Cases
January 20, 2025
In January 2025, following a sweeping undercover investigation by housing watchdog group Housing Rights Initiative (HRI), DRA filed the largest housing discrimination case in Illinois history against 165 real estate agents, brokerage firms, and landlords alleging they illegally discriminated against low-income families who sought to use Housing Choice Vouchers (“Section 8”). The 176 complaints against … Continue reading » “Housing Rights Initiative v. 160+ Housing Providers”
November 6, 2024
Disability Rights Advocates and Learning Rights Law Center filed suit to challenge an administrative law judge’s ruling that let a major school district off the hook for failing to ensure provision of special education services to a young student at one of its charter schools. After the plaintiff was wrongly exited from special education at … Continue reading » “A.C. v. Los Angeles Unified School District”
September 4, 2024
In September 2024, Chicago resident Ramon Canellada filed a federal lawsuit against Preferred Open MRI, Ltd., d/b/a Preferred Imaging Centers, challenging its illegal refusal to provide him with healthcare services because of his disability in violation of the ADA and other disability rights laws. Open MRI provides imaging services at seven locations across the Chicagoland … Continue reading » “Canellada v. Preferred Open MRI”
July 26, 2024
In July 2024, on the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and four years before the Los Angeles Olympics, DRA filed a federal class action lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for denying people with mobility disabilities full and equal access to the City’s newly constructed and renovated public park facilities, a … Continue reading » “Griffin v. City of Los Angeles”
May 8, 2024
In May 2024, DRA filed a class action lawsuit along with The Legal Aid Society and Winston & Strawn LLP on behalf of incarcerated New Yorkers with disabilities against the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (“DOCCS”) and the New York State Office of Mental Health (“OMH”) for their ongoing violations of … Continue reading » “Anthony v. New York State Department of Corrections & Community Supervision (DOCCS)”
May 6, 2024
In May 2024, DRA and Mental Hygiene Legal Services (MHLS) released a report titled “Denial of Fresh Air Access for Psychiatric Patients: A Report on NYC H+H Hospitals.” This report outlines findings from a months-long investigation into the denial of fresh air and outdoor access to individuals receiving psychiatric treatment in hospitals operated by NYC … Continue reading » “Denial of Fresh Air to Patients at NYC City-Run Psychiatric Hospitals”
April 4, 2024
In March 2024, Disability Rights Advocates and a coalition of disability organizations and California voters with disabilities filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Norther District of California against the California Secretary of State to (SOS) to challenge discrimination in the state’s vote-by-mail program. Later in March 2024, DRA filed a motion … Continue reading » “California Council of the Blind v. Weber”
February 22, 2024
In February 2024, DRA filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California against national car rental company Hertz to end its systemic civil rights violations against people with disabilities who need hand controls to operate a rental car. While there are many configurations, hand controls generally consist of a mechanism that allows … Continue reading » “Ho v. The Hertz Corporation”
September 8, 2023
On September 5, 2023, DRA initiated legal action to prevent the City of Berkeley from conducting evictions of unhoused Berkeley residents who reside on 8th and Harrison Street until there are sufficient provisions of shelter, housing, or alternative accommodations that take into consideration their disability-related needs.
September 5, 2023
In August 2023, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) and Disability Rights California (DRC) released a report, “Youth in Crisis: How Kings County Locks Up Youth With Disabilities.” This report outlines findings from a multi-year investigation of the conditions at the Kings County Juvenile Center. Read the full report with recommendations and images of the facility. DRA … Continue reading » “Kings County Juvenile Center”
