Permanent Injunction Filed Against Los Angeles Community College District to Stop Discrimination Against Disabled Students

LOS ANGELES, May. 12 /PRNewswire/ --

LOS ANGELES, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of Goodman & Metz filed a motion for permanent injunction in Federal Court to force Pierce College to comply with The Americans With Disabilities Act, to make the campus "accessible to and usable by" persons with disabilities, in the case of Marvin Huezo vs. Los Angeles Pierce College.

"More than a year ago federal judge Margaret Morrow ruled in a summary judgment that Pierce College was discriminating against disabled students because it had failed to comply with the ADA and by failing to remove access barriers so that students with disabilities would be able to fully engage their education," said Jordon Metz, co-council on the case. "Marvin not only suffered a double leg amputation as a result of a car accident, but he and other disabled students are still being discriminated against because of the refusal of Pierce College to stop their discriminatory practices. Even something as easy as installing accessible desks in classrooms has not been done."

Marvin Huezo, a 24-year-old, pulled over to help fellow motorists stranded on the roadside and was struck by another vehicle. The accident required the amputation of both his legs. Mr. Huezo decided to continue pursuing his education at Pierce College, but from the perspective of a person in a wheelchair, found his experience of the college frustrating and humiliating.

"I never imagined that something like this would happen to me but thought that I would at least feel supported by the college that I had been attending before my accident," said Mr. Huezo, an architecture student at Pierce. "But that was not the case. After more than a year of trying to get help from the school, I had to hire an attorney to help me. Even after the Court's ruling that Pierce was discriminating against me, Pierce still refuses to make even the small changes that could help all of us on campus who are disabled. It is still up to each student to try and get access, instead of Pierce making the campus accessible."

Patricia Barbosa, lead counsel on the case, commented that "the challenges that Mr. Huezo and other students face are wide-ranging due to Pierce's failure to change discriminatory policies and proactively remove barriers. Disabled students face inaccessible paths of travel throughout the campus, gym facilities without lockers, benches or equipment, inaccessible desks in classrooms, and inaccessible parking. In spite of all of this, Mr. Huezo has turned his disability into an opportunity to serve others who are disabled on campus, helping them to demand that the college remove barriers that discriminate against disabled students." She also noted that "the eight other campuses in the Los Angeles Community College system also appear to be in violation of the ADA as well."

The Los Angeles based Law Firm of Goodman & Metz is a full-service firm with a practice area focused on The Americans With Disabilities Act.

Media Contact: Lead Counsel Patricia Barbosa - (949) 369-9006.