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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>Thanks for sharing Richard! I can$B!G(Bt count how many times this has happened to me! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>Steve Cook<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>You are invited to join us on the 1<sup>st</sup> and 2<sup>nd</sup> Friday of each month at 8:00 PM Eastern for audio described movies using the below Zoom platform! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8032543777?pwd=QTVQd2RzN3l6QnNmZ0FmSnp6NG8vQT09"><span style='color:#0563C1'>https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8032543777?pwd=QTVQd2RzN3l6QnNmZ0FmSnp6NG8vQT09</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>Meeting ID: 803 254 3777<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'>Passcode: 124578<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-US'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk-bounces@nfbnet.org> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Richard Payne via Ohio-Talk<br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, September 1, 2026 2:45 PM<br><b>To:</b> 'NFB of Ohio Announcement List' <ohio-talk@nfbnet.org>; 'Ohio Association of Guide Dog Users List' <oagdu@nfbnet.org><br><b>Cc:</b> Richard Payne <rchpay7@gmail.com><br><b>Subject:</b> [Ohio-Talk] Victory in Small Claims: Holding Uber Accountable for Service Animal Discrimination<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p> <span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Hello I could not remember if this has been posted.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Victory in Small Claims: Holding Uber Accountable for Service Animal Discrimination</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Written by</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="https://accessaces.com/author/lucy-greco/"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>lucy greco</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>in</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="https://accessaces.com/category/accessibility/"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>Accessibility</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>For those of us who are blind, the promise of rideshare technology was supposed to be a gateway to freedom and autonomy. Instead, for many in our community who use service animals, ridesharing has become a persistent source of anxiety, humiliation, and a constant battle to defend our basic civil rights. When we do try to assert our legal rights, it often depends on whether attorneys are willing to take on an individual case, which can take years to resolve in private arbitration. I recently decided that enough was enough and took my fight against Uber Technologies, Inc., to small claims court. I want to share this journey as a roadmap for others who are tired of being left on the curb and feeling there isn$B!G(Bt much they can do about it.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>I am thrilled to share that on August 3, 2026, I represented myself in a small claims hearing in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. A week later, the court ruled in my favor, proving that accessibility is not an optional feature, but that it is my right and the law.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>The Incidents: A Pattern of Exclusion</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>My case was built on three separate occasions where Uber drivers refused to transport me because I travel with a guide dog. These weren$B!G(Bt just misunderstandings; they were blatant denials of service:</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'> </span><b> </b><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>March 28, 2025 (Berkeley):</span></b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'> A driver repeatedly moved the car away as I approached. After I explained my dog was a service animal, he simply stated, $B!H(BNo dogs,$B!I(B and drove off.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'> </span><b> </b><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>June 17, 2025 (Mountain View):</span></b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'> A driver demanded I order $B!H(Ban Uber Pet$B!I(B and told me to $B!H(Bgo away.$B!I(B He then refused to cancel the ride for 20 minutes, effectively trapping me on the curb and preventing me from hailing another ride.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>·</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'> </span><b> </b><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>December 1, 2025 (Berkeley):</span></b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'> Despite a bystander explaining the law, the driver refused service and later filed a retaliatory complaint against me.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>I am sure many of you who use service animals are nodding your heads. We all have these stories. I have heard accounts of people being abandoned in dangerous neighborhoods or even ejected in the middle of a freeway. For a long time, the advocacy community felt we were hitting a brick wall with these cases. Time and time again, more and more of my friends were being left behind by Uber, and it just kept getting worse. Even when we negotiated settlements in the past, nothing was fixed and more and more blind people and their dogs were refused service. However, when I heard of someone that had successfully brought Uber to small claims court, I decided to take action.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>What I did</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>I participated in a self-help pilot program sponsored by the </span><a href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/support-and-resources/small-claims-guide"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>National Federation of the Blind</span></a><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'> to create template demand letters, helpful supporting legal documents, and multi-step instructions for a successful case, which are now available for anyone to use. Check out this </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/support-and-resources/small-claims-guide"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>Small Claims Guide for Knowing and Enforcing Your Rights with Uber and Lyft</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Throughout this process, I was grateful for the knowledge of </span><a href="https://trelegal.com/"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>TRE Legal Practice</span></a><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>, a disability rights law firm that assisted the pilot program participants to prepare our materials for the case. They helped draft the template so that the next person, or all people that use them in the future, do not need to use a lawyer at all. This is very important because when using the small claims court process in California, lawyers are not permitted to represent you in the courtroom. In some states they are, but this template we worked on will be easy enough to use that the expense of a lawyer is not necessary. I want to thank </span><a href="https://trelegal.com/"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>TRE Legal</span></a><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'> for doing this hard work even though their help here means that in the future they are not needed.