LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) – A January trial date has been set in a lawsuit accusing a Louisiana sheriff of rescinding a job offer to an applicant who is HIV-positive.

William Pierce sued Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal and two captains last year, saying they violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. The suit says Ackal’s office offered Pierce a job as a deputy in 2012, but rescinded the offer after a required physical examination showed he was HIV-positive.

The Acadiana Advocate reports a federal judge in Lafayette rejected a motion Thursday to declare the sheriff liable in the case. However, U.S. District Judge Michael Juneau made it clear his decision was not based on the case’s merits, but on Ackal’s unavailability to answer pre-trial questions.

Juneau scheduled a trial for Jan. 6.

Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com