As of October 17, 2026. Times are Eastern.
On May 1, 2026, James R. Westbury, Jr., outside counsel for the Georgia Interlocal Risk Management Agency (GIRMA) and the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), answered a disabled dad’s written ADA requests with a demand: “What is your disability? In other words, what is your impairment or functional limitation?” He made himself the only door: “Please direct all future communications to me.” Then he never wrote again.
Show Me Your Papers:
Show me your papers. On May 1, 2026, at 12:08 PM, James R. Westbury, Jr. sent me a two page letter, copied to nine people. He wrote: “In this respect, I need two pieces of information:”
The first: “(1) What is your disability? In other words, what is your impairment or functional limitation?”
He asked a second time at the end: “please communicate the nature of your disability to me and your accommodation request, and I will take appropriate steps to the ensure full compliance with the law by GIRMA.”
The Requests, Reviewed:
He had my requests in hand. By my own count, I had made five written ADA requests to GIRMA’s claims administrator, Gallagher Bassett: on March 13, March 16, April 2, April 6 and April 12, 2026. On April 14, 2026, I wrote to GMA’s chief executive and attached my record of them. James R. Westbury, Jr.’s May 1 letter answered that April 14 letter.
He wrote: “After a careful review of the documentation submitted with your April 14 letter, I can find no description of a disability or request for a specific accommodation”. He wrote that he “reviewed the March 13, 2026 email to Belinda Boscoe referenced in your letter that purports to be a written notice of disability.”
Requests in writing. His answer was a question about my body.
The Only Door:
He made himself the only door. He wrote: “GIRMA has designated me as the person for you do deal with, and I will be happy to assist you.” And: “Please direct all future communications to me.”
He also wrote: “Contrary to your contention, GIRMA is not required to designate an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator.” And that GIRMA would comply only “voluntarily”: “GIRMA does reserve the ability to cease such voluntary compliance in any future correspondence.”
Then the Door Shut:
So I did what he said. On May 6, 2026, at 5:10 PM, I wrote to him, with GIRMA, GMA and Gallagher Bassett copied. I sent a written accommodation request and a demand that he retract his letter. His mailbox opened it at 6:30 PM, 80 minutes later.
He never answered. As of October 17, 2026, James R. Westbury, Jr. has sent me one letter, the May 1 letter, and nothing since. I wrote to him directly six times and copied him six more, through May 21, 2026.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| March 13 to April 12, 2026 | Five written ADA requests to Gallagher Bassett |
| April 14, 2026 | The five sent to GMA’s chief executive |
| May 1, 2026, 12:08 PM | James R. Westbury, Jr.: “What is your disability?” and “Please direct all future communications to me.” |
| May 6, 2026, 5:10 PM | My written accommodation request and retraction demand, addressed to him |
| May 6, 2026, 6:30 PM | His mailbox opens it |
| May 21, 2026, 3:50 PM | GMA’s General Counsel writes that communications should go “through Mr. Westbury” |
| October 17, 2026 | No answer from him. Ever. |
What I Allege:
- Show me your papers. I allege that on May 1, 2026, James R. Westbury, Jr., outside counsel for GIRMA and GMA, answered my written ADA requests by demanding: “(1) What is your disability? In other words, what is your impairment or functional limitation?” and asked a second time that I “communicate the nature of your disability to me”. Source: his May 1, 2026 letter.
- The requests, reviewed. I allege that he wrote that he made “a careful review of the documentation submitted with your April 14 letter,” and, upon information and belief, that documentation carried my five written ADA requests to Gallagher Bassett of March 13, March 16, April 2, April 6 and April 12, 2026. Sources: his May 1 letter; my April 14, 2026 letter and its exhibits.
- The only door. I allege that he wrote “GIRMA has designated me as the person for you do deal with” and “Please direct all future communications to me,” and that GMA’s General Counsel later confirmed that GMA “requests that you direct future substantive communications concerning these matters through Mr. Westbury.” Sources: his May 1 letter; the GMA General Counsel’s May 21, 2026, 3:50 PM email.
- Then the door shut. I allege that on May 6, 2026, at 5:10 PM, I sent him a written accommodation request, that his mailbox opened it at 6:30 PM, and that as of October 17, 2026 he has never answered it or any of my later emails. Sources: my May 6 email; his read receipt; my mailbox, all folders, searched for his address.
- Compliance he could take back. I allege that he wrote GIRMA “is not required to designate an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator,” and that GIRMA “does reserve the ability to cease such voluntary compliance in any future correspondence.” Source: his May 1 letter.
What This Cost a Disabled Dad:
I asked for written communication because of my disability. A lawyer who has been a member of the State Bar of Georgia since 1994 answered by asking me to name my impairment. Then he made himself the only person I could write to. Then he never wrote back.
Is this how they would treat their own family or friends that were disabled?
What This Page Does Not Say:
This page does not describe the claim GIRMA was handling or anything about it. It quotes James R. Westbury, Jr.’s own letter and sets out what came after. The labels are my opinion based on my experience. The quotations are his.
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