Disabled Veteran Wants Day In Court...As A Lawyer

Decorated Army Vet Sues Florida Supreme Court and Florida Board of Examiners for Violating Americans with Disabilities Act

Daily Business Review

Monika Gonzalez Mesa

September 28, ,2017

His numerous medals and commendations include three bronze stars. After 10 years of service, Hobbs separated from the military while seeking custody of his son. 

As a result of three tours of duty, Hobbs lives with adjustment disorders with mixed anxiety, depressed mood and alcohol use disorder, according to the complaint.

Julius Hobbs.

Courtesy photo

A decorated U.S. Army veteran has sued the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Board of Bar Examiners under the Americans with Disabilities Act, seeking an end to demands for detailed medical documentation of bar applicants' mental health history and additional psychiatric examinations based on a history of disability.

The attorney for former U.S. Army Company Commander Julius Hobbs argues that investigations based on psychiatric counseling history prevent people from seeking help, and instead says investigations should be prompted by negative behaviors that demonstrate unfitness to practice law.

"Our initial goal is to have them stop requesting documentation and information involving history of mental health or treatment of substance abuse," said Hobbs' attorney Matthew Dietz, director of the Disability Independence Group. "If a person has voluntarily sought help, that is something that should be encouraged—not create additional barriers to becoming a lawyer."

Hobbs, who according to the complaint maintains a 3.63 grade point average at Western Michigan University Cooley School of Law in Tampa, Florida, applied to the Florida Bar his first year of law school in 2016. read more here

Family of Veteran Wins Lawsuit Against Nevada State VA Nursing Home

State will pay $750,000 to family of veteran who died after legionella found in nursing home's water 
The Nevada Independent
Michelle Rindels
September 13, 2017

Gov. Brian Sandoval apologized to the family of an 88-year-old man who died at the Nevada State Veterans Home in 2015 after legionella bacteria was found in the water, then voted Tuesday to approve a $750,000 payout to his survivors.

The settlement with World War II veteran Charles Demos’ five children comes after the family sued the state on a litany of grounds, alleging negligence, wrongful death, elder abuse, infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, training and supervision and breach of contract. A court denied the state’s motion to dismiss the case, and officials with the Nevada attorney general’s office said lawsuit costs could have spiraled to $2.5 million absent a settlement.

“I feel horrible that this has happened,” Sandoval said at a Board of Examiners meeting where the settlement was approved. “It’s a tragedy. This is a gentleman who served our country with distinction … I think this is a fair settlement and I just want to make sure that it was clear on the record that they have my apology.”

Demos, who would have turned 91 on Monday, was a member of the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps and had a decades-long legal career in Florida before retiring in 2010. After moving to the veterans’ home in Boulder City, he served two terms as president of residents at the nursing home and enjoyed playing chess and talking politics.
read more here

PTSD Iraq Veteran Awarded $850k From Volvo

Volvo Must Pay Iraq War Vet With PTSD $850K for Job Bias
BLOOMBERG
By Patrick Dorrian
July 14, 2017

A federal judge in Chicago ordered Volvo Group N.A. to pay an Iraq war veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder $850,740 for disability discrimination and military status bias ( Arroyo v. Volvo Grp. N.A., LLC , 2017 BL 242221, N.D. Ill., No. 12-cv-6859, 7/13/17 ).

The July 13 judgment in favor of LuzMaria Arroyo includes $550,740 in back pay, front pay, and other equitable relief awarded by the judge in a separate July 13 ruling. The court, however, cut to $300,000 a jury’s August 2016 award of $7.8 million in compensatory and punitive damages to Arroyo under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The reduction was required by the $300,000 statutory damages cap applicable to the ADA for employers with more than 500 employees, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said.
read more here

Fort Hood Sued For Deadly Result of Domestic Violence

Army Sued for Deadly Rampage at Fort Hood
Courthouse News
RYAN KOCIAN
February 24, 2017

KILLEEN, Texas (CN) — Surviving family members of a 2015 shooting rampage outside Fort Hood say the Army failed to protect a battered spouse and her neighbors from her abusive husband, who should not have been able to obtain the gun he used in the murders.

Karin Kristensen, Michael Farina and Christina Guzman sued the United States in Federal Court on behalf of the estates of Dawn Larson Giffa, Lydia Farina and Steven Guzman, and their six surviving minor children.

In February 2015, Spc. (Specialist) Atase Giffa was living off-base with his wife, Dawn Giffa, and her son K.L. in Killeen. Dawn and K.L. were Canadian citizens and lawful U.S. residents. Giffa was about to be transferred to Georgia, but Dawn wanted to stay in Killeen to finish nursing school.

