A Society Without a Name v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 655 F.3d 342 (2011)

Citation: A Society Without a Name v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 655 F.3d 342 (2011)
Parent Document: A Society Without a Name v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 655 F.3d 342 (2011)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 2011-08-24
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/612506/a-society-without-a-name-v-commo... ↗

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This court has not previously determined what limitations
period governs ADA claims brought in Virginia. But we have
held that the Virginia Disabilities Act provides the limitations
period for claims brought under the Federal Rehabilitation
Act in Virginia because of the similarities between these acts.
Wolsky v. Med. Coll. of Hampton Roads, 1 F.3d 222, 225 (4th
Cir. 1993). And we have held that we apply the same substan-
tive analysis to both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act
"[b]ecause the language of the two statutes is substantially the
same." Doe v. Univ. of Maryland Med. Sys. Corp., 50 F.3d
1261, 1264 n.9 (4th Cir. 1995). Moreover, the Virginia Dis-
abilities Act itself expressly acknowledges its close connec-
tion to both the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA: "The
Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy shall promulgate
such regulations as may be necessary to implement this sec-
tion. Such regulations shall be consistent, whenever applica-
ble, with regulations imposed under the federal Rehabilitation
            A SOCIETY WITHOUT A NAME v. VIRGINIA               9
Act of 1973, as amended, and the federal Americans with Dis-
abilities Act of 1990." Va. Code Ann. § 51.5-40 (footnotes
omitted). We therefore agree with the district court’s conclu-
sion that the one-year limitations period in the Virginia Dis-
abilities Act applies to ADA claims brought in Virginia.

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