Filed Date: July 21, 2005
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
The named plaintiffs, former preschool-aged children with various disabilities, filed this lawsuit against the District of Columbia in July 2005 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The plaintiffs alleged that the District had engaged in a pattern and practice of failing to provide special education and related services to them and other children, in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq., Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794(a), the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, and District of Columbia law. Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief, reimbursement for funds expended by them to obtain education services denied them by defendants' legal violations, and "compensatory education."
In August 2006, the Court (Judge Royce Lamberth) certified a class action pursuant to Rules 23(a) and 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 237 F.R.D. 319. The plaintiff class is defined as: All children who are or may be eligible for special education and related services, who live in, or are wards of, the District of Columbia, and (1) whom defendants did not identify, locate, evaluate or offer special education and related services to when the child was between the ages of three and five years old, inclusive, or (2) whom defendants have not or will not identify, locate, evaluate or offer special education and related services to when the child is between the ages of three and five years old, inclusive.
Toward the end of discovery, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. In August 2010, Judge Lamberth ruled upon those motions and concluded, among other things, that defendants "denied a [free appropriate public education ("FAPE")] to a large number of children aged 3 to 5 years old, in violation of § 1412(a)(1)(A) of the IDEA." 730 F. Supp. 2d 84. However, this ruling applied only for the period 2007 and earlier, which were the only years for which data was available.
In 2011, and about a month before a scheduled bench trial that would determine defendants' remaining liability, defendants filed a Motion to Decertify the Class, arguing that plaintiffs lacked standing and could no longer satisfy the commonality or typicality requirements of Rule 23(a). In April 2011, before ruling on defendants' decertification motion, the Court held a two-day bench trial on the question of defendants' liability for the period 2008 to the present. At the end of the trial, Judge Lamberth ordered the parties to file proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, reserving decision for a later date.
While the decision was pending, the Supreme Court handed down Wal-Mart v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011), holding that class action status was inappropriate in a nationwide employment discrimination case brought by female employees. Judge Lamberth nonetheless denied class decertification in an opinion issued November 16, 2011, which also found the District liable for additional IDEA violations. The District appealed, and the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed on class certification, and remanded for additional consideration. 713 F.3d 120. The Court of Appeals was concerned about a class made up of members with different types of claims.
Back in the trial court, Judge Lamberth denied the city's request to dismiss the case (on the grounds that the plaintiffs were now too old to have standing to sue). 302 F.R.D. 1. The Court held the plaintiffs' standing at the time they filed their complaint was sufficient, given the "inherently transitory" nature of special education litigation. Judge Lamberth certified four subclasses of plaintiffs in response to the D.C. Circuit's ruling: children who were not identified for services; children who weren't provided with a timely evaluation; children who didn't receive a timely decision about their eligibility; and children who weren't provided with a "smooth and effective" transition into preschool programs.
On October 14, 2014, both parties filed motions for summary judgment. On June 10, 2015, Judge Lamberth granted the plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment with respect to all IDEA claims through April 6, 2011, but granted defendant's motion for partial summary judgment for subclass 2 from April 6, 2011 to the present. 109 F. Supp. 3d 12. Judge Lamberth also granted the defendant's motion for partial summary judgment with respect to all Rehabilitation Act claims after March 22, 2010. As such, remaining for trial were the IDEA claims from April 6, 2011 to the present for subclasses 1, 3, and 4, and all Rehabilitation Act claims prior to March 22, 2010.
After the partial grant of summary judgment, a trial was set for November 13, 2015. After conclusion of the trial, Judge Lamberth found for plaintiffs on all remaining claims. 194 F. Supp. 3d 30 (2016). The judgement granted the plaintiffs' request for injunctive relief and attorney's fees. The relief stipulated that the defendants would reach specific numerical benchmarks for enrollment in special education services and come in full compliance with IDEA regulations. The injunction also established reporting requirements and was set to last until the defendant established it was in substantial compliance with the injunction's requirements.
On June 24, 2016, the defendants appealed the judgment, but on June 23, 2017, the court of appeals affirmed the district court's judgment in all respects. 860 F.3d 713.
As part of their relief, the plaintiffs requested over $9 million dollars in attorney's fees. However, Judge Lamberth ordered that plaintiffs recalculate and subtract a 5% penalty. The plaintiffs then revised their figures to approximately $7 million which defendants were ordered to pay.
