Disability Law

ABA Urges Congress to Bolster Legal Services Provisions in Older Americans Act

With the Older Americans Act of 1965 coming up for reauthorization this year, the ABA is working with other organizations to make sure that meeting the critical legal needs of the nation’s most vulnerable elderly citizens gets the attention of Congress. “Legal services can be a key access service that…

Oct 1, 2011 6:20 AM CDT

Allegedly Fired for Being Too Fat, 680-Pound Man Fights Back, Finds Ally in EEOC

Ronald Kratz II wasn’t having any problem performing his desk job at a company that manufactures military vehicles and had been getting good evaluations of his work. But BAE Systems fired the 680-pound man anyway, he says, due to his weight. Kratz fought back, finding an ally in the Equal…

Sep 29, 2011 12:13 AM CDT

Charlie Sheen Settles Suit over His Firing from ‘Two and a Half Men’

Charlie Sheen has settled his $100 million suit against Warner Bros. Television and producer Chuck Lorre for his firing from the hit TV show Two and a Half Men. The amount of the settlement was confidential, report Bloomberg News and the Associated Press. Sheen had claimed breach of contract and…

Sep 27, 2011 2:53 PM CDT

US Attorney’s Office Will Check New York’s Most Popular Restaurants for ADA Compliance

The office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara will be reviewing more than 50 New York restaurants, but the critique won’t be culinary in nature. Bharara’s office will review the restaurants voted most popular in the 2011 Zagat guide for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, report Bloomberg News…

Sep 20, 2011 3:51 PM CDT

Burger Lover Files Suit Against White Castle, Says Too-Small Booths Violate ADA

A longtime fan of White Castle burgers who weighs 290 pounds has filed a federal lawsuit in Manhattan over the size of the booths in the fast-food chain’s restaurants. Martin Kessman, who works as a stockbroker and says he has been eating White Castle burgers in the Bronx since 1959,…

Sep 14, 2011 1:24 AM CDT

The Anti-Terror Attorney: Andrew Hall’s Life Is a Story of Survival Against Tyranny

Photo by Helen Ashford/Getty Images One could say that for Andrew C. Hall, life has always been a battle against terror. Hall, founder of Hall, Lamb and Hall in Miami, is credited as the first attorney to win a case in the United States against a country labeled a state…

Sep 1, 2011 9:20 AM CDT

Nuisance or Necessity? ADA Suit May Overturn Pit-Bull Bans

Hector—Rescued in 2007 from NFL Quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation—is shown with owner/trainer Roo Yori at a middle school where they are teaching children how to safely interact with animals. What happens when a city bans pit bulls and a disabled resident has a pit bull service dog? A lawsuit.…

Sep 1, 2011 8:30 AM CDT

Creature Comforts: When We Need Help, There Should Be a Menagerie of Options

If it serves its master like a dog or comforts like a dog, why can’t it be a monkey? Though that may sound like a riddle, it’s actually a very real and legitimate question. For years, owners of service animals and therapy animals other than dogs have been wondering why…

Sep 1, 2011 5:10 AM CDT

Do Ugly People Deserve Legal Protection? Economics Prof Offers Reasons for ADA Extension

An economics professor is making the case for legal protections against looks-challenged people. Writing an op-ed for the New York Times, University of Texas professor Daniel Hamermesh cites findings that good-looking people make more money, find higher-earning spouses, and get better mortgage deals. One study shows American workers assessed as…

Aug 29, 2011 1:05 PM CDT

Double Whammy for Uninsured Man with Breast Cancer: No Medicaid, Due to His Gender

Stunned to learn that he has breast cancer, Raymond Johnson, 26, was then hit hard by another round of bad news. Under federal law, the uninsured tradesman from South Carolina doesn’t qualify for Medicaid because he is male, reports the Post and Courier. He says the sex-based policy that state…

Aug 9, 2011 6:12 PM CDT

Ex-Partner of Ex-Lawyer and Convicted Swindler Scott Rothstein Now Makes a Living via ADA Suits

Only a few years ago, Stuart Rosenfeldt was living the high life with his name on the marquee of one of South Florida’s most prominent corporate law firms. He was making big bucks and had a Ferrari. Today the head of that firm, Scott Rothstein, is a convicted Ponzi schemer…

Aug 4, 2011 6:36 PM CDT

Psych Facility Supervisor Charged with Negligent Homicide in Death of Restrained Patient

A supervisor at a New York psychiatric facility has been indicted for criminally negligent homicide in the death of a restrained 27-year-old patient. Erik Stanley, 37, said he used appropriate procedures in attempting to subdue 27-year-old Jawara Henry, an autistic patient who died Dec. 4 at the South Beach Psychiatric…

Aug 3, 2011 8:08 PM CDT

Judge Allows Visually Impaired Law Student to Use Screenreader Software for Multistate Ethics Exam

Corrected: A visually impaired student at Vermont Law School will be able to use screenreader software for her multistate ethics exam as a result of a federal judge’s ruling. Deanna Jones of Middlesex, Vt., will use the software when she takes the exam on Friday, report the Associated Press and…

Aug 3, 2011 1:28 PM CDT

Letters: Court Cost Cutters

COURT COST CUTTERS Regarding “Sustaining Justice,” June: You really want to make the courts more efficient while decreasing costs? It’s easy. 1) Eliminate all conferences and personal appearances except in extraordinary or emergency situations. 2) All motions and appeals should be submitted unless the court deems argument necessary. 3) Better…

Aug 1, 2011 8:30 AM CDT

Tourette’s Doesn’t Interfere with Public Role for New General Counsel at ACC

The new general counsel for the Association of Corporate Counsel doesn’t shy away from public speaking, despite his Tourette’s Syndrome. Most recently, James Merklinger was deputy general counsel and acting vice president of legal resources at the group, according to a press release. In his new role as general counsel,…

Jul 26, 2011 3:26 PM CDT