Former Polson resident Michael Ross has lodged a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Missoula, accusing the North Lake County Library and its director, Abbi Dooley, of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In an order dated March 3, U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen DeSoto allowed the case to move forward. The complaint, originally filed Aug. 4, 2025, seeks $5 million in damages for what Ross alleges are “emotional and mental” injuries sustained due to the library’s decision to ban him from the premises in the summer of 2025.

According to previous Leader reporting, Ross, who is completely blind, moved to Polson in February 2025. He was 41 years old at the time. A frequent visitor to the library, he often sought help from staff while conducting research, writing letters or filling out forms – in one instance, according to Dooley, for a Supreme Court case he was trying to file.

On his final visit, he was advised that library staff could not assist with legal paperwork and that he would need to schedule an appointment in the future because his requests for assistance were too time-consuming for the small staff.

On July 19, Ross filed a police complaint alleging that the library had failed to provide him with accommodations for his disability.

According to an interview that Polson Police conducted with Dooley, dated July 24, the director said Ross had visited the library about five times, and staff had assisted him during each visit, but then requested he make appointments for future visits because the library “did not have enough staff to help him and cover the front desk at the same time.”

She noted said Ross could be “slightly intimidating, in a nice way,” and said employees “felt they were being harassed.”

She also told the officer the library staff had “done as much as they could for him” and that they typically would not type letters, read documents or fill out forms for patrons, including those with disabilities.

She discussed the matter with the library board and received permission to ban Ross from the library “until they came up with a reasonable solution.” A Notice of No Trespass was delivered to Ross by Polson Police, alleging that he had violated the library’s Rules of Conduct, which forbid use of “loud, abrasive or insulting language or gestures” and “harassment of any kind.” The notice also asserted that any violation of the ban would be viewed as criminal trespassing under state law.

In her opinion, Judge DeSoto waived the court filing fee, and wrote that the plaintiff’s case may move forward. She noted that if the allegations in his complaint are found to be factual, he may be entitled to seek monetary relief under Title II of the Americans with Disability Act.

Title II states that “no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.”

In her order, DeSoto denied his motion for a summary judgement, calling it “premature.”

Her order gives the defendants 30 days from March 3 to file an initial response.

According to Dooley, HagEstad Law Group, based in Missoula, will represent the library. The Leader reached out for a comment but had not heard back as of press time.

In an email to the Leader, Ross wrote that he is now living in the southern United States. 

“I had to mix it up where I’m around professional Black and white people, to make sure I get the social equalities that I need to survive in the 21st century,” he said.