RHJ Medical Center, Inc. v. City of DuBois

MEMORANDUM and ORDER OF COURT

This matter comes before the Court on the Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and Motion for a More Definite Statement (Document No. 25). Plaintiff filed a Brief in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and Motion for a More Definite Statement (Document No. 31). Defendant, without requesting leave of court, filed a Reply in Support of Its Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and Motion for a More Definite Statement (Document No. 32). The Court DENIES Defendant’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and Motion for a More Definite Statement.

“This case presents the familiar conflict between the legal principle of non-discrimination and the political principle of not-in-my-backyard.” New Directions Treatment Services v. City of Reading, 490 F.3d 293, 296 (3rd Cir.2007) (Smith, J.). When an organization submits plans to open a methadone treatment facility, the story usually unfolds as follows. First, after filing the appropriate zoning paperwork, the organization begins preparation to open the facility. Second, after concerned community leaders learn of this proposal, fears of attracting drug addicts to their town generates massive opposition to the plan. 1 Third, invariably, a town meeting of some kind is held to allow representatives from the methadone clinic to address community concerns. Fourth, the discussions at the town hall meeting primarily focus on the dangers that a methadone clinic poses to the municipality. Fifth, through some zoning mechanism- — -whether an existing zoning ordinance, or a new one which is enacted for the instant situation— *727 the community finds a reason why the methadone clinic should not be opened.

Although in most cases the die is cast following step two, invariably following step five, the organization is left without redress, and is effectively banned from opening a facility in the town. Tragically, the victims of exclusionary zoning tactics— recovering opiate addicts — tend to be those least prepared to fight against such tactics. Left with no other remedy, the organization files suit in court. The facts presented in this case fall neatly into this paradigm.

FACTS

RHJ Medical Center, Inc. (“RHJ”) is a Pennsylvania corporation in the business of operating methadone treatment facilities. (Compl. ¶¶ 15-16.) RHJ opened its first methadone treatment center in 2002 in Hunker, Pennsylvania. (Compl. ¶ 16.) RHJ has met the standards for federal certification and state licensure in outpatient treatment and methadone maintenance. (Compl. ¶¶ 9, 15.) In February 2006, RHJ began to search for a site on which to open a methadone treatment center in the City of DuBois. (Compl. ¶ 4.) The City of DuBois (“the City”) is a Third Class City covering 3.1 square miles with a population of less than 10,000. (Compl. ¶ 20; Answer ¶ 92.) The City’s population consists of 55% low to middle income persons. (Answer ¶ 92.) According to RHJ, the methadone treatment center located closest to the City is in the Borough of Clearfield, 20 miles away, and has a significant waiting list. (Compl. ¶ 24.) Plaintiff reports that as a result, many of the City’s residents make a daily three-hour round trip to the methadone treatment center operated by RHJ in the Borough of Vandergrift. (Compl. ¶ 25.) The City asserts that there are private physicians and other healthcare professionals within the City to provide residents with methadone treatment. (Answer ¶ 24-25,)

RHJ chose a site at 994 Beaver Drive, DuBois, Pennsylvania, 15801 (“the site”), and signed a ten-year lease on March 31, 2006. (Compl. ¶¶ 4, 28.) The site was zoned in the “Transitional District” and was previously occupied by an insurance agency. 2 (Compl. ¶¶ 4, 26.) Adjacent to the rear of the site was a sidewalk known as Beaver Meadow Walkway (“the walkway”), which was dedicated as a public park on June 25, 1979. 3 (Compl. ¶27; Answer ¶ 27.) By law at the time, methadone treatment centers were forbidden to operate within 500 feet of a public park unless the municipal governing body voted to authorize such use following public notice and one or more public hearings. 53 P.S. § 10621 (“Section 621”).

In late September or early October of 2006, RHJ’s plans to open a methadone treatment center became public. (Compl. ¶ 30; Answer ¶ 30.) RHJ asserts that they were then subjected to a wave of *728 negative press coverage, including a radio interview in which the mayor of DuBois stated that RHJ would likely not receive approval from the City to open such a facility and compared having a methadone treatment center in the City to “other cities dumping their garbage in DuBois.” 4 (Compl. ¶ 31.)

