Calif. County Settles Disabilities Access Lawsuit

San Bernardino County has reached a $770,000 settlement with four plaintiffs and attorneys who filed a federal lawsuit claiming its 13 courthouses were inaccessible to disabled people.

A five-year rehabilitation schedule for each courthouse will provide access improvements to public areas, including parking, exits, witness stands, jury boxes and restrooms. The cost of those improvements hasn’t been determined.

The 2006 lawsuit filed in Riverside federal court claimed the county was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.

The San Bernardino County Sun says a judge approved the settlement on Nov. 10.

Lawyers for the Disability Rights Legal Center in Los Angeles, which represented the plaintiffs, gets $690,000 for lawyer fees and costs. The four plaintiffs split $80,000.