Filed Date: 1988
Closed Date: Jan. 24, 1994
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In 1988, a representative plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the Colorado Department of Social Services in the District Court of the City and County of Denver. The lawsuit was filed under (1) Title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C §1396; (2) the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and (3) § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (1988). The plaintiff alleged that the defendant granted home and community based services (HCBS) to the elderly, blind, physically disabled, and developmentally disabled but not to the mentally ill solely on the basis of their mental illness. The plaintiff sought an injunction, requiring the defendant to provide the HCBS benefits.
The trial court (Judge Edward E. Carelli) granted the plaintiff's motion for class certification and certified a class of all low income, mentally ill Colorado residents who qualify for skilled or intermediate care under Title XIX of the Social Security Act but who have been deprived of HCBS solely on the basis of their mental illness.
On August 23, 1990, the trial court held for the plaintiffs. The court found that the defendants had failed to provide the plaintiffs with the same HCBS program that was provided to elderly, blind, and physically-disabled persons. The court held that this failure did indeed violate the plaintiffs' rights under the federal and state Medicaid Acts, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The trial court subsequently entered an injunctive order requiring the defendants to provide HCBS benefits to the plaintiffs.
The defendants appealed the judgment to the Colorado court of appeals, although the Colorado supreme court granted the plaintiffs' writ of certiorari to the court of appeals. On April 20, 1992, the Colorado supreme court reversed the judgment of the trial court. However, the supreme court order was subsequently withdrawn upon a grant of rehearing. Then, on December 14, 1992, the judgment of the Colorado district court was affirmed by operation of law because the Colorado Supreme Court was equally divided.
The state petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for writ of certiorari, but the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition on January 24, 1994. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Jordan Rossen (2/7/2011)
Erickson, William H. (Colorado)
Dubofsky, Jean E. (Colorado)
Holland, John Robert (Colorado)
Farley, Paul (Colorado)
Hennessey, Richard F. (Colorado)
Erickson, William H. (Colorado)
Kirshbaum, Howard M. (Colorado)
Lohr, George E. (Colorado)
Mullarkey, Mary J. (Colorado)
Quinn, Joseph R. (Colorado)
Rovira, Luis D. (Colorado)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 2:40 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: Colorado
Case Type(s):
Public Benefits/Government Services
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: 1988
Closing Date: Jan. 24, 1994
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Low income mentally ill residents of Colorado who qualify for skilled or intermediate care under Title XIX of the Social Security Act but who have been deprived of home and community based services solely on the basis of their mental illness
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Colorado Department of Social Services, State
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Medicaid, 42 U.S.C §1396 (Title XIX of the Social Security Act)
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Order Duration: 1992 - None
Issues
Benefit Source: