Contacts:
Karen I. Ward Barry Taylor
Senior Counsel
Legal Advocacy Director
312-895-7330
312-895-7317
TTY 800-610-2779 TTY
800-610-2779
karen@equipforequality.org .
barryt@equipforequality.org
LAMBS FARM SUED FOR EXCLUDING MAN
BECAUSE OF HIV-POSITIVE STATUS
Equip for Equality seeks damages and
injunction for man who had lived and worked at Lambs Farm for
many years
(CHICAGO,
SEPTEMBER 27, 2005)-Equip for Equality today filed suit in federal
court against The Lambs Farm, Inc. of Libertyville, Illinois, on
behalf of a 54-year old man with a developmental disability whom
Lambs Farm refuses to serve because he is HIV positive. Lambs Farm
is a non-profit organization located on a 72-acre campus in
Libertyville that provides housing, vocational and recreational
services to adults with developmental disabilities.
The suit alleges
that Lambs Farm’s refusal to admit Doe to its services is a
violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal
Rehabilitation Act, and the federal Fair Housing Act.
“John Doe”
received services from Lambs Farm from the time he was a young man,
and was close to the founders,
Bob Terese and Corinne Owen. After moving out of state in
2003 to be with his terminally ill mother, Doe returned to Illinois
in 2004 with the intention of returning to Lambs Farm. So
confident was his mother that Doe would be received warmly by Lambs
Farm that she set up a trust for him which provided that upon his
death the assets of the trust would go to Lambs Farm.
Lambs Farm
initially welcomed Doe back and proceeded to process his application
for services, including housing. Lambs Farm staff even took him to
see the apartment that would be his when the processing of his
application was completed. However, when Lambs Farm reviewed the
medical packet sent by the agency assisting Doe, its management
became aware that Doe was HIV-positive.
Doe’s application
was immediately rejected. Lambs Farm’s Executive Director, Dianne
Yaconetti, expressed concern that others would find out about Doe’s
HIV status and would be fearful. The Chairman of the Board of
Directors, Robert Neiman, confirmed that Lambs Farm would provide
neither housing nor vocational services to Doe because of his
“communicable disease.”
Doe v. Lambs Farm / add one
Doe, who
regularly takes medication for his HIV without assistance, has no
symptoms.
“All I wanted to
do was go back to Lambs Farm,” says Doe, who does not understand how
he could be rejected by “the Lambs” when he has done nothing wrong
and poses no threat to anyone.
“Lambs Farm’s
categorical refusal to serve Doe based on his HIV status is a clear
violation of the federal laws prohibiting discrimination based on
disability,” says Karen Ward, Senior Counsel at Equip for Equality
and one of the attorneys representing Doe. “Lambs Farm’s actions
are based upon the very stereotypes and unfounded fears that these
laws were designed to address.”
“ For a well-known
community agency that claims to be devoted to the empowerment of
people with disabilities, this attitude is particularly shocking and
disheartening, ” says Zena Naiditch, President and CEO of Equip for
Equality. “Twenty-five years after the emergence of AIDS in this
country, and fifteen years after the passage of the ADA, we
certainly did not expect to see such ill-informed decision-making.
We are hopeful that the federal court will quickly bring an end to
this injustice.”
The suit seeks an
order compelling Lambs Farm to admit John Doe to its vocational and
residential programs, as well as compensatory and punitive damages
and attorneys fees.
Equip for Equality, Inc. is a private,
not-for-profit organization whose mission is to advance the rights
of people with physical or mental disabilities, including
development disabilities and mental illnesses, in Illinois through
self-advocacy assistance, education, legal services and public
policy initiatives. It is designated by the Governor as the
state’s protection and advocacy system with broad statutory powers
to safeguard the rights of people with disabilities pursuant to
federal law.
A copy of the complaint is available on Equip
for Equality’s Website: www.equipforequality.org.
Reference: John Doe v. The Lambs Farm, Inc.
U.S. District Court,
Northern District of Illinois
Case No. 05-C-5564
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