[nagdu] Article: U.S. Sues Firm for Barring DisabledClient'sService Dog

Fri Nov 11 20:45:12 UTC 2011

    Yes, lawyers should know better. This is the reason that, when lawyers 
violate the law, they are generally held to a higher standard. This is the 
second case of a lawyer violating the civil rights of a disabled person who 
chooses to use a guide dog  in the past year or so! In each case, they have 
been dealt with very strongly.

Fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chantel Cuddemi" <jawsgirl87 at gmail.com>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 3:26 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Article: U.S. Sues Firm for Barring 
DisabledClient'sService Dog


> Lawyers should know better! This is so wrong!
>
> Email: jawsgirl87 at gmail.com
>
> facebook: jawsgirl87 at gmail.com
>
> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jawsgirl87
>
> skype: leogirl48
>
> msn: jawsgirl87 at gmail.com
>
> aim: scholarmistress
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire
> Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 3:19 PM
> To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
> Subject: [nagdu] Article: U.S. Sues Firm for Barring Disabled
> Client'sService Dog
>
> Sent: Friday, November 11, 2011 7:14 AM
> Subject: Article: U.S. Sues Firm for Barring Disabled Client's Service Dog
> U.S. Sues Firm for Barring Disabled Client's Service Dog
> Brendan Pierson
> New York Law Journal
> 11-09-2011
> The Southern District U.S. Attorney has sued an Orange County law firm for
> allegedly discriminating against the disabled by refusing to allow a 
> client
> to enter its offices with her service dog.
> The suit ( See Complaint ) alleges that Larkin, Axelrod, Ingrassia &
> Tetenbaum and partner John Ingrassia violated Title III of the Americans
> with Disabilities Act when they refused to let a client, Lauren Klejmont,
> enter the office with Reicha, her German shepherd.
> Title III prohibits providers of public accommodations, including law 
> firms,
>
> from discriminating against disabled customers. Under Title III, 
> businesses
> that do not allow pets must make an exception for service animals.
> "The notion that a law firm and a partner in the firm would so flagrantly
> violate such a clear and well-established law, as was alleged in this 
> case,
> is disturbing," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in
> a statement.
> "Of all people, lawyers should know better. Individuals with disabilities
> are entitled to the same access to private businesses as everyone else, 
> and
> it should be understood loud and clear that we will not tolerate
> discriminatory conduct."
> According to the complaint in United States v. Larkin Axelrod, 
> 11-cv-08003,
> filed yesterday in federal court in White Plains, Ms. Klejmont suffers 
> from
> seizures and problems with balance and memory as a result of a spine and
> head injury. She has limited motor function and uses a cane and leg brace.
> She also has Reicha, who picks up and carries things for her, detects her
> seizures and helps her stand up when she falls, according to the 
> complaint.
> Ms. Klejmont hired Larkin Axelrod in 2007 to represent her in a personal
> injury suit. In January 2009, she went to the firm's Newburgh office to 
> meet
>
> with her attorneys, Mr. Ingrassia and another lawyer, Gerald J. Marino, 
> who
> has since left the firm.
> The lawyers met her in the waiting room, but refused to let her inside 
> with
> Reicha and asked her to leave the dog outside, according to the suit.
> Ms. Klejmont explained that she needed the dog because of her disability,
> but the lawyers continued to insist that she could not bring the dog 
> inside,
>
> saying that Mr. Ingrassia was allergic to dogs.
> They also rejected her suggestion to hold the meeting in a conference room
> instead of in Mr. Ingrassia's office, the complaint said.
> After the encounter, Ms. Klejmont sent the firm a letter complaining of 
> her
> treatment.
> Mr. Ingrassia wrote back that he had not known that Ms. Klejmont had a
> service dog when he scheduled the meeting and could not have the dog in 
> his
> office because of his allergies. He said he would arrange to hold future
> meetings in a different room.
> Despite that promise,  two letters from Mr. Marino in January 2010 show 
> that
>
> the firm allegedly continued not to accommodate Ms. Klejmont's disability.
> Mr. Marino said he would meet with
> Ms. Klejmont only if she did not bring Reicha, or if they met in the 
> firm's
> parking lot and Reicha stayed in Ms. Klejmont's car during the meeting,
> according to the complaint.
> Mr. Bharara is asking for an injunction requiring Larkin Axelrod to
> accommodate Ms. Klejmont's dog and other service animals, monetary damages
> to compensate Ms. Klejmont for the discrimination she experienced and a
> civil penalty.
> A spokesman for the law firm said it was reviewing the complaint and
> declined to comment.
> Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Byars represents the government. The 
> case
>
> has been assigned to Southern District Judge Vincent Bricceti.
> @|Brendan Pierson can be contacted at
> bpierson at alm.com.
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> Copyright 2011. ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved.
> Here is the follow-up article that appeared in today's paper:
> New York Law Journal
> ALM Properties, Inc.
> Page printed from:
> New York Law Journal
> Firm Denies Discrimination Against Service Dog Owner
> Brendan Pierson
> New York Law Journal
> 11-10-2011
> An attorney with Larkin, Axelrod, Ingrassia & Tetenbaum, an Orange County
> law firm that was sued for refusing to allow a client to bring her service
> dog into its office, has said that it did not intend to discriminate 
> against
>
> the client and that one of its employees acted against firm policy in
> refusing to allow the dog inside.
> The lawsuit, Klejmont v. Larkin Axelrod Ingrassia & Tetenbaum, 
> 11-cv-08003,
> was filed in the federal court in White Plains on Tuesday by the Southern
> District U.S. Attorney on behalf of Lauren Klejmont, who retained the firm
> to represent her in a personal injury action  (NYLJ, Nov. 9).
> It also names one of the firm's partners, John Ingrassia, as a defendant.
> The suit alleges that Mr. Ingrassia and Gerald J. Marino, a partner who 
> left
>
> the firm earlier this year, repeatedly refused to allow Ms. Klejmont to
> bring her dog into the office, in violation of Title III of the Americans
> with Disabilities Act, despite Mr. Ingrassia's written promise that the 
> dog,
>
> a German shepherd named Reicha, would be accommodated.
> Ms. Klejmont claimed in her suit that she was told that Reicha was not
> permitted in Mr. Ingrassia's office because of his allergies, but the 
> lawyer
>
> said he would arrange to hold future meetings in a different room.
> James Burke, a lawyer at Larkin Axelrod, said that the firm's policy was 
> to
> accommodate disabilities, as shown by Mr. Ingrassia's written promise.
> "The subsequent refusal by an employee of the firm to meet with Ms. 
> Klejmont
>
> and her dog in our office was in contravention of the firm's stated 
> policy,
> was motivated by the employee's personal dog phobia, and is not properly
> attributable to the firm," he said in a statement.
> Mr. Burke said that after the matter was called to the firm's attention, 
> Ms.
>
> Klejmont "was invited to bring her dog to a meeting in the firm's office.
> She unfortunately declined to accept the offer. While the firm regrets 
> that
> its efforts to repair the relationship with Ms. Klejmont were 
> unsuccessful,
> it acted in good faith to protect and preserve her legal rights."
> Mr. Burke declined in an interview to say which employee had the dog 
> phobia.
> The firm has 20 days from the filing of the suit to file an answer.
> @|Brendan Pierson can be contacted at
> bpierson at alm.com.
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> Copyright 2011. ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserve
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/jawsgirl87%40gmail.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/blind411%40verizon.net