At a work session on October 19, 2006, the DuBois City Council authorized the City Solicitor to draft a letter to RHJ “to advise them that if they still planted] on opening their Center at 994 Beaver Drive, they need[ed] to follow all procedures, including Public Hearings and to remind them that they [we]re still too close to a recreational park (walkway).” 5 (Def.’s Ex. 1; Compl. ¶ 32; Answer ¶ 32.) A copy of this letter (Def.’s Ex. 2) was distributed at a City Council meeting on October 23, 2006, (Compl. ¶ 33) and also mailed to RHJ on that date (Answer ¶ 33). RHJ opened the methadone treatment center as planned two days later, on October 25, 2006. (Compl. ¶ 34.)

The City filed suit in the Clearfield County Court of Common Pleas on October 27, 2006, to enjoin RHJ from operating the methadone treatment facility at the site pursuant to Section 621. (Compl. ¶ 35; Answer ¶ 35.) The court granted the City a preliminary injunction with a continuance hearing scheduled for November 1, 2006. (Pl.’s Ex. 1.) The parties disagree as to whether or not the court heard oral argument from both sides before granting the injunction. RHJ says it did not (Compl. ¶ 35), while the City says that it did (Answer ¶ 35). The hearing was postponed to December 7, 2006. (Answer ¶ 35.) At that time, RHJ stipulated that the walkway was a public park within the meaning of Section 621 and that they had not obtained a certificate of use from the City before opening the clinic; and the court granted a permanent injunction until such time as the City approved RHJ’s application following a public hearing and granted a certificate of use. (Def.’s Ex. 3; Compl. ¶ 35; Answer ¶ 35.)

In January of 2007, RHJ submitted to the City an application for a public hearing and a request for certificate of use. 6 (Compl. ¶ 36; Answer ¶ 36.) The City provided notice to surrounding property owners, and a public hearing was held on April 23, 2007. (Compl. ¶ 37; Answer ¶ 37.) At a public meeting on May 14, 2007, the City Council voted unanimously to deny RHJ’s application and directed the City Solicitor to prepare a document of findings of fact and conclusions of law to support the decision. (Answer ¶ 38.) The Solicitor’s document was unanimously adopted at the public City Council meeting on May 29, 2007 and was served on RHJ on June 1, 2007. (Answer ¶ 38; Def.’s Ex. 4, 5.) The finding of the City Council was that RHJ had not presented evidence sufficient to justify deviating from the restrictions of Section 621. (Def.’s Ex. 5 at 6.) The concerns of the Council included the methadone treatment center’s lack of on- *729 site security personnel, lack of means to transport patients to the regional medical facility if necessary, and insufficient parking for the expected number of patients and staff. (Def. Ex. 5 at 4-5.) The Council also noted that RHJ had not performed “any need assessment to determine whether its center was needed in the area and had no statistics concerning area drug use.” (Def. Éx. 5 at 5.)

On June 15, 2007, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that § 621 violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101, et seq., and the Rehabilitation Act (“RA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 701, et seq. New Directions Treatment Services v. City of Reading, 490 F.3d 293 (3d Cir.2007). RHJ moved to dissolve the Clearfield County Court of Common Pleas injunction in November 2007, based on New Directions. (Compl. ¶ 43.) The City opposed this motion. Id. The motion was granted and the injunction dissolved on March 6, 2008. 7 (Pl.’s Ex. 3.) According to RHJ, at that time, the City refused to reconsider the earlier decision to deny the methadone treatment center a certificate of use. (Compl. ¶ 44.) The City responded that RHJ did not make any further petition to the City for any permits. (Answer ¶ 44.)

Also following the Third Circuit decision in New Directions, at a November 21, 2007, work session, the City Council heard first reading of Ordinance Number 1720, which amended City zoning in a number of ways, including prohibiting “methadone or drug treatment clinics or centers” in the “Transitional District” and permitting medical facilities “with the exception of methadone treatment facilities and other drug treatment facilities of any kind” in the “Commercial-Highway Zoning District.” (PL’s Ex. 4.) Ordinance Number 1720 • also amended City zoning to expressly permit “drug treatment clinics or facilities including methadone treatment facilities or clinics” in the “O-l Office District.” 8 (PL’s Ex. 4.) The ordinance passed after a second reading at the City Council meeting on November 27, 2007. 9 (PL’s Ex. 4; Compl. ¶45; Answer ¶ 45.) In July 2008, RHJ terminated its lease on the site. (Compl. ¶ 44.)

