Jankey v. Lee
In an amici brief to the California Supreme Court, Public Justice joined a coalition of other public interest groups to argue that a court should not grant an award of attorneys’ fees to a prevailing defendant under the state’s Disabled Persons Act where the plaintiff also brought overlapping claims pursuant to statutes that prohibit such an award. An award of fees to the prevailing defendant in this case, amici argued, would undermine the California legislature’s intent to foster private enforcement of disability and civil rights laws.
The amici brief was written by Brad Seligman of the Impact Fund, on behalf of Public Justice, the Impact Fund, Disability Rights Advocates, Disability Rights Legal Education and Defense Fund, Disability Rights Legal Center, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Public Advocates, Public Counsel, and the Western Center on Law and Poverty.
