The City of Los Angeles is discriminating against hundreds of thousands of people with mobility disabilities by denying them meaningful access to the pedestrian rights-of-way. People with mobility disabilities must contend with broken and uneven pavement along the sidewalks; mid-block obstructions such as bus stop benches, shelters and light poles; and the lack of curb ramps at thousands of intersections throughout the city. The Disability Rights Legal Center won an important victory this week in its class action lawsuit to redress this systemic and pervasive discrimination by the city against residents with mobility disabilities. The Ninth Circuit denied the City of Los Angeles' request to appeal the district court's decision to grant plaintiffs' motion for class certification in Willits, et al. v. City of Los Angeles, CV-05782 CBM (RZ). Los Angeles' pedestrian rights-of-way comprise 10,000 miles of sidewalk and 40,000 intersections, making this perhaps the largest lawsuit of its kind in the United States. Schneider Wallace Cottrell Brayton Konecky LLP is DRLC's co-counsel in the case, which is in the discovery phase of litigation.

Monica Fawzy Bryant, a staff attorney with the Cancer Legal Resource Center, wrote a column for Cancer.Net, the patient information website of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The article, "The Cancer Legal Resource Center: Helping People Navigate Cancer-Related Legal Issues," was featured in this month's Patient Advocate Guest Columns. Bryant highlighted CLRC services, including the Telephone Assistance Line, the national education and outreach program, the Cancer Rights Conferences and the Professional Panel.