Plaintiff filed a six-count complaint against Defendant. Count I asserts a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses for Defendant’s actions under 53 P.S. § 10621. Count II asserts a claim under the Rehabilitation Act for Defendant’s actions under 53 P.S. § 10621. Count III asserts a claim under Title II of the ADA for Defendant’s actions under 53 P.S. § 10621. Count IV asserts a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses for Defendant’s actions under its new zoning ordinance. *730 Count V asserts a claim under the Rehabilitation Act for Defendant’s actions under its new zoning ordinance. Count VI asserts a claim under Title II of the ADA for Defendant’s actions under its new zoning ordinance.

Defendant makes six claims why judgment should be entered based on the pleadings. First, Plaintiff lacks standing. Second, Plaintiff is barred by res judicata from asserting Counts I — III. Third, Plaintiff is estopped from raising Counts I — III due to waiver. Fourth, Defendant is immune from actions taken in accordance with a court order. Fifth, the Court should not impose an equitable remedy— to do so would infringe on principles of federalism. Sixth, Plaintiff is barred by the statute of limitations. All six of Defendant’s claims fail, and its motion is denied. Defendant’s motion for a more definite statement is also denied.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Defendant filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings. FedR.CivP. 12(c) (“After the pleadings are closed but within such time as not to delay the trial, any party may move for judgment on the pleadings.”) In the past, a motion for judgment on the pleadings under Fed.R.CivP. 12(c) was analyzed under the same standard as a 12(b)(6) motion, wherein the Court must “accept as true all allegations in the complaint and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom, and view them in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.” Mele v. Fed. Reserve Bank, 359 F.3d 251, 253 (3d Cir.2004); Rocks v. City of Philadelphia, 868 F.2d 644, 645 (3d Cir.1989); D.P. Enters., Inc. v. Bucks County Cmty. Coll., 725 F.2d 943 (3d Cir.1984).

That was the standard. No longer. There is a “new sheriff in town” now policing Fed.R.CivP. 12(c), and his name is “Twiqbal.” Bell Atlantic Corporation v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, — U.S. —, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), or Twiqbal as they are commonly known, have caused a sea change in federal pleading standards. 10 In Iqbal, the Supreme Court “provide[d] the final nail-in-the-coffin for the ‘no set of facts’ standard” 11 derived from Conley v. Gibson. 12 *731 Following Iqbal, conclusory or “bare-bones” complaints will not survive a motion to dismiss: “threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949.

Under Twombly and Iqbal, in order to survive a motion to dismiss, a plaintiffs complaint must “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Iqbal, quoting Twombly at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. In Iqbal, Justice Kennedy writing for the majority, concluded that a claim has “facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, citing Twombly at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “The Supreme Court’s ruling in Iqbal emphasizes that a plaintiff must show that the allegations of his or her complaints are plausible.” Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203 (3rd Cir.2009). Following Iqbal, the District Court must dismiss a complaint that pleads facts that are “merely consistent with” a defendant’s liability, if the complaint “stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of ‘entitlement to relief.’ ” Iqbal, quoting Twombly, at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

In Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203 (3rd Cir.2009), the Third Circuit provided the test district courts should apply when considering a motion to dismiss under Iqbal;

Therefore, after Iqbal, when presented with a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, district courts should conduct a two-part analysis. First, the factual and legal elements of a claim should be separated. The District Court must accept all of the complaint’s well-pleaded facts as true, but may disregard any legal conclusions. Iqbal at 1949. Second, a District Court must then determine whether the facts alleged in the complaint are sufficient to show that the plaintiff has a “plausible claim for relief.” Id. at 1950. In other words, a complaint must do more than allege the plaintiffs entitlement to relief. A complaint has to “show” such an entitlement with its facts. See Phillips, 515 F.3d at 234-35. As the Supreme Court instructed in Iqbal, “[wjhere the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged-but it has not ‘show[n]’-‘that the pleader is entitled to relief.’ ” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949. This “plausibility” determination will be “a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. Fowler, at 210-211.

