Facts

Plaintiff, a special needs student with Down syndrome, alleged that defendant Los Angeles Unified School District violated his Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act rights by LAUSD allegedly not integrating plaintiff properly into a general education population (unlawfully segregated him); failing to provide effective communication, and failing to provide the proper assessments, arising from his time at Lowman Special Education Center from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant LAUSD denied all of the allegations and denied all liability.

Damages

Plaintiff sought $1,312,000 in damages.

Result

The court's bench decision found that LAUSD was at fault for not properly integrating plaintiff during his twelfth grade year (2018-2019), found no other liability on any of the other claims, and found plaintiff was not entitled to any damages.

Other Information

Following the decision, plaintiff's counsel filed a motion for attorney's fees seeking $750,000. The court denied plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees. Plaintiff's counsel has appealed the denial of the motion for attorney's fees ruling but not the bench decision. Plaintiff is now pursuing relief in state court, seeking to use the federal court finding as collateral estoppel in the state court litigation to establish liability there.