“Spc. Giffa took this news poorly,” the lawsuit says. On Feb. 9 Giffa took Dawn’s and K.L.’s passports and identification cards, plus Dawn’s credit cards and money. In a subsequent argument, neighbors saw him slam Dawn against their truck and hold her down by the wrists. The neighbors noticed red marks on Dawn where Giffa had grabbed her, thrown her, and restrained her, according to the complaint.
read more here

Lawsuit: Fort Hood Multiple Murder-Suicide Could Have Been Prevented

Lawsuit claims soldier’s gun access led to murder-suicide in Killeen
KXAN News
By Claire Ricke
Published: February 22, 2017

KILLEEN, Texas (KXAN) — One day away from the two year anniversary of a Killeen murder-suicide, a family is suing the U.S. government for failing to report a Fort Hood soldier’s restraining order violations, which allowed him to purchase a gun.

In the lawsuit filed at an Austin federal court, the family claims weapon access led to the murder of three people and suicide of the soldier. In February 2015, police say, Atase Giffa shot and killed his wife and two neighbors before killing himself.

According to the lawsuit, days before the murders Giffa and his wife were arguing, which escalated when he grabbed and threw her. Giffa’s wife Dawn was told by Killeen police to notify her husband’s commander about the incident. While she called the commander, Dawn and her son went to a neighboring home to find safety.

The commander told Dawn that Giffa would be on a 48-hour watch and constrained to the barracks for seven days as well as having a restraining order filed against him, states the lawsuit. Fort Hood is accused by the lawsuit of not recording Giffa’s restraining order violations in the crime datebase that would have made it harder for him to buy a gun. The lawsuit does not state where Giffa bought the gun.
read more here

Las Vegas Iraq Veteran With PTSD Filed Discrimination Lawsuit

Lawsuit accuses Wynn of discriminating against worker with PTSD
Associated Press
September 16, 2016

Wynn Las Vegas is accused of discriminating against a U.S. Army veteran who was working for them as a security guard and had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

An exterior view of the Wynn and Encore Tuesday, November 15, 2011.

Steve Marcus

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit Friday in Las Vegas, alleging the company refused to accommodate the veteran and aggravated his condition by suspending him.

The lawsuit says the employee served in Iraq and started working in 2007 as an unarmed security officer on bike patrol.
read more here

UPDATE 

Wynn Las Vegas denies it discriminated against disabled employee
Las Vegas Review Journal
Jeff German
September 17, 2016

A Wynn Las Vegas spokesman Saturday denied allegations the Strip resort discriminated against a disabled employee diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The allegations were leveled in a federal lawsuit filed Friday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“We did not discriminate against the employee on the basis of an alleged disability,” Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver said in a statement. “Wynn Resorts profoundly resents the false accusations of the EEOC in taking this action and intends to prove that in court.”

Weaver said the lawsuit is an example of the EEOC’s “frequent irresponsible and ill-conceived actions that often ignore the obvious facts, and in this case, the truth.”

“We are deeply disappointed that the EEOC decided to file a lawsuit three years after our last communication on this matter, rather than contact us and engage in the real work necessary to help an employee ensnared in medical and government bureaucracy. “

The company makes work accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act and was prepared to do that for the employee, a security bike officer and U.S. Army veteran, Weaver said.

“Unfortunately, the employee was unable to obtain the certification required by government regulation which would allow us to fairly make an accommodation for him,” Weaver said. “The company worked with the employee for months to help him obtain the necessary medical certification. Eventually, the employee resigned; he was not terminated.”
read more here

Navy SEAL Order To Pay $6.6 Million Over Book?

Navy SEAL to pay $6.6 million to settle case over Osama bin Laden book
Associated Press
By Lolita C. Baldor
Published: August 19, 2016

WASHINGTON — The former Navy SEAL who wrote a book about his role in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden will pay the government more than $6.6 million for violating non-disclosure agreements and publishing without getting the document cleared by the Defense Department, according to federal court documents.

Matt Bissonnette, who wrote "No Easy Day" under the pseudonym Mark Owen, will give the U.S. government all profits and royalties from the book or movie rights. The proceeds already total more than $6.6 million. He will have four years to pay the bulk of that.

The payments were outlined in settlement documents filed in U.S. District Court in Virginia.