Still, the plaintiffs appealed the district court's order for calculating attorney's fees. On May 21, 2019, the court of appeals vacated and remanded the district court's order, requiring the district court to provide specific, countervailing evidence justifying its matrix for calculating fees. 924 F.3d 585.
On October 8, 2019, the parties reached a settlement agreement as to attorney's fees and submitted it to the District Court for approval. On March 4, 2020, the district court ordered that the defendants pay the plaintiffs' counsel an additional $1,084,000 in fees and expenses, bringing the total to $8,084,000.
The court continues to monitor compliance with the injunction.
Summary Authors
Claire Lally (11/4/2014)
Nichollas Dawson (3/22/2018)
Hope Brinn (4/13/2020)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4202565/parties/dl-v-district-of-columbia/
Almonrode, Patrick S (District of Columbia)
Adams, Corliss Vaughn (District of Columbia)
Addo, Michael K. (District of Columbia)
Alikhan, Loren L. (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Steven J. (District of Columbia)
Almonrode, Patrick S (District of Columbia)
Bailey, Regan (District of Columbia)
Barber, Philip Gellert (District of Columbia)
Bauer, Andrew Belkin (District of Columbia)
Baylard, Daniel J. (District of Columbia)
Beckman, Mark A (District of Columbia)
Benfer, Emily Anne (District of Columbia)
Biesecker, Kyle Frederick (District of Columbia)
Borten, Laurence Drew (District of Columbia)
Cahalan, John S (District of Columbia)
Carlson, David R (District of Columbia)
Cirkiel, Martin J (District of Columbia)
Day, Bruce W (District of Columbia)
DeMuro, Paul (District of Columbia)
Dorwart, Frederic (District of Columbia)
Edwards, Joe Earl (District of Columbia)
Ewbank, Laura T. (District of Columbia)
Exstrom, Travis A (District of Columbia)
Fontaine, Rose Nadine (District of Columbia)
Foster, Susan E (District of Columbia)
Francis-Williams, Latoya Andrea (District of Columbia)
Frei-Pearson, Jeremiah Lee (District of Columbia)
Geraci, Phillip A (District of Columbia)
Gluckman, Todd A. (District of Columbia)
Graham, Scott Alan (District of Columbia)
Grewal-Kok, Yasmin (District of Columbia)
Gutman, Jeffrey S. (District of Columbia)
Heck, Lindsay M. (District of Columbia)
Henek, Carly (District of Columbia)
Ingber, Miriam F (District of Columbia)
Kapell, William (District of Columbia)
Karam, Alexander R. (District of Columbia)
Kas, Susan Linn (District of Columbia)
Kohn, Margaret A. (District of Columbia)
Korobkin, Daniel S. (District of Columbia)
Lambiase, Susan (District of Columbia)
LANTRY, TIMOTHY (District of Columbia)
Levin, Jessica Alexandra (District of Columbia)
Lewis, G Michael (District of Columbia)
Lewis, Kimberly (District of Columbia)
Liotta, Erin (District of Columbia)
Little, Gregory G. (District of Columbia)
Liu, Jane (District of Columbia)
Lowry, Marcia Robinson (District of Columbia)
Lustbader, Ira P (District of Columbia)
Majeed, Sameena Shina (District of Columbia)
MANKEMI, ARLETTE (District of Columbia)
Martyna, Bryn (District of Columbia)
Mehri, Cyrus (District of Columbia)
Miller, Jodi Kim (District of Columbia)
Millian, Kathleen (District of Columbia)
Moff, Jason Michael (District of Columbia)
Moss, Kary L. (District of Columbia)
PIESTER, KERIANNE (District of Columbia)
Pravlik, Carolyn Smith (District of Columbia)
Rainwater, Austin M. (District of Columbia)
Rezvani, Tracy Diana (District of Columbia)
Rivera, Frederick B (District of Columbia)
Robinson-Glaser, Sara (District of Columbia)
Rudd, J. Gordon (District of Columbia)
Russo, Sarah Teresa (District of Columbia)
Sciarra, David G. (District of Columbia)
Seffel, Lauren (District of Columbia)
Seymour, R Thomas (District of Columbia)
Shea, David J. (District of Columbia)
Sheffield, Wesley (District of Columbia)
Sheldon, Patrick A. (District of Columbia)
Shkolnik, Hunter (District of Columbia)
Silver, James Fitzgerald (District of Columbia)
Snodgrass, Thomas Joseph (District of Columbia)
