DOVER, Ohio—Two more ADA lawsuits have been dismissed, and this time they are outside of Virginia.
Americans With Disabilities Act lawsuits against DoverPhila FCU here and Family Security Credit Union in Decatur, Ala., were dismissed with judges in both the cases stating the plaintiffs had no standing to sue the credit unions.
NAFCU told CUToday.info that it is pleased to see judges in additional jurisdictions acknowledge the importance of standing in ADA lawsuits against credit unions. The majority of the earlier dismissals of lawsuits alleging ADA violations by credit unions have come from courts in Virginia.
“The Virginia courts seemed to be the first federal courts to address the issue of standing with regard to lawsuits against credit unions,” said NAFCU Vice President of Compliance Brandy Bruyere. “While the Virginia cases are not controlling, sometimes judges find it helpful to see how other courts have handled similar facts. For example, the Ohio judge cited to one of the Virginia cases.”
While judges in other jurisdictions are not bound by these latest decisions and others, Bruyere said NAFCU is “hopeful.”
“There are cases pending in multiple states and NAFCU has filed amicus briefs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and several cases in Texas, so we'll see,” she said. “One judge in Georgia ordered discovery on a few initial issues, including whether the plaintiff has the ability to use the credit union's services so that is not as strong as a flat out dismissal, but at least indicates some concern about the issue. We also filed an appellate amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week, and an appellate outcome would be controlling in that jurisdiction—which encompasses Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia—and would possibly be more persuasive to other districts' trial courts.”
CUNA also applauded the latest court decisions.
“We are glad to see complaints dismissed against Dover-Philadelphia Federal Credit Union and Family Security Credit Union. The courts properly found that the plaintiffs lacked standing, given they were ineligible for membership in the credit unions,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “These frivolous lawsuits are harmful to small businesses and do not confer benefits upon the disabled Americans the ADA is designed to protect. CUNA will continue its work across the country to fight the meritless claims brought throughout these lawsuits.”