According to the settlement, Bissonnette also has 30 days to pay $100,000 from the proceeds of presentations he gave using slides that were not approved by the department.
read more here

Law Firm Targeting British Troops Closed Down

Defeat of Iraq War vultures: Victory for the Mail as legal firm that spent taxpayer millions hounding our troops closes down
Daily Mail
By LARISA BROWN DEFENCE
CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED:14 August 2016

After being stripped of public money Public Interest Lawyers will close Hundreds of soldiers will now escape a taxpayer-funded witch-hunt Nearly 200 compensation claims made by suspected Iraqi insurgents These will now be thrown out and other potential claims will be scrapped

A British soldier escapes his Warrior armoured vehicle after it was petrol-bombed in Basra during the Iraq War (file photo)

A legal firm that spent a decade hounding British troops is to shut down.

After being stripped of public money Public Interest Lawyers will close at the end of this month.

Hundreds of service personnel will now escape being dragged into a taxpayer-funded witch-hunt.

Nearly 200 compensation claims made by suspected Iraqi insurgents will be thrown out and more than 1,000 potential claims scrapped. Phil Shiner, who ran PIL, may now face charges because the National Crime Agency is investigating the law firm.

The development is a victory for the Daily Mail, which has exposed the tactics of the ambulance-chasing solicitors. These include using touts to drum up business in Iraq in breach of legal rules.
read more here

PTSD Veteran of 17 Years in National Guard Sues After Oregon Arrest

Fall Creek man files $3 million lawsuit, alleges mistreatment after arrest at Oregon Country Fair
The Register-Guard
By Jack Moran
JULY 4, 2016

The suit links his behavioral change to an adverse reaction to medication that a doctor at a Veterans Administration clinic in Eugene had prescribed to him less than three weeks before the fair began.

Fricano served 17 years in the National Guard and has been an artisan jeweler, according to the lawsuit.

A Fall Creek man alleges in a civil rights lawsuit that he was wrongly denied necessary psychiatric care for 15 days after being arrested at the Oregon Country Fair and lodged in the Lane County Jail.

Angelo James Fricano is seeking $3 million in the federal suit. It was filed last week in U.S. District Court in Eugene by attorneys with the Civil Liberties Defense Center, a Eugene nonprofit organization.

The defendants include Lane County and Corizon Health, a private firm that contracted with the county to provide health care to inmates.

Representatives for Corizon and the county declined comment on the suit, which also lists several county and Corizon employees as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, Fricano had no prior criminal record or history of mental health problems when he was arrested on June 29, 2014.

Authorities took him into custody after he allegedly used a baseball bat to menace a fellow vendor at the Oregon Country Fair, an annual gathering held outside Veneta.

Prosecutors dismissed the criminal case in September 2014, court records show.

The lawsuit says Fricano attended the fair as a vendor despite having displayed unusual behavior in the days leading up to the event.

“There is a basic human standard which is desperately lacking in this community, one we aim to influence and correct,” Fricano said in a statement. “The people deserve better.”
read more here

Fire Chief With PTSD Wrongfully Dismissed

EXCLUSIVE: Former Penticton Fire Chief discusses PTSD, lawsuit against City
Global News
By Angela Jung and Kimberly Davidson
June 22, 2016

PENTICTON — A former Penticton Fire Chief is suing the City for wrongful dismissal and several other claims.

Wayne Harold Williams, 56, served the City of Penticton with a notice of civil claim on June 21, 2016.

In an exclusive interview with Global News, Wayne Williams says over the span of four days in February 2015, the fire department responded to three major fires.

One of those calls irrevocably changed his life. It was a house fire, but it was no ordinary blaze because a body was found inside; the man had committed suicide.

Williams believes this incident triggered his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
read more here

Non-Veteran Owed Business Guilty of $100 Million Fraud

Executive of sham ‘veteran-owned’ firm found guilty of $100m fraud
Boston Globe
By Dan Adams GLOBE STAFF
JUNE 17, 2016

Government regulations mandate that a “Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business” must be majority-owned and managed by veterans who became disabled while serving in the military to receive preferential awards of federal contracts.

A Chelmsford man who won $100 million in federal construction contracts by saying that his construction company was owned by disabled veterans was found guilty of fraud by a federal jury in Boston Wednesday.

Prosecutors said David Gorski recruited two veterans to stand in as the majority owners and top executives of his construction firm so it could win federal contracts that give preference to veteran-owned companies.

In reality, prosecutors said, Gorski controlled Legion Construction as it won numerous Army, Navy and US Department of Veterans Affairs contracts from 2006 to 2010.

Gorski paid himself salaries as high as $356,000, according to court documents, and also paid his wife —who worked full-time for the town of Chelmsford — $400 a week.

