SLC brought the first lawsuit under federal disability discrimination laws to challenge Florida’s application of zoning restrictions on group homes for persons with disabilities. The lawsuit was initiated by Collier County for alleged public nuisance and local zoning code violations that restricted non-familial residential groups. We filed counterclaims on behalf of residents with disabilities based on the federal Rehabilitation Act and Civil Rights Act, and our federal constitutional claims were upheld by the trial court.

In one of the first cases to challenge federal agency employment discrimination based on disability (here, history of epilepsy), the federal appeals court established a private cause of action which allows persons to bring future lawsuits to challenge discrimination. This precedent was followed by other federal courts of appeal and subsequently was adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court. Co-counsel was John R. Nettles.

In a case under the Florida Human Rights Act to challenge the termination of an employee because of his perceived history of epilepsy, the federal district court wrote a comprehensive opinion setting out the procedures, burdens of proof, and substantive standards for disability employment cases that became the benchmark for future cases under Florida law. Co-counsel was Neil Chonin.

To protect the rights of employees with contagious diseases, SLC co-authored a brief in a case that resulted in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that people with tuberculosis and other contagious diseases are covered by federal anti-discrimination laws. The Court ruled that employment cannot be terminated without an objective showing of a probable risk of harm to others. Lead counsel was George K. Rahdert.

We defended a service provider for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities against an attempt to block the establishment of a group home in a residential district. The trial court’s holding that group homes can be barred by a deed restriction limiting use of subdivision property to single families was unsuccessfully appealed. Subsequent legislation in the Florida 1989 session, known as the Community Residential Homes Act, created a new Chapter 419 and alleviated the problem of barriers to siting of group homes for disabled citizens.

SLC defended a tenant with mental illness in an eviction action filed by the owner of a privately owned, but federally subsidized, housing complex for the elderly and persons with disabilities. The tenant’s sole source of income was his Social Security disability payment. If evicted, it was unlikely he would find other housing. The eviction action alleged lease violations for behaviors that were directly related to his mental illness. We requested, as a “reasonable accommodation” under the Fair Housing Act, that the owner suspend the eviction to allow time for our client to seek and receive additional treatment for his mental illness, but the management did not respond. We settled for damages and dismissal of the eviction action.