Payan v. Los Angeles Community College District
Filed: November 8, 2024
Court: U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Overview: Amicus brief arguing that district court erred in granting limited injunctive and monetary relief in action by two blind students who proved that Los Angeles Community College District violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to accommodate their disabilities.
Excerpt: “The injunction entered by the district court fell far short of remedying the statutory violations established by the jury’s verdict. When considered in light of the jury’s explicit and implicit findings and additional facts available to the court that are consistent with those findings, the district court’s narrow injunction represents an abuse of discretion. . .Here, the record properly before the district court for evaluation in crafting an injunction included a significant number of violations that the eventual injunction did not address. The evidence considered by the jury fully supported the damages originally awarded. If endorsed by this Court, the district court’s orders gutting injunctive relief and damages would send the message that colleges and universities can discriminate against and exclude blind and other disabled students without consequence. The orders are also contrary to the intent and effect of the ADA, which provides a ‘broad mandate’ ‘to eliminate discrimination against disabled individuals.’. . . Amici urge this court to vacate the district court’s orders and remand with instructions (1) to enter an injunction that eliminates LACCD’s discrimination and bars like discrimination in the future; and (2) reinstates the original damages verdict – and thus vindicate Congress’s high priorities in passing the ADA.”
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