Gorski was convicted of four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to defraud the government. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September, and could face up to 25 years in prison.
read more here

Chris Kyle Defeats Ventura From Grave

Jesse Ventura's $1.8M award tossed out in 'American Sniper' case
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
By Randy Furst
Published: June 13, 2016

MINNEAPOLIS — The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday overturned a jury’s decision to award $1.8 million to former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura in a 2014 defamation case.

A three-judge panel threw out the $1.35 million awarded to Ventura for “unjust enrichment,” saying Minnesota law did not allow a payout in this type of case; and it reversed the $500,000 award for defamation, remanding the case to the district court for a new defamation trial.

The decision was a major victory for the estate of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who wrote the bestselling memoir that Ventura said defamed him. It was also a victory for news organizations, many of whom filed a brief in support of Kyle’s estate, urging that the verdict be thrown out.

It was a serious blow to Ventura, the former professional wrestler, who served as governor from 1999 to 2003.
read more here

WWII Veteran's Family Wins Settlement After Being Shot By Police Beanbag

Family Agrees to $1.1M Settlement in WWII Veteran's Death
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MARKHAM, Ill.
May 24, 2016

Court documents show relatives of a 95-year-old World War II veteran who died after being shot with a beanbag gun by a police officer, who was trying to disarm him, have agreed to a $1.1 million wrongful death settlement.

Park Forest Police Officer Craig Taylor responded in July 2013 after an assisted-living facility staff member reported John Wrana Jr. had become combative. Wrana was shot five times with the beanbag gun before he dropped the knife he was wielding. He died hours later of internal bleeding.

Sharon Mangerson, Wrana's stepdaughter and executor of his estate, had filed a $5 million wrongful death lawsuit in 2014 alleging, among other things, that Wrana's civil rights were violated.

Park Forest recently agreed to a $1.1 million settlement, with $800,000 covering legal fees and costs and the rest going to family members.
read more here

Veteran Admits He Lied To Collect VA Benefits

Veteran admits lying for over $121,000 in benefits
Toledo Blade
May 3, 2016

An Army veteran who received more than $121,000 in benefits intended for low-income, disabled veterans admitted in federal court Monday that he lied in his application for benefits about his income and ability to work.

Antonio Estrada, 65, of Toledo pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary to theft of government money and property of more than $1,000. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
read more here

Veteran Lost Job Over PTSD Service Dog!

UPDATE: Veteran "terminated" after fight to take service dog to work
Veteran says ready to file discrimination charges
NBC 26 News
Billy Wagness
Apr 18, 2016

"They're saying they're not getting the proper paperwork, but the paperwork that they're asking [for has] Borderline HIPAA violations," adds Kettner, "and the VA will not fill it out."

A marine veteran living with PTSD has been fighting for months to bring his service dog to work with him.

Now, as the legal battle continues, Shaun Kettner says he has been "terminated" from his employment at L and S Electric.

For Kettner, the Dutch shepherd named 'Sig' has been a lifesaver, helping him focus in daily life when the stress becomes too great.

"You have to look at him as like a wheelchair," says Kettner, as Sig sits quietly next to him.

But the fight to bring the service dog to work has been caught up for weeks in its own legal battle between L and S Electric and the VA.

Representatives for the Appleton-based manufacturing and motor repair company say Kettner had failed to complete proper paperwork for bringing in Sig to work. But Kettner says the VA has so far refused to sign the paperwork in question over concern that some questions asked violated HIPAA laws.
read more here

New Mexico National Guardsman Won Court Battle After Losing His Job

Victory for an Iraq war veteran
Alburquerque Journal
By Joline Gutierrez Krueger / Journal
Saturday, April 16th, 2016

“I don’t want other veterans to be as disheartened as I was to go to war, and then come back and find you have to fight again in your own homeland for your job.” Phillip Ramirez

Gov. Susana Martinez with Army veteran Phillip Ramirez during a Memorial Day 2014 event in Gallup. Ramirez says he wanted to take a photo with the governor so that, later, she could learn that he is the soldier her administration was battling in court over his workplace discrimination lawsuit. (Courtesy of Phillip Ramirez)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — He fought for the country, then fought for his state job and now, after eight long years, two gubernatorial administrations, two attorneys general and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, the battle is over – and he won.

Again.

But those who have stood with him in the fight say this isn’t just a victory for New Mexico veteran Phillip Ramirez, but for other veterans who feel discriminated against in their civilian jobs because of their military service.

“I’m so happy, not just for me, but for the veterans who won’t have to go through what I have,” said Ramirez, a former Army National Guard sergeant whose long slog through the courts has been covered here in this column since he filed his landmark lawsuit against the state Children, Youth and Families Department, his former employer, in 2008. “I don’t want other veterans to be as disheartened as I was to go to war, and then come back and find you have to fight again in your own homeland for your job.”

