U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Petition to Overturn Tenth Circuit Adoption of Repeated Violations Doctrine in ADA Claims

Earlier this year, the Tenth Circuit implemented the repeated violation doctrine with respect to violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in a case involving a dispute with a resident of Trinidad over the city’s sidewalk system. The resident identified numerous city sidewalks and curb cuts that allegedly violated the ADA and presented these to city council; but then the citizen waited for over two years before suing in federal court. The Tenth Circuit held that each day there is a violation of Title II of the ADA is a repeated violation, which prevents the statute of limitations from running until the violation no longer exists. The U.S. Supreme Court denied cert on December 9, 2019, and the case is headed back to District Court on the merits. A fundamental question remains lingering on remand that makes this a case worth watching: Is a municipal sidewalk system a type of “program, service or activity” that is even covered by Title II?

CML would like to extend a thank you to Lindsay Rose from the Colorado Springs Attorney’s Office for authoring the amicus brief supporting the petition for writ of certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court. Both CML and IMLA supported the brief in this case.

Hamer v. City of Trinidad, 924 F.3d 1093 (10th Cir. 2019).

Read Amicus Brief