Consent Decree Reached in Service Dog Case

Editor: It's hard to believe that a bunch of attorneys would refuse to allow a woman to enter their office with her service dog, but that's apparently just what happened. As my dad always used to tell me, education costs money, and this particular bit of education cost the attorneys $50,000! Here's the story from the US Department of Justice.

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March 2010

The Justice Department today announced a federal court has approved a consent decree resolving an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) discrimination lawsuit against attorney Patric LeHouillier and his law firm, LeHouillier & Associates, P.C., based in Colorado Springs, Colo. The consent decree was approved by Judge Marcia S. Krieger in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

In its November 2009 complaint, the Justice Department alleged that LeHouillier and his firm violated Title III of the ADA when they unlawfully barred a woman, her husband and her attorney from entering LeHouillier's law office for a deposition because the woman was accompanied by her service animal, an Australian Shepherd dog. The woman, who is a veterinarian, has a traumatic brain injury and other conditions that affect mobility and balance, and individually trained her service animal to provide disability-related assistance.

Under the terms of the consent decree, LeHouillier and his firm will:
* Adopt an ADA-compliant service animal policy and post the policy in a conspicuous location;
* Post a "Service Animals Welcome" sign;
* Self-report allegations of discrimination to the department;
* Undergo training and provide training to staff;
* Pay $30,000 to the complainant and $10,000 to her husband as a person associated with a person with a disability; and
* Pay a $10,000 civil penalty.

"For almost two decades, the ADA has ensured that individuals with disabilities are guaranteed full and equal access to public accommodations, both large and small," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department is unrelenting in eradicating discrimination against people with disabilities and ensuring that owners and operators of public accommodations recognize their obligations to provide equal access."

A service animal is any animal individually trained to work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. Service animals - most commonly dogs - perform a wide variety of functions. Examples of these functions include guiding persons who are blind or have low vision; alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds; warning persons about impending seizures or other medical conditions; performing a variety of tasks for persons with psychiatric disabilities and picking up items, opening doors, flipping switches, providing physical support and pulling wheelchairs for individuals with mobility disabilities.