L.A. Man Sues City After Car Towed and Sold Over Two Parking Tickets
Car Auctioned Despite Man’s Participation in Community Assistance Parking Program LOS ANGELES, October 17, 2019 — A person experiencing homelessness, Joseph Safuto, has sued the City of Los Angeles, challenging the city’s practice of towing vehicles as a mechanism for collecting debt – in this case two unpaid parking tickets that resulted in a lapsed […]
Immigration Advocates Sue U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for Systematic Delay in Processing U Visa Applications
LOS ANGELES, October 4, 2019 — A group of survivors of violent crimes including rape, sexual assault, and domestic abuse sued the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today, for failing to process their U visa and employment authorization applications in a timely manner—violating the bureau’s obligation under federal law. The Legal Aid Foundation of […]
Homeless Individuals and Advocates File Lawsuit Challenging Unconstitutional Treatment of People’s Belongings and the Ordinance Used to Justify It
LOS ANGELES, July 18, 2019 — Seven unhoused residents, living in Los Angeles neighborhoods from Van Nuys to Harbor City, along with two community organizations, filed a lawsuit today against the City of Los Angeles to challenge the constitutionality of Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 56.11, which the City has used to justify the ongoing […]
Reflections on Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Resilience, Activism, & Justice
By Joann Lee, LAFLA Special Counsel on Language Justice With Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month upon us this May, we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, largely built by Chinese workers. These workers, who faced extreme racism and exploitative conditions, were excluded from receiving any acknowledgement and very little was […]
Lawsuit Challenges U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Over Illegal Denials of Federal Loan Consolidations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jan. 30, 2019: Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) filed a lawsuit in federal district court this week against the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), on behalf of a former student of a now-defunct for-profit college. The lawsuit challenges a longstanding policy that prevents borrowers […]
Legal Aid Wins Case Against 30-Year-Old Beach Curfew
In a victory for preserving access to California’s coastline for all people in Los Angeles, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) and co-counsel from Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, recently settled their case against the city of Los Angeles, marking the end of their court challenge questioning the legality of a 30-year-old […]
Students Defrauded by Marinello Schools of Beauty Granted Belated Discharges
After watching a TV commercial praising Marinello’s cosmetology program, Lydia Luna excitedly envisioned a bright future as a hair stylist. She thought enrolling at Marinello Schools of Beauty would be her ticket to a steady job. “I was starting my life from the bottom up,” said Lydia, who wanted to launch a new career after […]
Students Defrauded by Marinello Schools of Beauty Obtain Belated Discharges After Filing Suit Against the Department of Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 10, 2018 Contact: Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles: Robyn Smith (rsmith@lafla.org) (213) 640-3906 National Consumer Law Center: Jan Kruse (jkruse@nclc.org) (617) 542-8010 BOSTON – Following a federal lawsuit filed by the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and the National Consumer Law Center against the U.S. Department of Education and […]
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 […]