Henrietta D. v. Giuliani

• Decision Date: 18 September 2000
• Docket Number: No. 95 CV 0641(SJ).,95 CV 0641(SJ).
• Citation: 119 F.Supp.2d 181
• Parties: HENRIETTA D., Nidia S., Simone A., Ezzard S., John R.,and Pedro R., on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Rudolph GIULIANI, Mayor of the City of New York, Marva Hammons, Administrator of the New York City Human Resources Administration and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, and Mary E. Glass, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

119 F.Supp.2d 181

HENRIETTA D., Nidia S., Simone A., Ezzard S., John R.,and Pedro R., on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Rudolph GIULIANI, Mayor of the City of New York, Marva Hammons, Administrator of the New York City Human Resources Administration and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, and Mary E. Glass, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services, Defendants.

No. 95 CV 0641(SJ).

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

September 18, 2000.

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Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, New York, NY (Susan J. Kohlmann, Karen B. Dine, David W. Oakland, of Counsel), Housing Works, Inc., New York, NY (Armen H. Merjian, Virginia G. Shubert, of Counsel), HIV Law Project, New York, NY (Victoria Neilson, of Counsel), for Plaintiffs.

Michael D. Hess, The City of New York Law Department, New York, NY (K. Lesli Logorner, Lisa Brauner, Ruby Bradley, Paul Marks, of Counsel), for Defendant City of New York.

Elliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York, NY (Vincent Leong, Anne H. Bomser, Assistant Attorney General, of Counsel), for Defendant State of New York.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOHNSON, District Judge.

This class action is brought by New York City residents with AIDS or HIV-related illnesses seeking equal and meaningful access to publicly subsidized benefits. Plaintiffs sued city and state officials, claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), the Medicaid Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974, and other violations of state and federal laws. After a lengthy period of discovery and motion practice, this Court held a bench trial on the merits of this case on May 1, 2000, May 2, 2000, June 20, 2000, June 21, 2000, and June 22, 2000. Based on the evidence and testimony presented at trial, the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

FINDINGS OF FACT

Nature of the Case

1. Plaintiffs commenced this action against defendants for failure to provide meaningful and equal access to public benefits and services as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, and for failure to comply with numerous federal and state laws, including the Social Security Act, the Medicaid Act, the New York Social Services Law, and various regulations under these acts. Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1-2.

2. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the federal law claims against both City and State defendants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and exercises supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims against only the City defendants pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a). See Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 6-8; Joint Pre-Trial Order at 3; Henrietta D. v. Giuliani, 81 F.Supp.2d 425, 428 (E.D.N.Y.2000).

3. The Division of AIDS Services and Income Support ("DASIS"), a division of the New York City Human Resources Administration ("HRA"), is the means for indigent individuals living with AIDS or clinical/symptomatic HIV to access critical subsistence benefits and services offered by City and State defendants. Rather than requiring persons with AIDS or clinical/symptomatic HIV illness to access the many programs administered by HRA on their own, DASIS case managers are responsible for assisting clients in applying for and maintaining public assistance, Medicaid, Food Stamps, housing, Social Security benefits, and other benefits and services. DASIS was known as the Division of AIDS Services ("DAS") until it was consolidated with HRA's Income Support division in 1997.

Plaintiff Class

4. This Court certified the original named plaintiffs as representatives of a class of "all DAS-eligible persons" who seek public assistance benefits and services. In order to be a DASIS client, an individual must be: a New York City resident who is "Medicaid eligible," and has been diagnosed with clinical/systematic HIV illness or AIDS. Henrietta D. v. Giuliani, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22373 at *47; Tr. at 662: 9-12.

5. Pursuant to stipulation between the parties, Henry Bradley, Owen-Pahl Greene and Richard Torres intervened in this action "as representative named plaintiffs." Pre-Trial Odr. at 10 and Ex. 4.¹

AIDS and the Need for Reasonable Modifications

6. People living with HIV and AIDS develop numerous illnesses and physical conditions not found in the general population, and experience manifestations of common illnesses that are much more aggressive, recurrent, and difficult to treat. Infections and cancers spread rapidly in a person whose immune system has been compromised, and the effectiveness of medicine is diminished by nutritional problems that limit the body's ability to absorb what is ingested. Illnesses that are not lethal to the general population can kill an HIV-infected person. For all these reasons, persons with AIDS and HIV-related disease experience serious functional limitations that make it extremely difficult, if not impossible in some cases, to negotiate the complicated City social service system on their own. See Henrietta D. v. Giuliani, 1996 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 22373 at *4-5; Tr. at 435:12-444:21.

