Cases

K.C., et al. vs. Jack O’Connell, et al.

October 13, 2006
Under an August 2007 Settlement Agreement, each California local education agency (LEA) will manage the delivery of diabetes care for students whose Individualized Education Programs or 504 Plans require administration of insulin and related services during the school day. The CDE issued a Legal Advisory to all California school districts providing guidance on health care services for students with diabetes and outlining the rights of these students under federal anti-discrimination and special education statutes.

Laguna Honda Hospital

October 13, 2006
In 2006, six residents of Laguna Honda Hospital, joined by the Independent Living Resource Center (ILRCSF) in San Francisco, filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court to challenge San Francisco's discriminatory actions resulting in their unnecessary confinement at Laguna Honda Hospital, a more than 1,000 - bed nursing facility owned and operated by the City. The suite alleged that the plaintiffs were capable of, and would prefer to live in their own homes or in the community. In September 2008, Judge William Alsup approved a settlement that greatly increased community-based housing, service options and coordination of care.

ACB v. SSA

November 16, 2005
Over one hundred thousand blind and visually impaired Americans rely on benefits from the Social Security Administration ("SSA") to meet their basic needs. They are among the 48 million Americans who receive benefits from the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance ("OASDI") program based on an earnings history, and the seven million Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") based on financial need and either age, blindness, or other disabilities. Despite the obvious and critical importance of these benefits, SSA regularly communicates with blind and visually impaired persons in standard print format, which they cannot read. SSA regularly suspends the benefits of blind and visually impaired recipients for failing to comply with requirements set forth in standard print documents that they cannot read and for failing to return printed forms that they cannot complete. As a result, many have suffered extreme financial and personal hardship.

American Council of the Blind

November 6, 2005
On behalf of the American Council of the Blind and a group of individuals who are blind or have vision impairments, DREDF filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, California Northern District against the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), alleging that the agency failed to provide the most basic accommodations to its blind applicants and beneficiaries. More than 30 years after federal civil rights law made the obligation clear and technological advances made alternative formats commonplace, the SSA continued to ignore the needs and rights of blind and visually impaired individuals.

Zepeda and Zepeda v. County of San Mateo (California)

December 3, 2003
Hours after Marco and Adelina Zepeda gave birth to their healthy seven-pound son, Rivaldo, San Mateo County, California Child Protective Services attempted to remove the infant from his parents and place him in foster care while they began an investigation of the family's fitness as parents.

Tennessee v. Lane

November 12, 2003
DREDF filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Tennessee v. Lane on behalf of the of former US Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and ADA Watch, which argued that Congress had the power to enact all of Title II of the ADA, enabling disabled persons to participate in critical facets of American life and helping to achieve full integration.

Raytheon Co. v. Joel Hernandez

July 9, 2003
DREDF joined as co-counsel in the preparation of an amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the National Employment Lawyers Association and the American Association of People with Disabilities. The central issue in the case was whether the Americans with Disabilities Act confers preferential rehire rights on employees lawfully terminated for misconduct, such as illegal drug use.

Finger v. Walgreens

May 22, 2002
Representing plaintiff Anne Finger DREDF filed a lawsuit against drugstore giant Walgreen Co., alleging that the retailer routinely blocked access to aisles and goods and thus failed to comply with California law requiring full and equal access to customers with physical disabilities.

Colmenares v. Braemar Country Club

April 1, 2002
The Colmenares case looked at the contested question of whether California disability rights laws afforded broader protections for people with disabilities than the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Colmenares addressed the definition of disability under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The case required the state high court to determine the scope of the California law definition of "physical disability."