Lawsuit Challenges Long-Term Department of Education Policy Used to Deny Debt Relief to Students Harmed by For-profit Schools
Yesterday, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles filed a lawsuit in federal court against Betsy DeVos in her official capacity as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. The complaint alleges that for over 20 years the Department has used an informal evidence policy to improperly deny debt forgiveness to borrowers whose schools […]
Lawsuit Filed Challenging U.S. Department of Education’s Refusal to Discharge Loans of Students Defrauded by California-Based Marinello Schools of Beauty
LOS ANGELES – The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and National Consumer Law Center filed a lawsuit yesterday in federal court against the U.S. Department of Education and Secretary Betsy DeVos on behalf of three student loan borrowers defrauded by the for-profit Marinello Schools of Beauty (“Marinello”). At the time of its closure, Marinello […]
Tentative Settlement Reached in Beach Curfew Litigation
Today, plaintiffs Francesca de la Rosa and Jataun Valentine and attorneys from the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton LLP, announced the tentative settlement of their lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles. Ms. Valentine and Ms. de la Rosa filed the lawsuit in 2015 against the City for […]
City Council Approves Settlement Protecting Property Rights of Homeless People
Los Angeles, CA (June 14, 2017) – This morning the Los Angeles City Council approved a settlement that puts an end to the illegal seizure by the Los Angeles Downtown Industrial District of homeless people’s unattended belongings. The settlement brings to a close a 2014 lawsuit brought by the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA […]
Ordinance Prohibiting Discrimination Against Voucher Holders Upheld
SANTA MONICA, Jan. 31, 2017 — In a major victory for tenants, a court on Monday upheld a Santa Monica ordinance that bans discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders. The anti-discrimination ordinance was passed in May 2015 after the city received multiple complaints from prospective tenants that landlords were refusing to accept their housing vouchers. […]
Historic Agreement Leads to Better Access for Limited English Proficient Speakers in Los Angeles Superior Court
LOS ANGELES, September 21, 2016 — An agreement between the Department of Justice and Los Angeles Superior Court that expands interpretation services and other language access will mean greater civil court access for plaintiffs and defendants who speak limited English. The agreement, announced Tuesday, stipulates that the court must provide free interpretation services for all […]
City Ordered to Stop Seizing Homeless People’s Property
LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2016 — The City of Los Angeles has been ordered to stop the seizure and destruction of homeless people’s property. The preliminary injunction from a U.S. District Judge stems from a lawsuit, Mitchell v. City of Los Angeles, that was filed in mid-March by Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, The […]
Advocates Announce Civil Rights Lawsuit Protecting Homeless People’s Property; Condemn Longstanding Practice of Property Seizure and Destruction
What: Press conference announcing a lawsuit seeking to stop the Los Angeles Police Department and City of Los Angeles from seizing and destroying homeless individuals’ property in violation of their well-established constitutional rights. When: TOMORROW, Tuesday – March 15, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Where: South Steps of Los Angeles City Hall (1st St. between Spring […]
LA Taxpayers Sue City Over Enforcement of Illegal Beach Closure
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9, 2015 — This morning two Los Angeles taxpayers filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for unlawfully closing the beach, using a law that was never properly enacted. The ordinance, which makes it a crime for anyone to access the city’s 11 miles of coastline from midnight to5:00 a.m., […]
County Program for Poorest of Poor Discriminates Against Mentally and Developmentally Disabled
LOS ANGELES (Nov. 18, 2015) — Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Social Services fails to accommodate the most vulnerable — mentally or developmentally disabled homeless people applying for subsistence benefits under General Relief. Not only are those who need help the most not receiving it, the bureaucratic system and complicated application process also violate […]
