Case: Hines v. City of Portland

This is a case about pedestrian routes made inaccessible due to a lack of compliance with federal regulations regarding accessible curb ramps at the corners of intersections. On May 17, 2018, three individuals with mobility disabilities filed this class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, on behalf of a class of individuals with mobility disabilities who used sidewalks and pedestrian routes in Portland. Plaintiffs sued the City of Portland under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504). Represented by the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, the Portland Civil Rights Law Office and private counsel, plaintiffs sought certification of the settlement class, a permanent injunction requiring the City to undertake measures to mitigate the effects of their past and ongoing violations, attorneys’ fees, monetary relief for the class representatives, and any other appropriate relief. They claimed that the city engaged in systemic violations of the ADA and Section 504, due to barriers impeding people with mobility disabilities from having equal access to the city’s sidewalks and pedestrian routes. Of the City of Portland’s 38,000 street corners, approximately 11,000 corners did not have curb ramps, and many other corners had ramps that did not meet ADA standards at the time this lawsuit was filed. This case was assigned to Judge Marco A Hernandez.

On May 21, 2018, the parties filed a joint motion for certification of the settlement class and preliminary approval of the consent decree, which the court granted on June 4, 2018, pending final approval of the settlement. After notice was sent to class members and a fairness hearing was held, the parties submitted another joint motion on September 10, 2018, this time for final approval of the settlement and entry of the consent decree. The court granted final approval of the settlement, as well as plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and service awards for the class representatives, on September 27, 2018.

The consent decree was to remain effective for 12 years, or for the length of time it took the City to install or upgrade approximately 18,000 curb ramps.. The parties mutually agreed to the following terms of injunctive relief: 1) the appointment of one or more ADA advisors to the Portland Bureau of Transportation; 2) the completion of a survey conducted at the City’s expense to determine the number of curb ramps that needed to be made ADA compliant (later determined to be approximately 18,000); 3) the installation or remediation of a certain number of ramps annually (1500 ramps from January 2019 to December 2029, 750 ramps for the years 2018 and 2030); 4) the maintenance and upkeep of all accessible ramps in the city; and 5) the provision of an annual report (by the end of June) regarding the status of the City’s compliance with the terms of the consent decree. The City’s first report was filed on June 28, 2019, and they’ve submitted reports every year since. The next one will be submitted in June 2023.

As of April 2023, the consent decree remains in effect and the City’s reporting obligations remain ongoing.