Randon Bragdon v. Sidney Abbott, et al. (524 U.S. 624)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 25, 1998 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 524 U.S. 624 · 118 S. Ct. 2196
- Decided
- June 25, 1998
- Term
- October Term 1997
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court. We address in this ease the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 104 Stat. 327,42 U. S. C. § 12101 et seq., to persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We granted certiorari to review, first, whether HIV infection is a disability under the ADA when the infection has not yet progressed to the so-called symptomatic phase; and, second, whether the Court of Appeals, in affirming a grant of summary judgment, cited sufficient material in the record to determine, as a matter of law, that respondent’s infection with HIV posed no direct threat to the health and safety of her treating dentist. 522 U. S. 991 (1997). I Respondent Sidney Abbott (hereinafter respondent) has been infected with HIV since 1986. When the incidents we recite occurred, her infection had not manifested its most serious symptoms. On September 16,1994, she went to the office of petitioner Randon Bragdon in Bangor, Maine, for a dental appointment. She disclosed her HIV infection on the patient registration form. Petitioner completed a dental examination, discovered a cavity, and informed respondent of his policy against filling cavities of HIV-infected patients. He offered to perform the work at a hospital with no added fee for his services, though respondent would be responsible for the cost of using the hospital’s…
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