DOJ Sues Attorney, Says Law Office Banned Service Dog, Violating ADA
The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against a Colorado attorney for allegedly barring a woman from giving a deposition in his law office because she was accompanied by her service dog.
The animal, an Australian shepherd, is trained to help the brain-injured woman, Joan Murnane, with her balance and perform certain tasks for her. But attorney Patric LeHouillier allegedly refused Murnane, her husband and her lawyer entry into his Denver law office, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, because he feared the dog would soil his carpet, reports the Associated Press.
The article doesn’t include any comment from LeHouillier, who didn’t immediately respond to a message from the news agency.
Additional details about the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Denver today, are provided in a DOJ press release.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Is Boa Constrictor a Service Animal? Proposed DOJ Standard Says No”