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Ultimately, the court$B!G(Bs ruling was based on the undeniable facts of the case: I ordered a ride and was denied because of my service dog. It was a blatant denial of my basic rights that was easy to prove with my verbal testimony and some emails showing that I actually took these trips and that I had asked Uber to do something about it. I filed my case in April and received my judgment in August. No legal process I$B!G(Bve heard of results in that kind of quick result. And I can still file more cases if the companies continue to deny me. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Why This Win Matters for Advocacy</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>This judgment is significant because of how easy it was to achieve. Without depending on an attorney, I can actually do something to remedy the harm that rideshare is causing me and others. After seeing how efficient this process was to hold the company accountable, I won$B!G(Bt hesitate to use this process again to enforce my rights to equal service.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>If all of us who are denied a ride took advantage of this process, we could put real pressure on these companies to finally train their drivers and enforce a strict non-rejection policy.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>My judge quickly rejected Uber$B!G(Bs attempts to raise unsupported legal arguments, because I had used the legal templates now available on NFB$B!G(Bs Small Claims website. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Key Takeaways From the Court$B!G(Bs Order</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>1. </span> </b><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Non-Delegable Duty:</span></b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'> Uber argued they weren$B!G(Bt responsible because drivers are $B!H(Bindependent contractors.$B!I(B The court rejected this, stating the duty not to discriminate is non-delegable.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>2. </span> </b><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Failure to Prevent:</span></b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'> The court noted that three separate incidents with three different drivers strongly indicates that Uber is not doing nearly enough to prevent or police discrimination.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>3. </span> </b><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Opaque Investigations:</span></b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'> The court found Uber$B!G(Bs internal investigation process $B!H(Bincredibly opaque and difficult to access,$B!I(B noting that riders often have no way to contact Uber by phone and that investigations were frequently $B!H(Bcursory.$B!I(B</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><b><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>My Final Thoughts: Our Rights are Not Optional</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>The stress of standing on a sidewalk debating your right to basic services is exhausting. But, as this case proves, our civil rights are not a request—they are a requirement. If you have faced similar discrimination, I encourage you to document every detail and consider using this process. We must hold these companies accountable to ensure that mainstream technology and technology-based services are accessible to everyone.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Justice was served here. I hope this sends a clear message that discrimination has no place in our society or our transportation systems, and most of all, in our technology solutions we depend on.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>In the meantime, I plan to keep holding Uber accountable for any denials as they occur. Anyone who faces these denials should do the same; we must keep the pressure on so they eventually change their practices. Please keep an eye on this space, as I will continue to share my progress and discuss potential alternatives for the future.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>$B"+(B</span><a href="https://accessaces.com/beyond-furious-apples-pathetic-excuses-for-accessibility-failures/"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>BEYOND FURIOUS: APPLE$B!G(BS PATHETIC EXCUSES FOR ACCESSIBILITY FAILURES!</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Comments</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>2 responses to $B!H(BVictory in Small Claims: Holding Uber Accountable for Service Animal Discrimination$B!I(B</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>1. </span> <a href="https://accessaces.com/victory-in-small-claims-holding-uber-accountable-for-service-animal-discrimination/"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>September 1, 2026</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Jessica Reed</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>You are a rockstar!</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>2. </span> <a href="https://accessaces.com/victory-in-small-claims-holding-uber-accountable-for-service-animal-discrimination/"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>August 31, 2026</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="https://onsman.com/weekly-reading-list-31-august-2026/"><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>Weekly Reading List 31 August 2026 – Ricky Onsman</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>[$B!D(B] Victory in Small Claims: Holding Uber Accountable for Service Animal Discrimination Lucy Greco: the court ruled in my favor, proving that accessibility is not an optional feature, but that it is my right and the law. [$B!D(B]</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif'>Richard Payne, President</span> <span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'>National Federation of the Blind of Ohio</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:black'>937/829/3368</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="mailto:Rchpay7@gmail.com"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica",sans-serif;color:#467886'>Rchpay7@gmail.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="http://www.nfbohio.org/"><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:#467886'>www.nfbohio.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;color:black'>The National Federation of the Blind advances the lives of its members and all blind people in the United States. We know that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. Our collective power, determination, and diversity achieve the aspirations of all blind people.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>