In 2011, a Gallup jury sided with Ramirez, awarding him $100,000 in a victory believed to be the first of its kind in New Mexico in which the state was found to have violated a soldier’s rights under USERRA. The law provides protection for members of the military against workplace discrimination or retaliation.
read more here

Call to Save Veteran Almost Cost Him His Life

Veteran suffering from PTSD to sue Gilbert Police for alleged excessive use of force 
KTAR News 
Cooper Rummell 
March 28, 2016

Attorney’s also claim in the document that Cardenas was Tased later on in the evening while he was strapped to a gurney at a local hospital. His heart stopped but doctors were able to revive him.

PHOENIX — A Phoenix-area veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder plans to sue the Gilbert Police Department for alleged excessive use of force.

Attorneys for Kyle Cardenas filed a $20 million notice of claim against the Town of Gilbert regarding an incident that took place on Sept. 12, 2015.

According to the document, Cardenas was suffering from PTSD-induced delusions while staying at his parent’s house. His mother called the VA Crisis Hotline and requested a crisis team be sent to the home. Gilbert Police officers were sent instead.
read more here

Quantico Marine Corps Sued After Triple Killing on Base

Marine Base Blamed for Triple Killing
Courthouse News
By KATHERINE PROCTOR
February 1, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - The Quantico Marine Corps base's failure to monitor a mentally ill sergeant allowed him to kill his ex-girlfriend, her boyfriend and himself in the barracks, the late woman's father claims in Federal Court.

Isaac Castro sued the United States on behalf of his late daughter Sara Castromata's estate, claiming the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. mishandled the medical records and weapons of Sgt. Eusebio Lopez.

Lopez, who had documented head trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, was transferred to Quantico, Va. from Camp Lejeune, N.C. in May 2012. Castro claims the Quantico base never obtained or reviewed Lopez's medical records, and that the sergeant stopped receiving treatment for his mental disability as a result.

Lopez moved into Quantico barracks in September 2012, but base command did not ensure that his weapons were registered and stored at the armory, Castro says. His weapons included a semi-automatic pistol, a shotgun and several large knives.
read more here

Federal Court May Finally Help OEF OIF Veterans After Burn Pits

Federal court to weigh lawsuit alleging lung diseases from Iraq, Afghanistan burn pits
Stars and Stripes
By Tara Copp
Published: December 31, 2015

KBR, under the military’s logistical support contract, operated the pits.

WASHINGTON — A federal district court on Jan. 21 will consider the scope of a lawsuit alleging soldiers’ exposure to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan led to serious respiratory illnesses and deaths and whether government contractor KBR, Inc. is responsible for the way the pits were operated.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, the military relied heavily on the large, open-air pits to burn trash and waste daily, exposing the personnel working the pits and others living nearby to toxic smoke.

In 2010, the Government Accountability Office found the Department of Defense was not following its own regulations for safe burn-pit operations, and that pits were regularly used to dispose of prohibited plastics, paints, batteries, aerosols, aluminum and other items that could produce harmful emissions when burned.

Nine locations in Afghanistan are also potentially within the lawsuit’s scope, as are another eight bases supporting Iraq and Afghanistan operations, such as Camp Arijian in Kuwait.
read more here

Will Iraq Veteran Matthew Ladd Ever See Justice Jury Awarded?

WPB Iraqi war vet continues to battle city to get $888,000 verdict
Palm Beach Post
Jane Musgrave
October 29, 2015
Filed in: 15th Circuit, 4th District Court of Appeal, Civil, Florida Legislature

Former West Palm Beach police officer Matthew Ladd while serving in Afghanistan in 2005.

Two years after a Palm Beach County jury ordered West Palm Beach to pay an Iraqi war veteran $888,000 for improperly firing him as a police officer, an appeals court this week ordered the city to pay up.

But whether 30-year-old Matthew Ladd will ever see the money still remains an open question.

A jury in 2013 agreed the city used PTSD as a ruse to fire Ladd, days after a psychiatrist declared him fit for duty.

In an unusual move, city officials earlier this year filed a separate lawsuit, claiming Ladd lied to the jury about his condition. In the lawsuit, they claim they obtained medical records that showed Ladd was diagnosed with PTSD in 2007 and he was taking experimental drugs when he worked as a city cop.

Garcia claims Ladd, who served two years in Iraq and Afghanistan, wasn’t diagnosed with PTSD until 2012, two years after he was fired. He branded the city’s action “a vexatious, bad faith attempt to punish Mr. Ladd” for winning the $888,000 verdict. read more here