CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Former Butler County student only gets one bite of the lawsuit apple, appeals court rules

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - 12/13/2017

Dec. 13--A former high school student who settled with the Butler Area School District under a federal law guaranteeing education for students with disabilities can't sue the district again over the same issue by citing other federal statutes, a federal appeals court ruled in a precedential decision.

Robert Wellman was a freshman in 2009 when he suffered a series of head injuries in gym class, football practice and during a football game, the lawsuit says. Claiming the district failed to accommodate his temporary disability, his parents and Wellman filed a complaint with the state department of education, the ruling says.

They entered into a settlement that released the district from all claims Wellman could make under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the ruling says.

Wellman sued the district in 2013 claiming it failed to follow the federal Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The district asked the court to dismiss the claim because, under the IDEA, Wellman was required to take his new claims through the education department's complaint process before filing a lawsuit.

Wellman argued this his claims weren't made under the federal education law and therefore weren't subject to that process.

U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak agreed with the district and dismissed the case.

Following a Supreme Court ruling in a similar case, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Wellman's complaint centers on the education he received from the district and is subject to IDEA even if some of his claims fall outside that law.

Hornak's ruling left open the possibility that Wellman could revise his complaint and try again. The appeals court said that Wellman already waived any IDEA claims in the earlier settlement and ordered Hornak to permanently dismiss the case.

Brian Bowling is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-1218, bbowling@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TribBrian.

___

(c)2017 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.)

Visit The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.) at www.triblive.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nationwide News