[nagdu] The Justice Department today announced a Federal Court has Approved.

Jewel S. herekittykat2 at gmail.com
Wed Mar 31 23:16:11 UTC 2010


A great success for service animals everywhere! I wonder what the law
office's reason for barring the service dog was? Does it say anywhere?

~Jewel

On 3/31/10, cheryl echevarria <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com> wrote:
> WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department today announced a federal court has
> approved a consent decree resolving an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
> discrimination
> lawsuit against attorney Patric LeHouillier and his law firm, LeHouillier &
> Associates, P.C., based in Colorado Springs, Colo. The consent decree was
> approved
> by Judge Marcia S. Krieger in U.S. District Court for the District of
> Colorado.
>
> In its November 2009 complaint, the Justice Department alleged that
> LeHouillier and his firm violated Title III of the ADA when they unlawfully
> barred a woman, her husband and her attorney from entering LeHouillier's law
> office for a deposition because the woman was accompanied by her service
> animal, an Australian Shepherd dog. The woman, who is a veterinarian, has a
> traumatic brain injury and other conditions that affect mobility and
> balance, and individually trained her service animal to provide
> disability-related assistance.
>
> Under the terms of the consent decree, LeHouillier and his firm will:
>
> List of 6 items
> . Adopt an ADA-compliant service animal policy and post the policy in a
> conspicuous location;
> . Post a "Service Animals Welcome" sign;
> . Self-report allegations of discrimination to the department;
> . Undergo training and provide training to staff;
> . Pay $30,000 to the complainant and $10,000 to her husband as a person
> associated with a person with a disability; and
> . Pay a $10,000 civil penalty.
> list end
>
> "For almost two decades, the ADA has ensured that individuals with
> disabilities are guaranteed full and equal access to public accommodations,
> both large
> and small," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil
> Rights Division. "The Justice Department is unrelenting in eradicate
> discrimination
> against people with disabilities and ensuring that owners and operators of
> public accommodations recognize their obligations to provide equal access."
>
> A service animal is any animal individually trained to work or perform tasks
> for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Service animals - most
> commonly dogs - perform a wide variety of functions. Examples of these
> functions include guiding persons who are blind or have low vision; alerting
> individuals
> who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds; warning persons about impending
> seizures or other medical conditions; performing a variety of tasks for
> persons
> with psychiatric disabilities and picking up items, opening doors, flipping
> switches, providing physical support and pulling wheelchairs for individuals
> with mobility disabilities.
>
> More information about today's lawsuit, the ADA, rights and responsibilities
> under the ADA relating to service animals, and instructions on filing an ADA
> complaint with the Justice Department is available on the ADA home page at
> www.ada.gov. This information includes two publications specifically
> addressing
> service animal access: "ADA Business Brief: Service Animals" and "Commonly
> Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business."
>
> Those interested in obtaining copies of these documents or additional
> information about the ADA can also call the Justice Department's toll-free
> ADA Information
> Line (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY).
>
> Cheryl Echevarria
> Independent Travel Consultant
> http://Echevarriatravel.com<http://echevarriatravel.com/>
> 1-866-580-5574
>
> http://blog.echevarriatravel.com<http://blog.echevarriatravel.com/>
> Reservations at echevarriatravel.com<mailto:Reservations at echevarriatravel.com>
> Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel CST-1018299-10
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