Favorable Ninth Circuit Decision on Pro Bono Appeal

Jun 21, 2021

On June 7, 2021, second-year associate Vanessa Wright represented Robert Drake Ewbank at oral argument as part of the pro bono program of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Ewbank appealed the dismissal of his pro se ADA complaint after state officials removed him from Oregon mental health committees because of his disability. At the pleading stage, the District Court denied Mr. Ewbank’s motion for pro bono counsel and issued orders that Mr. Ewbank, without legal training or counsel, was unable to understand or follow to the Court’s satisfaction. Through the pro bono program on appeal, Bush Gottlieb argued for Mr. Ewbank to have a fair chance to redress the disability discrimination he suffered. On June 21, 2021, the Ninth Circuit found the District Court erred by refusing Ewbank leave to amend his Complaint, and reversed and remanded the case. Ewbank v. Emrick, No. 18-35873, 2021 WL 2529673 (9th Cir. June 21, 2021), https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/18-35873/18-35873-2021-06-21.html.