Gay Crosthwait Grunfeld

Over the past six months, Grunfeld has twice on appeal defeated motions to compel arbitration and, separately, has advocated strongly for prison inmates with disabilities.

She quoted a corrections expert in her class action challenging guard retaliation against disabled inmate whistleblowers. The expert said the only difference between what happened in the Minneapolis police killing of Floyd and what happens in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is that in California prisons there are no cameras to document abuses. Armstrong v. Newsom, 4:94-cv-02307 (N.D. Cal., filed June 29, 1994). The case's named defendant has been a succession of California governors; it was originally filed against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

On July 30, 2020, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland issued an order documenting guard retaliation toward disabled inmates who came forward with declarations of abuse, including one thrown from his wheelchair. Earlier the judge had ordered two inmates transferred from a prison in San Diego where much of the abuse took place. "We broke the third rail of prison litigation, which is that you can't interfere with administrative placement of inmates," Grunfeld said. "We are trying to show our class members that we have their backs."

The two cases in which Grunfeld defeated motions to compel arbitration were significant for plaintiffs, she said, because, "Arbitration is the most important tactic to keep voices silent. Arbitration outcomes are non-precedential, confidential and they lack impact."

In one case, Grunfeld represents eight named plaintiffs in a class of senior living home residents alleging that understaffing and accessibility barriers violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and other statutes. She largely prevailed at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when the defendant challenged a trial judge's denial of a motion to compel two of the plaintiffs to arbitration. Stiner v. Brookdale Senior Living Inc., 19-15334 (9th Cir., op. filed April 24, 2020).

"Because it's the first disability rights class action against a provider of assisted living, more than 20,000 California seniors are affected by this case," Grunfeld said.

-- John Roemer