Disability Law

7th Circuit says lawyer failed mentally disabled client by not seeking unfitness finding

An Illinois lawyer failed a mentally disabled teenager he was defending in a first-degree murder case by not seeking to prove that Melvin Newman was unfit for trial, a federal appeals court has ruled. Then 16, with a first-grade reading level and what the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of…

Aug 14, 2013 6:25 PM CDT

Hospital cannot ban all service animals from psych ward, federal judge rules

A California hospital can’t unilaterally ban all service animals from certain areas, such as a psychiatric ward, a federal judge has ruled. Siding with a disabled woman who said she had to choose between getting the treatment she needs for her bipolar disorder and getting the help she needs from…

Aug 8, 2013 8:20 PM CDT

Judge says 2 cities can maintain pit bull bans that accommodate service animals

Two Colorado cities have done enough to accommodate the disabled owners of pit bull dogs that are also service animals, a federal judge in Denver has ruled. After a 2011 federal court decision that found flat-out bans of the entire breed violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the city of…

Aug 5, 2013 8:45 PM CDT

Woman with Down syndrome wins court case when judge rejects guardianship bid by her mom

Jenny Hatch won’t have to live in a group home after a Virginia judge on Friday rejected a bid by her mother and stepdad to designate them as guardians. Hatch, 29, has Down syndrome and an IQ of about 50, the Washington Post reports. Judge David Pugh of Newport News…

Aug 5, 2013 6:20 PM CDT

Decades after Vietnam War, dealing with Agent Orange is still on US lawmakers’ agenda

Residents of Vietnam, like American soldiers, apparently have been adversely affected by some 20 million gallons of Agent Orange used there by the U.S. Air Force as a defoliant before the Vietnam War ended in 1975. But while the U.S. has spent billions in medical costs and disability benefits concerning…

Jul 24, 2013 9:20 PM CDT

Obesity is a disease, AMA says, aiding weight-related disability claims

Obesity is a disease, not a condition, the American Medical Association decided this summer. And that may make it easier for those who are as little as 30 pounds over the recommended body weight for someone of their size to pursue claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Kansas…

Jul 23, 2013 5:40 PM CDT

Suit claims Starbucks employees ridiculed and refused to serve deaf customers

A group of Starbucks customers claim in a federal lawsuit that employees at two of the coffee shop’s New York locations ridiculed deaf patrons and refused to serve them. The suit claims violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Courthouse News Service reports. One plaintiff, Alan Roth, claims a Starbucks…

Jul 17, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Threat of ADA suit spurs officials to plan immediate renovation of courthouse elevators

After a threat by a disability rights group that it would bring suit if officials didn’t take action, immediate renovation is planned of the aging, malfunctioning elevators in Mississippi’s Hinds County Courthouse. In addition to problems with breakdowns, sometimes between floors, slow travel times and doors that sometimes shut on…

Jun 4, 2013 7:50 PM CDT

Mentally disabled married couple gets housing, but landmark civil rights lawsuit will continue

Like any ordinary couple, Paul Forziano, 30, and Hava Samuels, 36, were looking forward to sharing a home of their own after they got married in April. But that was almost an impossible dream for the two, who are considered mildly to moderately mentally disabled and reside in separate nonprofit…

May 24, 2013 1:50 PM CDT

Frequent ADA plaintiff to face usual legal rival—but this time in sex harassment case by ex-workers

Catherine Corfee has opposed Scott Johnson in many a disabled-access case. But Corfee, who has represented hundreds of small businesses sued by the paraplegic California attorney under the Americans with Disabilities Act, never anticipated that she would be representing plaintiffs in a workplace harassment suit against her longtime legal adversary,…

May 22, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

EEOC obtains record verdict for mentally disabled workers who claimed mistreatment at turkey plant

A federal jury in Iowa has awarded $240 million to compensate 32 mentally disabled men who claimed mistreatment while working at a turkey processing plant. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued on behalf of the men who worked at Henry’s Turkey Service in Atalissa and lived in a plant bunkhouse.…

May 2, 2013 3:17 PM CDT

Disabled woman who couldn’t afford to take pet to vet is convicted of felony and jailed

At 14 years old, a chow mix named Harley wasn’t in the greatest shape. But the pet dog was still enjoying life in his old age, despite a skin condition and a large growth dangling from his neck, his owner, Tammy Brown, and her adult daughter tell the Tampa Bay…

Apr 25, 2013 6:10 PM CDT

School’s use of ‘timeout room’ didn’t violate Constitution, 10th Circuit rules

An Oklahoma school district that placed a special education student in a “timeout room” to stop his unruly behavior did not violate his constitutional rights, a federal appeals court has ruled. In an opinion (PDF) issued on Tuesday, the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the civil rights…

Apr 24, 2013 4:09 PM CDT

Lawyer loses ADA appeal in suit claiming she was fired because of insomnia

An in-house lawyer who claimed she was fired because of an inability to sleep more than four hours a night has lost her federal appeal. The Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against lawyer Victoria Anderson, who had claimed she was fired in 2007 from cable TV…

Apr 9, 2013 3:10 PM CDT

Firm’s job contract doesn’t require arbitration of ex-associate’s suit, appeals court says

A former associate has won a round in a disability discrimination case she filed two years ago against Bingham McCutchen. The law firm had sought to arbitrate a California complaint by Hartwell Harris that the firm didn’t do enough to accommodate her unusual sleep disorder, But a trial-level judge ruled…

Apr 1, 2013 9:24 PM CDT