February 20, 2003
Berkeley, California — The California Supreme Court today announced its decision in Colmenares v. Braemar Country Club, the first case in a decade that the state high court has heard involving the issue of what constitutes a disability under California state law. The case looked at the contested question of whether California disability rights laws afford broader protections for people with disabilities than the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Mr. Colmenares was represented in the high court by Joseph M. Lovretovich and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF). DREDF attorney Linda D. Kilb argued the case on December 4, 2002.
Chevron USA, Inc. v. Echazabal
February 1, 2002
DREDF joined as co-counsel in amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of a wide variety of disability organizations including the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), AARP, the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the American Diabetes Association (ADA), ADAPT, the Brain Injury Association of America, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, ("DREDF"), Epilepsy Foundation, HalfthePlanet Foundation, the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Legal Aid Society Employment Law Center (LAS-ELC), the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), the National Association of the Deaf Law Center, the National Association of Developmental Disabilities Councils (NADDC), the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS), the National Association of Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA), the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), the National Mental Health Association, the National Mental Health Consumers - Self-Help Clearinghouse, the Polio Society, The Arc of the United States (The Arc), and the United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc. (UCP).
Disability Rights Lawsuit Against Oakland Taxi Company
August 27, 2001
Berkeley, California — One of Oakland's largest taxi services, Friendly Cab Company, Inc., is charged with discriminating against passengers who use guide dogs, according to a lawsuit that will be filed on Wednesday, July 11, 2001, in Alameda County Superior Court. The suit will be filed by the Berkeley-based Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF), on behalf of Oakland residents Claude Everett and Constance Kelley, both of whom are blind and who rely on guide dogs. The lawsuit is brought exclusively under California law, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and guarantees their right to be accompanied by guide dogs.
Good News Ahead for Amtrak Thruway Bus Passengers in California
September 8, 2000
Berkeley, California — Beginning in Fall 2000, Amtrak guests with mobility disabilities using wheelchairs who ride Thruway Buses will enjoy consistent access advantages in California travel. The planned benefits were are announced today by America's national passenger railroad, and by bus companies Serendipity Land Yachts and Antelope Valley Bus Company who operate Thruway bus service for Amtrak in California.
Sanchez v. Johnson
May 4, 2000
The lawsuit challenged the State's failure to increase wages of direct care workers for persons with disabilities residing in the community, resulting in turnover in excess of 50 percent a year. California had increased rates paid to community providers for wages insubstantially since 1989. As a result, workers in community facilities are paid 54 percent of what similar workers in California's institutions are paid. Only two states in the nation paid less per person than California for Medicaid Home and Community Based Services.
California, Florida to Get First Bank of America Talking ATMs
March 15, 2000
San Francisco, California — Bank of America today announces a plan to install more than 2,500 talking ATMs in Florida and California its largest retail markets. The plan, reached in conjunction with the California Council of the Blind and several blind individuals, schedules installations of the talking ATMs over the next three years. Additional plans to install the ATMs in other states where Bank of America operates will be worked out early next year.
DREDF Government Affairs Director to Receive the George Bush Medal
February 24, 2000
Patrisha A. Wright, Director of Government Affairs at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, will be awarded the George Bush medal at a gala luncheon ceremony today in Houston. The award is presented to individuals who have "distinguished themselves in the movement for equal rights and opportunity for people with disabilities worldwide," writes the Bush Medal Committee. Past recipients include President Bush, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Ed Roberts (founder of the first Center for Independent Living), and Bengt Lindquist (special envoy on disability to the United Nations.) It was first given in 1993.
Ingram v. Serendipity Land Yachts
August 6, 1998
In a class action lawsuit, passengers with mobility disabilities who use wheelchairs and scooters on Amtrak Thruway Bus services in California alleged that the defendants failed to comply with various state and federal laws concerning the safe transportation of bus passengers who use wheelchairs (including scooters) and the proper training of bus drivers to provide respectful and courteous service to passengers with disabilities.
Greener v. Shell Oil
June 19, 1998
In June 1998, DREDF and co-counsel filed a class action complaint against Shell Oil along with a proposed settlement to address Shell's failure to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act at Shell service stations in cities across the United States. Shell and the three Northern California wheelchair users negotiated the agreement over a two year period without litigation and agreed to filing the complaint for procedural reasons.
O’Hara v. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
October 20, 1999
In 1997, on behalf of a group of individuals with mobility, hearing and vision impairments, DREDF and co-counsel filed a class-action lawsuit against the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. The complaint alleged that the Coliseum failed to provide equitable access for people with disabilities. The parties settled in 1999.