Supreme Court GVRs ADA Title II Case, With Ginsburg Concurrence

Today, the Supreme Court issued a brief order in Haas v. Quest Recovery Systems, in which the Court granted the petition for certiorari, vacated the Sixth Circuit's judgment, and remanded for further consideration. The case was brought under Title II of the ADA, and the Sixth Circuit held both that the state had sovereign immunity and that the plaintiff had not stated a Title II claim against the state. The United States, who intervened in the Supreme Court, argued that if the plaintiff did not state a claim the Sixth Circuit should not have reached the sovereign immunity question. The Court remanded to give the Sixth Circuit a chance to consider that argument. Justice Ginsburg's brief concurrence pointed out a couple of apparent problems with the Sixth Circuit's opinion (the Sixth Circuit found some of Haas's claims barred by judicial immunity even though no judge was named as a defendant, and it appeared to apply a heightened pleading standard, in conflict with extensive Supreme Court case law).