Firm assists Legal Aid with significant pro bono litigation
The Legal Aid Society and the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP today announced that Federal District Court Judge Katherine B. Forrest granted final approval to what she described as a “landmark” class action settlement in a civil rights lawsuit that will result in greater access to government services for over 30,000 low-income New Yorkers with disabilities and help to avert hunger and homelessness for many vulnerable families and individuals. The case has already resulted in the payment of millions of dollars of retroactive benefits to over 14,000 class members under a partial settlement finalized in October 2014.
The case, Lovely H. v. Eggleston, 05 CV 6920, was filed in 2005 in Federal Court in the Southern District of New York against the City’s Human Resources Administration (HRA) alleging that the welfare agency’s programs and systems did not comply with federal, state and local laws protecting individuals with disabilities. The lawsuit claimed that without needed accommodations, disabled clients were losing benefits when they could not comply with HRA rules. The prior City administration agreed to proceed with settlement discussions on the eve of trial on the case in December 2013. Kathleen Kelleher, a Staff Attorney in the Civil Law Reform Unit and the lead attorney for The Legal Aid Society on the case, said: “This landmark settlement reaffirms the rights of people with disabilities to be treated with dignity and fairness. We are hopeful that clients with disabilities will no longer face hunger and homelessness simply because they cannot get help to access the critical government services provided by HRA.”
The settlement requires HRA to, among other things, systematize accommodations necessary to meet individuals’ needs. Staff attorney Susan Welber, another principal attorney on the case, explained: “Just like you may need a ramp if you are in a wheelchair to get access to a building, HRA clients with disabilities often need simple things in order to access their benefits, like help getting to appointments or even just filling out forms.” Under the settlement, HRA will be required to screen for and offer commonly needed accommodations. The settlement represents a sea change in the way people with disabilities will be served, affirming the agency's commitment to assisting people with disabilities to get the help they need and preventing loss of benefits due to disabilities.
“We are happy to have been part of such an important litigation and thrilled to have achieved such a great result for our pro bono clients,” said Sean Murphy, Milbank's lead attorney on the case.
In addition to Mr. Murphy, Milbank’s Pro Bono counsel included Sarah Rothenberg and Andrea Hood.