While the Third Circuit has not definitively resolved this issue, a number of district courts within the Third Circuit, 13 as well as other Courts of Appeals 14 have applied the Iqbal standard to motions filed under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c). This Court is inclined to agree, though this decision will *732 have several consequences that may not have been discussed elsewhere. For decades, granting a motion for judgment on the pleadings was only appropriate where the movant “clearly establishes that no material issue of fact remains to be resolved and that he is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Jablonski v. Pan Am. World Airways, Inc., 863 F.2d 289, 290 (3d Cir.1988) (citing Society Hill Civic Assoc. v. Harris, 632 F.2d 1045, 1054 (3d Cir.1980)). Generally, federal courts were reluctant to grant a Rule 12(c) Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, because it provides for summary disposition of a party’s claim on the merits before discovery. See Cardio-Med. Assoc. v. Crozer-Chester Med. Ctr., 536 F.Supp. 1065, 1072 (E.D.Pa.1982); Southmark Prime Plus, L.P. v. Falzone, 776 F.Supp. 888, 891 (D.Del.1991).

These prior standards mirrored the previous notice pleading standard articulated in Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957) — but Iqbal changed the game. No longer are cases dismissed only if “plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim,” but rather a viable complaint must “contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Iqbal, quoting Twombly at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Iqbal effected not only motions to dismiss, but has also impacted motions for judgments on the pleading, and imported the higher burden of “plausibility.”

Applying the Iqbal standard will likely make it tougher for complaints to survive motions under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c). Yet, to do otherwise would frustrate Iqbal In many cases, motions filed under Fed. R.Crv.P. 12(c) and 12(b)(6) are complimentary and largely interchangeable — the key difference being that the right to file motions under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) is waived if an answer is filed. A plaintiff should not be able to benefit from a weaker standard and higher probability of success under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) than he would under Fed.R.Civ.P. (b)(6). The burden of proof on the Plaintiff should increase at each stage of litigation. If the Plaintiff bears the higher “plausibility” standard to challenge a motion to dismiss, a lower standard should not apply later if a motion for judgment on the pleadings is subsequently filed.

If different standards were to apply, defendants attempting to have cases dismissed may cease to rely on the less strict standard for Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) — which would have a lower probability of success — and proceed to file motions for summary judgment. Motions for summary judgment are significantly more time consuming and cumbersome than motions for judgment on the pleadings. This additional litigation step would in turn serve to increase costs and frustrate judicial economy in cases which could have been resolved at the motion for judgment on the pleadings stage. Imposing the “plausibility” standard for Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) helps to maintain the status quo — as much as possible following the changes posed by Iqbal — -and avoid unnecessarily nudging cases towards summary judgment when a motion for judgment on the pleadings would suffice.

Iqbal has also impacted the manner in which courts must assess subject matter jurisdiction, even when considering a motion for judgment on the pleadings. Historically, when considering whether to dismiss a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1), the Court generally “must accept the allegations in the complaint as true and determine whether they are sufficient to invoke its jurisdiction.” Common Cause of Pa. v. Pennsylvania, 558 F.3d 249, 257 (3d Cir.2009). See also, McNutt v. Gen. Motors *733 Acceptance Corp., 298 U.S. 178, 189, 56 S.Ct. 780, 80 L.Ed. 1135 (1936); McNabb v. United States, 54 Fed.Cl. 759, 763 (2002) (“If a defendant or the court challenges jurisdiction^] ... the plaintiff cannot rely merely on allegations in the complaint, but must instead bring forth relevant, competent proof to establish jurisdiction.”). Now, the Plaintiff “has the burden of establishing that subject matter jurisdiction exists within the parameters of the ‘plausibility’ standard established by Twombly and Iqbal when confronted with Defendant’s 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss.” Sanchez v. United States, 707 F.Supp.2d 216 (D.P.R.2010). If a Defendant challenges subject matter jurisdiction in a motion to dismiss or a motion for judgment on the pleadings, or if the court raises this issue sua sponte, Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(h)(3) (“If the court determines at any time that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.”), the Court should apply the standard recognized in Sanchez.

