Jerry Bird v. Oregon Comm'n for the Blind

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

JERRY BIRD, No. 20-36066 Petitioner-Appellee, D.C. No. v. 3:18-cv-01856- YY

OREGON COMMISSION FOR THE

BLIND, an agency of the State of Oregon, OPINION Respondent-Appellant,

v.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION,

Rehabilitation Services Administration, Respondent-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Oregon Marco A. Hernández, Chief District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted November 8, 2021 Portland, Oregon

January 7, 2022 BIRD V. OREGON COMM’N FOR THE BLIND

Before: Susan P. Graber and Morgan Christen, Circuit Judges, and Raner C. Collins,* District Judge.

Opinion by Judge Collins

SUMMARY **

Sovereign Immunity

The panel reversed the district court’s denial of sovereign immunity to Oregon Commission for the Blind (“OCB”) in a case in which the district court affirmed an arbitration panel’s award of compensatory relief, attorney’s fees, and costs in favor of petitioner Jerry Bird.

Bird and other blind vendors filed a formal complaint with OCB seeking arbitration,…