Amanda Wolfe v. Miami East Local School District Board of Education

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio grants Amanda Wolfe leave to proceed in forma pauperis and conducts an initial review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). The magistrate judge recommends that Wolfe’s individual claims under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act proceed, while dismissing claims brought on behalf of her minor son, as well as the Ohio negligence and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims. The document also provides notice of the fourteen-day period for filing objections.

Holdings

1. A pro se plaintiff may not appear on behalf of a minor child because the child's cause of action belongs to the child; the claims Wolfe asserted on behalf of K.W. should therefore be dismissed.
2. The Ohio negligence and § 1983 claims should be dismissed for failure to state a claim because they were referenced only on the civil cover sheet and were not alleged in the complaint.
3. Wolfe should be permitted to proceed on her individual claims under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act because non-disabled individuals may have claims for injuries suffered because of their association with a disabled person.
4. Wolfe's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis should be granted.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Wolfe could proceed pro se on claims asserted on behalf of her minor son.
2. Whether claims under Ohio negligence law and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 should be dismissed when they appeared only on the civil cover sheet and were not pleaded in the complaint.
3. Whether Wolfe stated individual claims under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act based on injuries allegedly suffered because of her association with her disabled son.
4. Whether Wolfe should be granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis.

Disposition

other