Susan Kerr v. County of Allegheny

── Susan Kerr v. County of Allegheny ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Date: April 20, 2026 Category: General NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ____________ Nos. 25-1775, 25-2036 ____________ SUSAN KERR, Appellant v. COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY; JACOB PORTER; UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL CENTER, a Pennsylvania Non-Profit Corporation; WESTERN PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE AND CLINIC, a division of UPMC JOHN/JANE DOE ____________ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (District Court No. 2:24-cv-00805) District Judge: Honorable Robert J. Colville ____________ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) March 16, 2026 ____________ Before: MATEY, FREEMAN, and CHUNG, Circuit Judges (Filed: April 20, 2026)  ____________ OPINION * ____________ CHUNG, Circuit Judge. Following her seizure pursuant to an application for emergency mental health treatment, Susan Kerr brought Fourteenth Amendment and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act claims against Allegheny County and Jacob Porter (“Allegheny Defendants”), and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (“Hospital Defendants”) (collectively, “Defendants”). The District Court granted Defendants’ motions to dismiss and Kerr appealed. For the reasons set forth below, we will affirm the District Court’s order. I. BACKGROUND 1 Kerr resides in Allegheny County and shared a house with her wife until August 27, 2023. On that date, Kerr’s wife initiated an Application for Involuntary Emergency Examination (the “Application”) under the Pennsylvania Mental Health Procedures Act (“MHPA”), completing Part I of the Application. Kerr has bipolar disorder II, generalized anxiety, and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Porter, an Allegheny County caseworker, completed Part III of the Application, which consisted of authorizing and issuing a warrant for Kerr to be assessed for possible involuntary commitment and * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. 1 Because we write for the parties, we recite only the facts pertinent to our decision. 2 emergency mental health treatment. In turn, law enforcement executed the warrant, removing Kerr from her home and transporting her to Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (“Western Psych”) for evaluation. The Defendants failed to complete Parts IV and V of the Application, which required that Kerr’s rights be explained to her and that her personal property and the premises where she resided be secured. While Kerr was at Western Psych, her wife changed their home’s locks and told a Western Psych staff member that she did not want Kerr returning to their property. Hospital Defendants did not relay this information to Kerr. A physician at Western Psych assessed Kerr and determined she was not in need of emergency involuntary treatment. Kerr was discharged from Western Psych at approximately 5:00 p.m., five hours after her arrival. Upon her return, Kerr was unable to enter her home, retrieve her personal property, and gain possession of her pets. Kerr retrieved some of her personal property approximately two weeks later, and was allowed to see her pets in December 2023. Kerr was only able to return to her home and fully regain her personal property and her pets on March 10, 2