Disability Advocates, Inc. v. Paterson

After a month-long trial in May and June of 2009, the federal court ruled on September 8 that New York State violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by unecessarily segregating approximately 4,300 people with mental illnesses in large private "adult homes." The complaint, filed in 2003, alleged that these facilities, which house former psychiatric hospital patients, lack the staff, resources or mandate to provide integrated housing and services to promote community living.

The lawsuit seeks the creation of additional "supported apartments" for adult home residents, where appropriate rehabilitation and support services could be provided to those who wish to live outside an institution. The State already licenses and provides financial support for such "supported apartments," but has failed to create enough of them to meet the needs of adult home residents.

U.S. Department of Justice Intervenes for Plaintifffs

After the State proposed to develop only 1,000 alternative placements over six years, the plaintiffs and the U.S. Department of Justice filed briefs assailing such a proposal as "unreasonable and inadequate to address the violations found by the Court." The Department's brief supported the plaintiffs' request that the court order the State to create 1,500 units of supported housing per year. The Justice Department had earlier notified the court of its intent to intervene in the case on the basis of its "strong interest in ensuring the proper and consistent application of its ADA regulations." Citing President Obama's stated commitment to enforcing Olmstead, the Department seeks to ensure that the remedy the judge will order both transforms the plaintiffs' lives and serves as a model for other courts nationwide.

Disability Advocates, Inc., a not-for-profit public interest law office, brought the suit on behalf of residents. Co-counsel in the case are: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Disability Advocates, Inc.; New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Inc.; The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, MFY Legal Services and the Urban Justice Center.