Lashbrook v. City of San Jose
On September 2, 2020, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California finally approved a class action settlement on behalf of persons with mobility disabilities who live in or visit the City of San Jose. The approved consent decree requires the City to install and upgrade approximately 27,621 curb ramps over the next 18 years.
This remarkable settlement was achieved collaboratively without a lawsuit after GBDH, along with co-counsel Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, alerted the City to the way in which its inaccessible curb ramps prevented individuals with mobility disabilities from independently and fully participating in City life. The City of San Jose agreed to work together with its residents and visitors with mobility disabilities, with GBDH and co-counsel as their representatives, to address this urgent civil rights and safety issue and to achieve San Jose’s goal of embracing the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other civil rights laws. This settlement represents the fruit of that effort.
The parties engaged in structured negotiations over a multi-year period. During their negotiations, the parties reached an interim agreement requiring the City to conduct a comprehensive survey of its curb [...]