ANALYSIS

I. Standing

In order to obtain standing, Plaintiff must traverse a jurisdictional labyrinth that would make Daedalus envious. In this case, the Minotaur takes not the form of part-man and part-bull, but rather coalesces from an amalgam of complex jurisdictional questions — determining attenuated third party standing, finding whether an association is imminent under Article III, identifying whether prospective patients suffer from a qualified disability, and answering whether associational standing warrants equitable and compensatory relief. This chimeral conundrum is exacerbated by two decades of precedents that have not fully addressed the constitutional limitations on adjudication for associational standing. This memorandum will address how these issues have swirled together into a jurisprudential maelstrom, and perhaps, to some degree, calm the waters and provide some clarity in a confounding area of the law.

The labyrinth in this ease winds as follows. First, in order to avail itself of the protections of the ADA and RA, Plaintiff must establish third party standing by showing an “association” with an individual with a disability. In this case, because no disabled persons were joined in the case or even identified in the complaint, Plaintiff can only receive standing based on a relationship or association with a patient.

Second, because Plaintiff was unable to open up the methadone clinic, it was unable to service any patients. Any patients could only be prospective. Nonetheless, our precedents have construed the ADA and RA as evincing Congress’s intent to grant third party standing to entities that have a prospective association with disabled persons.

Third, Plaintiff — which never actually opened the methadone clinic due to the city’s zoning decision — must show that the opening of the clinic and admittance of patients was “imminent.” Associational standing notwithstanding, this court could not take cognizance of a fledgling clinic that has not taken enough steps towards establishing the requisite association, lest our jurisdiction traverse the boundaries of Article III. In this case, because Plaintiff took sufficient steps towards opening its doors for business, the opening of the clinic is considered imminent, and Article III standing is satisfied.

Fourth, even if the prospective patient suffers from a disability per se, Plaintiff must resolve a statutory Gordian knot and show that a curious “carve out” exemption — aimed at allowing employers to discharge employees with drug addictions — is inapplicable in the context of methadone clinics. Congress provided for an exemption for patients, separate from employees, *734 engaging in drug treatment programs— even if those individuals have a current drug addiction.

Fifth, even if the requisite association is established, and the opening of the clinic is imminent, Plaintiff must prove that the prospective patients — none of whom have been ascertained — would be protected by the ADA or RA. Merely having an impairment, such as an opioid addiction is inadequate; rather, the disability must substantially impact a major life activity. The Supreme Court’s precedents dictate that inquiries into a person’s disabilities must be an individualized present examination. This would seem to render generalized prospective examinations — the approach several other courts have undertaken — a Sisyphean task. Yet in this case, the Court finds that a serious opioid addiction that warrants admission to a methadone clinic, with the attendant daily disruptions of life activities in order to obtain the treatment, could satisfy this test. This finding would obviate the need for an individualized, fact intensive inquiry.

Sixth, if Plaintiff shows an “association” with an individual with a disability who is protected by the ADA and RA, exemptions notwithstanding, Plaintiff must show that it, RHJ — and not any associated disabled patients — was injured in violation of the ADA and RA. How can an entity be discriminated against by a statute aimed at protecting individuals with disabilities? This counterintuitive standard seems to be in tension with the text of the statute, but comports with subsequent guidance from the DOJ and relevant precedents from some — but not all — Circuits. If Plaintiff shows that it was discriminated against, standing is established in order to bring suit.

Seventh, even if the Plaintiff shows it was injured in violation of the ADA and RA, and can bring suit, the question remains whether standing exists for equitable relief as well for compensatory damages. Associational standing exists to grant third parties the right to sue on behalf of others. The benefit of such litigation should inure to the benefit of those aggrieved. Generally speaking, the third party is not the aggrieved party. Rather, the third party is suing on behalf of wronged individuals. Thus, equitable relief — ordering a city to issue a zoning permit, for example — would seem to be an appropriate remedy. In contrast, compensatory damages — lost profits, for example — would not directly benefit wronged disabled persons. For claims of damages, the Court considers whether the third party itself — and not aggrieved individuals— was injured. In such situations, compensatory damages would be appropriate because the benefit would inure to the injured party — the entity — regardless whether any individuals are actually injured.