7. As the immune system deteriorates, persons infected with HIV progress from being asymptomatic to developing symptoms such as weight loss, severe gynecological infections, chronic diarrhea, and fatigue. Eventually, HIV and AIDS strips the body of all defenses, leaving the infected person unable to fend off or combat new and existing infection and illness. At this later stage of HIV infection, patients commonly develop "opportunistic infections" such as PCP pneumonia, cryptococcal meningitis, and Kaposi's Sarcoma, diseases particular to persons with compromised immune systems. These illnesses and infections eventually cause death. Tr. at 435:12-444:21.

8. The opportunistic infections and chronic conditions that result from a weakened immune system limit the HIV-infected person's ability to engage in regular activities of daily life such as traveling, standing in line, attending scheduled appointments, completing paper work, and otherwise negotiating medical and social service bureaucracies. Some examples of these conditions include: cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis, a visual impairment that often results in blindness; severe wasting syndrome, which causes chronic diarrhea, extreme fatigue and, in some instances, gait impairment; peripheral neuropathy, a disturbance of the peripheral nervous system that causes numbness or tingling of the hands and feet, weakness in the legs, arms and hands, and severe pain that can interfere with the ability to walk; and AIDS dementia complex, a neurocognitive dysfunction that can interfere with the ability to understand written materials and/or fill out forms. Tr. at 435:12-444:21.

9. Functional limitations also develop from the primary drugs used to combat AIDS and HIV-related disease, among them AZT, DDI, ddC, protease inhibitors, and anti-neoplastic agents. These medications result in anemia and other side effects, with concomitant fatigue, shortness of breath, and other physical limitations. An individual receiving this common regime of prescription drugs likely will be restricted in his or her ability to walk, stand, or travel. Other side effects include enhanced neuropathy, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Tr. at 442:6-21.

10. The latest medical development in the fight against HIV disease is the prescription of so-called "drug cocktails," which consist of two older AIDS drugs, such as AZT and 3TC, and the latest antiviral drugs, protease inhibitors. These drugs create added complications for patients including extremely cumbersome treatment regimens and serious side effects, such as nausea and gastrointestinal symptoms. The drugs must be taken several times a day, some on an empty stomach and some after meals, and treatment regimens can include up to sixty pills a day. Additionally, some of these drugs require refrigeration. Tr. at 441:24-444:11.

11. People living with AIDS and HIV also have a particularly hard time obtaining adequate nutrition. Illness and infection often limit the appetite and the body's ability to absorb nutrients, and common HIV-related conditions like oral thrush can physically limit the ability to swallow. Nausea, a common side effect of drugs used to treat AIDS and HIV infection, can also result in an inability to eat properly. Due to HIV-related disease, many HIV-infected persons have dietary restrictions. These nutritional restrictions can be difficult or impossible to maintain. Poverty, limited mobility, and limited resources result in limited access to fresh, high-quality food, and necessary dietary supplements. Pl.Ex. 13, at 3-4.

12. Stress is another critical problem faced by people living with AIDS and HIV. HIV-infected persons necessarily struggle with many stresses in their lives, including the likelihood of early death, management of a multitude of symptoms and medications, the future welfare of their children, rejection of friends and family, stigma, and discrimination. The added stress of lack of housing, food, medical care, or other basic survival services that indigent people face poses a serious threat to health. Medical evidence suggests that stress causes further weakening of the immune system in HIV-infected persons, making it even more difficult to fight illnesses and infections. Tr. at 444:12-21.

13. The requirement that persons with AIDS and advanced HIV disease travel to and wait in infection-ridden public waiting rooms can be dangerous, and even life-threatening, for this population, all of whom suffer from severely weakened immune systems. Persons with AIDS, for example, are highly susceptible to tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Thus, persons with AIDS and advanced HIV disease require medically appropriate conditions in which to establish, receive, and maintain their benefits, as well as medically appropriate housing. Tr....