By Ashley S. Jenkins and Kristina M. Launey

Seyfarth Synopsis: A Puerto Rico federal court holding reminds us that an animal that performs work or tasks for a person with a psychiatric disability – such as identifying the onset of a panic attack and taking action to mitigate its effect – is a service animal.

It is a common misconception

Continue Reading Court Holds “Bully Breed” Dog That Identifies Onset of Panic Attack is a Service Animal

By: Kristina Launey and Minh Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals approved state-owned hospital’s exclusion of nursing student’s service animal that posed a direct threat to patients and staff with severe allergies where no reasonable alternatives existed to mitigate the threat.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision in Bennett v. Hurley Med. Ctr.

Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Approves Hospital’s Exclusion of Nursing Student’s Service Animal

Seyfarth Shaw Synopsis: Effective December 18, 2017, New York became the latest state to enact a law cracking down on fake service animals.

New York recently joined an increasing number of states that have passed laws aimed at curbing abuse of laws and regulations designed to ensure that individuals with disabilities can be accompanied by their service animals in places
Continue Reading New York Passes Law Against Service Animal Fraud, Joining Other States

iStock_000000578266_LargeThe Department of Justice (DOJ) announced today that it filed a lawsuit against the Gates-Chili Central School District in New York because it refused to have its teachers help a kindergarten student with epilepsy and other disabilities manage her service dog. According to the complaint, the young student was non-verbal and could not give the service dog required commands. The
Continue Reading Justice Department Sues Public School For Refusing to Manage Student’s Service Dog