Steedman, Wayne Darryl (District of Columbia)
Steedman, Cheryl Athene (District of Columbia)
Steinberg, Michael J. (District of Columbia)
Terris, Bruce J (District of Columbia)
Totten, Kristin (District of Columbia)
Turcios, Erica (District of Columbia)
Valentine, George C. (District of Columbia)
Vicari, Angela Rosalee (District of Columbia)
Volin, Richard Maxwell (District of Columbia)
Welch, Leecia (District of Columbia)
Wiltsek, Gena E (District of Columbia)
WISOR, RONALD (District of Columbia)
Adams, Corliss Vaughn (District of Columbia)
Addo, Michael K. (District of Columbia)
Alikhan, Loren L. (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Steven J. (District of Columbia)
Armstrong, Joel Demetrius (District of Columbia)
Baker, Denise J. (District of Columbia)
Barksdale, Charles Beverly (District of Columbia)
Bender, Robyn Renee (District of Columbia)
Beydoun, Ali Abed (District of Columbia)
Beyer, Wayne C. (District of Columbia)
BISCEGLIE, KYLE C. (District of Columbia)
Blecher, Matthew Robert (District of Columbia)
Block, Alan S. (District of Columbia)
Bojanowski, Timothy J. (District of Columbia)
Bolden, Melvin W. (District of Columbia)
Bravo, Mariana del (District of Columbia)
Bruckheim, Michael P. (District of Columbia)
Bryant, Benjamin Egan (District of Columbia)
Caspari, Matthew W. (District of Columbia)
Causey, William Frederick (District of Columbia)
Chambers, Darrell (District of Columbia)
Chang, William (District of Columbia)
Chhe, Soriya R. (District of Columbia)
Copeland, Chad Wayne (District of Columbia)
Coughlin, Charles Joseph (District of Columbia)
Cullen, Alicia Marie (District of Columbia)
Cumming, Gregory Martin (District of Columbia)
Dansby, Joshua Wade (District of Columbia)
Davy, Michelle Hamilton (District of Columbia)
DeBerardinis, Robert A. (District of Columbia)
DeMarco, Juliane T. (District of Columbia)
Dickerson, Rahsaan J (District of Columbia)
Donkor, Patricia B. (District of Columbia)
Drake, William L. (District of Columbia)
Drummey, Jane (District of Columbia)
Efros, Ellen A. (District of Columbia)
Featherstone, Kerslyn D. (District of Columbia)
Feldon, Gary Daniel (District of Columbia)
Ferster, Andrea C. (District of Columbia)
Finkhousen, Aaron Josiah (District of Columbia)
Fischer, Michael John (District of Columbia)
Fisher, David (District of Columbia)
Frost, Shana Lyn (District of Columbia)
Gainey, Shameka L. (District of Columbia)
Gasper, George A. (District of Columbia)
George, Laura (District of Columbia)
Gere, Elizabeth Sarah (District of Columbia)
Gill, Ronald William (District of Columbia)
Glover, Eric Sebastian (District of Columbia)
Gonzalez, Joseph Alfonso (District of Columbia)
Graham, Grace (District of Columbia)
Guest, Nathan Andrew (District of Columbia)
Hardy, Tasha Monique (District of Columbia)
Hill, Dana E. (District of Columbia)
Holsman, Jennifer L. (District of Columbia)
Hutton, Caroline B. (District of Columbia)
Jackson, David A. (District of Columbia)
Jackson, Toni Michelle (District of Columbia)
Jackson, Catherine Anne (District of Columbia)
Jefferson, Dwayne C. (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Holly Michelle (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Wyneva (District of Columbia)
Jones, Patricia Ann (District of Columbia)
Jones, Shermineh C. (District of Columbia)
Kantor, Jayme (District of Columbia)
Kaplan, Samuel C. (District of Columbia)
Kennedy, Scott Patrick (District of Columbia)
Kim, Todd Sunhwae (District of Columbia)
Kim, Brian Gook-hyun (District of Columbia)
Knapp, Sarah L. (District of Columbia)
Koger, Thomas Louis (District of Columbia)
Lanzdorf, Michael J. (District of Columbia)
Latterell, Richard Allan (District of Columbia)
Lerner, Jacques P. (District of Columbia)
Levinson-Waldman, Ariel B. (District of Columbia)
Litos, Stephanie (District of Columbia)
Madigan, Patrick Thomas (District of Columbia)
Maloney, Paul J. (District of Columbia)
Matini, Shana Lyn (District of Columbia)
McKinley, Erica Taylor (District of Columbia)