The Court finds that the Plaintiff meets all of these requirements, and after a journey worthy of Theseus through the heart of the labyrinth, the Minotaur is slain, and the Plaintiff remains in federal court, with standing to proceed on all of its claims.

a. ADA and RA Grant Third Party Standing

The Court starts from first principles. The objects to which “the judicial authority of the union ought to extend to” are enumerated in Article III of our Constitution. Federalist No. 80 (Hamilton). The bounds of the judicial power are limited to Article Ill’s “cases” and “controversies.” Lujan, at 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130. The “cases” and “controversies” requirements “serve to identify those disputes which are appropriately resolved through the judicial process,” Lujan, at 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130 citing *735 Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 155, 110 S.Ct. 1717, 109 L.Ed.2d 135 (1990). While some of the elements of standing “express merely prudential considerations that are part of judicial self-government, the core component of standing is an essential and unchanging part of the case-or-controversy requirement of Article III.” Lujan, at 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130 citing Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 751, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984).

Generally, a “plaintiff ... must assert his own legal rights and interests, and cannot rest his claim to relief on the legal rights or interests of third parties.” Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 499, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975) (citations omitted). However, “Congress may grant an express right of action to persons who otherwise would be barred by prudential standing rules.” Id. at 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197. In certain cases, standing may exist because of statutorily created rights: “[T]he standing question in such cases is whether the constitutional or statutory provision on which the claim rests properly can be understood as granting persons in the plaintiffs position a right to judicial relief.” Warth, at 500, 95 S.Ct. 2197. Where Congress grants a right of action to an entity or association, the entity may assert standing either in its own right or on behalf of its members. Warth, at 511, 95 S.Ct. 2197.

[A]n association has standing to bring suit on behalf of its members when: (a) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization’s purpose; and (c) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit. Hunt v. Washington State Apple Adver. Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333, 343, 97 S.Ct. 2434, 53 L.Ed.2d 383 (1977).

The ADA and RA are statutes in which Congress has granted third party standing. The regulation implementing Title II of the ADA provides, “A public entity shall not exclude or otherwise deny equal services, programs, or activities to an individual or entity because of the known disability of an individual with whom the individual or entity is known to have a relationship or association.” 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(g) (emphasis added). This provision establishes the basis for associational standing. The “prudential limits imposed in pure associational standing cases do not apply to” statutory grants of associational standing. Addiction Specialists, 411 F.3d 399, 407 (3rd Cir.2005). This broad conception of standing does indeed “extend standing to the full limits of Article III.” Id. So “long as this requirement [of Article III] is satisfied, persons to whom Congress has granted a right of action, either expressly or by clear implication, may have standing to seek relief on the basis of the legal rights and interests of others, and indeed, may invoke the general public interest in support of their claim.” Warth, 422 U.S. at 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197.

In Addiction Specialists, the plaintiff was denied a permit to open a methadone clinic, and sought a declaration that the city’s denial of the permit violated the ADA and RA. Addiction Specialists, Inc. v. The Township of Hamilton, Et Al., 1:04-CV-696 (W.D.P.A. Sept. 8, 2004). Relying on 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(g) — which provides “A public entity shall not exclude or otherwise deny equal services, programs, or activities to an individual or entity because of the known disability of an individual with whom the individual or entity is known to have a relationship or association ” — the Third Circuit held that a methadone clinic could bring suit on its own behalf. Addiction Specialists, 411 F.3d 399 (3rd Cir.2005). The Court expressly rejected the Seventh Circuit’s holding to the contrary in Discovery *736 House, which held a methadone clinic could not sue for damages on its own behalf under the ADA and RA Id. citing Discovery House, 319 F.3d at 280 (7th Cir.2003).

The Third Circuit found that the Seventh Circuit test “ignores that the protections of the ADA and RA have been extended to shield entities themselves from discrimination.” Addiction Specialists, at 407 (emphasis added). The court noted that “[although ASI [“Addiction Specialists”] is protected by these statutes only by virtue of its association with disabled individuals, ASI’s standing to sue arises from its own alleged injuries, not those of its clients.”