension, the ...