Discrimination & Civil Rights Cases
Current Cases
Castaneda et al. v. Burger King Corp. (U.S. District Court, Northern District of California)
This disability class action against Burger King challenges accessibility barriers at California Burger King restaurants for people who use wheelchairs or scooters. The barriers include, for example, excessively heavy doors; queue lines that are too narrow for wheelchairs; inaccessible restrooms, service counters and dining areas; and insufficient accessible parking. The case was filed September 10, 2008 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The firm is part of a legal team including Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and Fox & Robertson, P.C.
Update: We have reached a settlement with Burger King Corporation concerning barriers to individuals who use wheelchairs or scooters in the ten of its leased restaurants in Northern California. See the Settlement Agreement and Notice, linked below, for more information.
For more information, contact Bill Lann Lee or review the case documents below.
Darensburg, et al. v. Metropolitan Transportation Commission
The firm is part of a legal team representing a coalition including bus riders, labor, and civil rights advocates in a federal class action lawsuit against the Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission on behalf of AC Transit bus riders of color. The suit alleges that MTC violates federal and state civil rights laws by channeling funds in favor of BART and Caltrain commuters while denying equitable funding to AC Transit bus riders of color. In late 2007, the court certified that the case could proceed as a class action. The plaintiffs are two AC Transit bus riders, Communities for a Better Environment (a non-profit organization promoting environmental justice), and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192, which represents transit employees.
In addition to Lewis Feinberg, the plaintiffs are represented by Public Advocates, Inc.; Communities for a Better Environment; Altshuler Berzon LLP; Cooley Godward Kronish LLP; and Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein LLP.
More information regarding the case, and the inequities in public transportation funding that it is attempting to fix, is available on the web site of Public Advocates.
Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp. (U.S District Court, No. District of Cal)
Filed in August 2004, this nationwide glass ceiling class action lawsuit charges Costco with failure to promote women to management positions in their retail warehouses. The proposed class consists of current and former female Costco workers across America who have been subjected to gender discrimination in promotion to warehouse manager and assistant manager positions. Only one in six Costco managers are women, yet its workforce is nearly 50% female. United States District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel granted Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification on January 12th, 2007. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will consider Costco’s appeal of this ruling.
More information about this case is available at http://genderclassactionagainstcostco.com.