McQuinn, Urenthea (District of Columbia)
Medley, Philip Alexander (District of Columbia)
Miller, Eden Ilene (District of Columbia)
Montee, Amanda (District of Columbia)
MORGAN, FREDERICK M. (District of Columbia)
Morton, Honey (District of Columbia)
Mullen, Martha J. (District of Columbia)
Naini, Ali (District of Columbia)
Naso, Chad Alan (District of Columbia)
Okereke, Christina (District of Columbia)
Oxendine, Patricia Ann (District of Columbia)
Parris, Lori S. (District of Columbia)
Parsons, Keith David (District of Columbia)
Pham, Tram T. (District of Columbia)
Phillips, E. Louise (District of Columbia)
Pittman, Jonathan Hale (District of Columbia)
Pittman, Lucy E. (District of Columbia)
Pivec, Mary E. (District of Columbia)
Pollak, Cary D. (District of Columbia)
Porter, Veronica A. (District of Columbia)
Pressley, Monique Daniel (District of Columbia)
Racine, Karl A. (District of Columbia)
Rezneck, Daniel A. (District of Columbia)
Rich, Robert Joseph (District of Columbia)
Rickman, George E. (District of Columbia)
Risher, Conrad Z. (District of Columbia)
Rosenbloom, Douglas Stuart (District of Columbia)
Roundtree, Portia M. (District of Columbia)
Rushkoff, Bennett C. (District of Columbia)
Saindon, Andrew J. (District of Columbia)
Seabrook, Linda Ann (District of Columbia)
Simmons, Jack M. (District of Columbia)
Skeeles-Shiner, Heather R. (District of Columbia)
Spagnoletti, Robert J. (District of Columbia)
STONE, DAVID S. (District of Columbia)
Struck, Daniel P. (District of Columbia)
Sulkowski, Sarah Ann (District of Columbia)
Swann, Sally Lotz (District of Columbia)
Taptich, Edward P. (District of Columbia)
Taylor, Leah Brownlee (District of Columbia)
Tonnesen, Sara Elizabeth (District of Columbia)
Towns, James Anthony (District of Columbia)
Utiger, Robert C. (District of Columbia)
Valdes, Leticia L. (District of Columbia)
VALENTINE, ELIZABETH (District of Columbia)
Van Zile, Caroline S. (District of Columbia)
Vricos, James H. (District of Columbia)
Walls, Brenda J. (District of Columbia)
Washington, Alicia D. (District of Columbia)
WEINGARTEN, MARC P. (District of Columbia)
Williams, Zuberi Bakari (District of Columbia)
Wiseman, Benjamin Michael (District of Columbia)
Wright, Allie M. (District of Columbia)
Bagby, Kelly R. (District of Columbia)
Burnim, Ira Abraham (District of Columbia)
Clark, Mary Nell McGarity (District of Columbia)
Gonzalez, Iris Y. (District of Columbia)
Greenbaum, Jon M. (District of Columbia)
Hager, Ron (District of Columbia)
Kirkpatrick, Michael T (District of Columbia)
Kohrman, Daniel Benjamin (District of Columbia)
Perkins, Martha Jane (North Carolina)
Pfaffenroth, Peter C (District of Columbia)
Phillips, Channing D (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4202565/dl-v-district-of-columbia/
Last updated Feb. 5, 2025, 8:09 a.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Post-WalMart decisions on class certification
Key Dates
Filing Date: July 21, 2005
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Children between the ages of 3-5 with disabilities in the District of Columbia public school system.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), School District
Defendant Type(s):
Facility Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Indv. w/ Disab. Educ. Act (IDEA), Educ. of All Handcpd. Children Act , 20 U.S.C. § 1400
Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act), 29 U.S.C. § 701
Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201
Constitutional Clause(s):
Due Process: Substantive Due Process
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Content of Injunction:
Goals (e.g., for hiring, admissions)
Amount Defendant Pays: $8,084,000
Order Duration: 2016 - None
Issues
General/Misc.:
Disability and Disability Rights:
Developmental disability without intellectual disability
Intellectual/developmental disability, unspecified
Discrimination Basis:
Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)
Medical/Mental Health Care: