[nagdu] Law Firm Settles Feds' Civil Rights Suit re Client's Service Dog; Will Pay $25K, Post Welcome Sign

[Ginger Kutsch]

Law Firm Settles Feds' Civil Rights Suit re Client's Service Dog; Will Pay
$25K, Post Welcome Sign

Posted Jun 28, 2012 6:10 PM CDT

By Martha Neil ABA Journal

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firm_settles_feds_civil_rights_su
it_re_clients_service_dog_will_pay_25k/

Without admitting wrongdoing, an upstate New York law firm has settled a
civil rights lawsuit brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District
of New York over claimed discrimination against a disabled client.

 

Larkin Axelrod Ingrassia & Tetenbaum will pay $20,000 to the personal injury
client, Lauren Klejmont, who said in her lawsuit that she was told on two
separate occasions that her German shepherd service dog should not accompany
her to meetings with the Orange County law firm's attorneys, and an
additional $5,000 civil penalty to the feds, Reuters reports.

 

The law firm will also implement a service animals policy and post a
"Service Animals Welcome" sign to settle the Americans with Disabilities Act
case.

 

A representative of the firm, as well as partner accused of telling
Ingrassia to leave her dog outside because the lawyer had allergies, did not
immediately respond to the news agency's comment requests.

 

Earlier coverage:

 

Law Firm Says It Didn't Ban Client's Service Dog, Blames Partner Allergy,
Worker Phobia for Issues

Posted Nov 11, 2011 2:28 PM CDT

By Martha Neil

 

An upstate New York law firm sued by a former personal injury client whose
service dog was refused entry blames a partner's allergy and a worker's
phobia for issues with the animal, but says it tried to make amends and
subsequently invited the German shepherd into its offices.

 

Attorney James Burke of Larkin Axelrod Ingrassia & Tetenbaum says an
employee with a dog phobia violated the firm's policy by refusing to allow
the service animal to enter its Orange County offices, reports the New York
Law Journal.

 

Unfortunately, a partner's allergy had previously prevented the dog, Reicha,
from accompanying its disabled owner into the office of attorney John
Ingrassia, according to Burke and a federal lawsuit filed earlier this week
in White Plains by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

 

However, Burke said, Ingrassia had promised, in writing, to include the
service dog in future meetings in another room. When Larkin Axelrod learned
of the subsequent incident with the phobic employee, it invited the client,
Lauren Klejmont, to return to the firm with Reicha for an in-office meeting,
but that invitation was rejected.

 

"She unfortunately declined to accept the offer," Burke told the legal
publication. "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."