Federal lawsuit filed by Midland veteran after confrontation at mall over service dog

Added: 2026-06-07

[00:00:01]Yeah, I'm getting harassed about my service dog.

[00:00:03]>> Yeah.

[00:00:05]>> An encounter between a veteran with a service dog and the Midland Mall manager has resulted in a federal lawsuit, but there are differing claims on exactly what happened. The veteran had been to the Midland Mall before with his professional service dog Darna, but a confrontation with the mall manager led to police being called and Terry, the man and the dog had to leave the mall.

[00:00:26]>> Yes, Angie, and to this day the two cannot return to the Midland Mall. Now, Scott Higby of Midland is claiming his rights as a disabled veteran were violated while the mall owner is countering that the service dog was acting up and Higby was the aggressor.

[00:00:40]>> It was a week before Christmas and the body camera video from a Midland police officer shows Scott Higby approaching with his service dog Darna. This federal lawsuit claims Higby, who served 9 years in the Army and 11 with the National Guard, has been taking walks at the Midland Mall for the past 5 years. On this day, the lawsuit states mall manager Becca Billmeier grabbed Higby by the arm and began asking him questions about the dog. Attorney Ryan Kaiser says a public accommodation by law can only ask a person with a service animal two questions.

[00:01:11]>> Is this a service animal? And what service does this provide? And you can't ask whether this person has a disability, what their disability is.

[00:01:19]>> That's what Higby claims he was asked.

[00:01:21]Billmeier and another mall employee follow Higby and his dog through the mall and eventually the Midland police officer arrives.

[00:01:29]>> Yeah, I'm getting harassed about my service dog.

[00:01:32]>> Yeah.

[00:01:32]>> The officer tells Higby the mall management wants him off the property.

[00:01:36]>> It says service dogs aren't allowed in your stores.

[00:01:38]>> Yeah, but I I can't do anything about >> can pick and choose who who's service dogs can come in and who can't?

[00:01:44]>> Apparently.

[00:01:45]>> We have a violation of federal law and we have a veteran who is dealing with his own PTSD in a situation of extreme anxiety, embarrassment.

[00:01:56]>> Midland Mall owner Jordan Dice the allegations in the lawsuit bizarre, writing, "In investigating the matter internally, I did not find any of these allegations to be true." Dice has owned the mall for 3 years and says the business always welcomes service dogs, but says in this case, Higby's dog was interacting with another service dog in the mall in a pattern of behavior that did not match how we observe most service animals act. Higby refused to answer the second question and started escalating using profane language.

[00:02:25]>> I'm not here to say that Scott was 100% in the right, but I think all of those things occurred uh because of the mall not handling the situation correctly.

[00:02:35]>> In the video, Bill Myer tells the officer she asked Higby what task his dog can perform, and Higby said, "I don't have to answer that."

[00:02:42]contradicting Higby's claim that he was asked about his disability. The lawsuit states Higby's rights under the American and state disability acts were violated.

[00:02:51]>> The main goal here is change. It's a court order saying this was done wrong.

[00:02:58]>> And again, Higby and his dog Darna are not allowed to go to the Midland Mall or they will both be cited. Well, actually, Higby will be cited for trespassing.

[00:03:06]Angie?