[nagdu] Woman sues for 10M for being denied subway rides with dog

[Julie J.]

Okay, all my issues with the lady's attitude and the inappropriate behavior 
or threatened behavior of the dog aside,  I didn't think the ADA had any 
provisions for monetary damage awards.  What am I missing here?

Thanks!
Julie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Woman sues for 10M for being denied subway rides with 
dog


> Great.  Ben and I could run in to this moose.  And where the heck does he
> sit?  I guess it's like the 500-pound gorrilla joke:  Anywhere he wants."
> I have to work to keep Ben safely out of the way on a crowded bus or
> train, and he's half that dog's size.  Sounds sorta like this lady just
> likes pushing people around.  And it goes after elderly cancer patients?
> Boy oh boy.
> Tracy
>
>> Woman sues for 10M for being denied subway rides with dog
>>
>> BY JOHN MARZULLI
>>
>> DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
>>
>>
>>
>> Sunday, January 4th 2009, 4:54 AM
>>
>>
>>
>> Estelle Stamm rides No. 5 train with her giant dog, Wargas. The
>> Manhattan woman has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.
>>
>> DeCrescenzo for News
>>
>>
>>
>> Estelle Stamm rides No. 5 train with her giant dog, Wargas. The
>> Manhattan woman has been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.
>>
>>
>>
>> A woman who claims her 120-pound dog is protection from childhood
>> memories of sex abuse is in a big-bucks battle with
>>
>> NYC Transit
>>
>>  over whether the animal can ride the rails.
>>
>>
>>
>> Estelle Stamm
>>
>> , 65, won $10,000 from the city after two cops gave her a ticket for
>> bringing the pony-sized dog into a subway station.
>>
>>
>>
>> Now she's going for $10 million in a federal suit that argues Wargas,
>> her service dog, is protected under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
>>
>>
>>
>> "These sons of bitches don't like to be told what to do," Stamm told the
>> Daily News as she waited for a federal judge to decide whether the suit
>> should
>>
>> be tossed.
>>
>>
>>
>> "I don't have a choice. I need my dog. And they [NYC Transit] don't have
>> a choice, either. They have to follow the law."
>>
>>
>>
>> Transit lawyers have recently taken the position that Stamm - who has
>> been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder and has partial
>> hearing loss - is
>>
>> not really disabled.
>>
>>
>>
>> Their legal papers draw on 8,000 pages of Stamm's Internet postings, in
>> which she suggests Wargas' breed - livestock guardian dog - is
>> dangerous.
>>
>>
>>
>> "Livestock guard dogs in the subways is a wonderful sight to behold. The
>> seas of people part before us," the former ad agency manager boasted in
>> a 1998
>>
>> posting.
>>
>>
>>
>> In other postings, Stamm discussed dog-on-dog attacks involving her
>> previous service dog, Mishka, a Caucasian Ovcharka that died of cancer
>> last month.
>>
>>
>>
>> She described livestock dogs as genetically wired with "tremendous
>> killing power" and said Mishka could be aggressive toward elderly cancer
>> patients because
>>
>> "she can smell death, and she doesn't want it near her."
>>
>>
>>
>> Stamm, who lives near Union Square, sued the city in federal court in
>> 2007 and got a $10,000 settlement in July. Her suit against NYC Transit
>> has been kicking
>>
>> around since 2004.
>>
>>
>>
>> It contends her civil rights were violated by transit workers who tried
>> to toss her and the dogs from public transportation.
>>
>>
>>
>> In 2000, a bus driver shut down on First Ave. and told the other
>> passengers they had Stamm to thank for the delay, she alleges.
>>
>>
>>
>> The announcement prompted an irate passenger to bark at her, "If I'm
>> late for work, I'll find you and kill your ... ass!" The driver was
>> later disciplined.
>>
>>
>>
>> Stamm said her stress disorder causes extreme fear of danger, severe
>> depression and confusion. The dog keeps her "in the present," warns her
>> of sirens and
>>
>> horns, and provides a large, furry barrier in crowded places, she said.
>>
>>
>>
>> She carries an ID card for the dog issued by NYC Transit and is required
>> only to inform employees what kind of service he provides.
>>
>>
>>
>> Being questioned about her disability - which she says is prohibited by
>> transit regulations - has triggered stress reactions, her complaint
>> says.
>>
>>
>>
>> In addition to money damages, Stamm is seeking employee retraining.
>>
>>
>>
>> "This is an easy fix, so their hostility mystifies me," Stamm said.
>> "Wargas is not in the slightest bit dangerous. This is such B.S. It's
>> meant to intimidate
>>
>> me."
>>
>>
>>
>> NYC Transit's position is that Stamm's suit has no merit because she has
>> been inconvenienced only a handful of times and was never denied access
>> to a bus
>>
>> or subway.
>>
>>
>>
>> Craig Borne, Esq.
>>
>> Equal Opportunity Specialist
>>
>> Disability Program Manager
>>
>>
>>
>> National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
>>
>> Office of Civil Rights
>>
>> 1200 New Jersey Avenue, Southeast
>>
>> Suite W43-321
>>
>> Washington, DC 20590
>>
>>
>>
>> Office : (202) 493-0627
>>
>> Fax: (202) 493-2990
>>
>> Email: craig.borne at dot.gov <mailto:craig.borne at dot.gov>
>>
>>
>>
>> The information contained in this communication (including any
>> attachments) may be confidential and legally privileged. This email may
>> not serve as a contractual agreement unless explicit written agreement
>> for this purpose has been made. If you are not the intended recipient,
>> you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying
>> of this communication or any of its contents is strictly prohibited. If
>> you have received this communication in error, please re-send this
>> communication to the sender indicating that it was received in error and
>> delete the original message and any copy of it from your computer
>> system.
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nagdu mailing list
>> nagdu at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nagdu:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/carcione%40access.net
>>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/jlcrane%40alltel.net
>