Pennsylvania Protection and Advocacy, Inc. v. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare

PRECEDENTIAL Argued October 26, 2004 Before: NYGAARD, AMBRO, and VAN ANTWERPEN, Circuit Judges OPINION OF THE COURT This matter is the most recent in a line of cases involving the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare (""DPW"") and various mental/nursing institutions administered by that agency. 1 At issue once again is the Commonwealth's alleged failure to comply effectively and expediently with the integration mandate and non-discriminatory administration provisions of Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act (""ADA""), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (""RA""), 29 U.S.C. § 794. We hold that DPW's asserted defense to the integration mandate claim of Plaintiff-Appellant Pennsylvania Protection and Advocacy, Inc. (""PP&A"") is legally insufficient and that the District Court erred in its legal conclusion that the nondiscriminatory administration provisions were not violated. As such, we remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.