Civil Rights

Johnson v. Hooters of America – Won an arbitration award of more than $250,000 on behalf of an African-American former Hooters server who was fired from her job because of Hooters’ racially discriminatory image policy.

Whittington v. Somerset County Board of Education – won verdict of over $800,000 and the renaming of a school in honor of the plaintiff, a former superintendent of schools, in an employment discrimination case.

Won more than $4 million in arbitration for a female Chief Technology Officer at a high-tech startup who was paid less than other C-level executives.

Represented certified class of over 570 disabled Social Security Administration workers who claimed that the SSA discriminated against employees with targeted disabilities in affording promotions and other career advancement opportunities, obtaining a settlement that included substantial prospective and monetary relief.

Smith v. Regents of the University of California – Successfully challenged the University of California’s continued requirement that students take the racially- and disability-biased SAT or ACT, even when access to the tests and to accommodations has been severely restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Represented Black Legal Aid attorney who was detained by a deputy sheriff following a court hearing for “lawyering while black,” a case that received national attention.

Enforcing the rights of voters with disabilities across the United States to accessible absentee voting system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Federation of the Blind v. Lamone – won groundbreaking decision in the Fourth Circuit establishing the right of blind voters to a private and independent absentee vote. 813 F.3d 494 (4th Cir. 2016)

Negotiated with College Board to provide blind students with Braille test materials, including tactile graphics, to ensure an equal testing environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brown v. Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services – Represented nine blind inmates in Maryland state prison in a ground-breaking case to enforce their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plaintiffs received substantial damages in a first-of-its-kind settlement, and the suit brought systemic changes to Maryland’s policies with regard to the treatment of blind prisoners. 383 F. Supp. 3d 519 (D. Md. 2019).

Successfully represented a deaf District of Columbia resident who was summoned for grand jury service in Superior Court and not allowed to serve because the court refused to pay for an interpreter.

Estate of Malcolm Bryant v. Baltimore Police Department – Obtained an $8 million settlement for the family of a man who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for nearly 18 years for a murder he did not commit as a result of misconduct by a detective and forensic analyst within the Baltimore Police Department. Mr. Bryant was exonerated in 2016 after a court-ordered DNA test proved his innocence (2022).

Obtained $6.5 million for family of unarmed man shot eight times and killed by Baltimore County police officer after his mother called 911 to report that he was intoxicated and suicidal (2021).

Obtained over $13 million from the State of Maryland for five wrongfully convicted men, convincing the Maryland Board of Public Works to make such awards for the first time in 15 years.

Obtained a $9 million settlement on behalf of a man who was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 21 years after Baltimore homicide detectives concealed exculpatory evidence.

Obtained a $1.9 million settlement on behalf of the parents of a young man with Down syndrome who was killed by deputy sheriffs who dragged him from a movie theater for the “crime” of wanting to watch a movie a second time without buying a second ticket. BGL’s litigation of this case included successfully defeating the officer defendants’ Fourth Circuit appeal of the district court’s denial of qualified immunity.

Thompson v. HUD – Obtained 4,400 vouchers and mobility counseling, worth over $1 billion, to enable poor Black families to move from public housing and other segregated areas of Baltimore City to communities of opportunity throughout the Baltimore region. Co-lead counsel, together with the Maryland ACLU and another firm, for liability phase of trial; co-lead counsel, together with Maryland ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and a different firm, for remedies phase of trial and settlement negotiations.

National Fair Housing Alliance v. Bank of America – Represent the National Fair Housing Alliance and fair housing groups across the country in lawsuit against Bank of America and Safeguard Properties Management, LLC, for maintaining foreclosed-upon homes in white neighborhoods in better condition than those in Black and Latinx neighborhoods.

AngeliCare v. St. Bernard Parish – Obtained $975,000 settlement and changes to local policy in fair housing lawsuit on behalf of the owners of two prospective therapeutic group homes for children after St. Bernard Parish changed its zoning code to exclude group homes from residential zones in order to prevent the homes from opening. As a result of our lawsuit, the DOJ Civil Rights Division filed its own fair housing complaint against St. Bernard Parish, which was consolidated with Brown, Goldstein & Levy’s case.

Represent employee in lawsuit against Catholic Relief Services for refusing to provide health benefits to same-sex spouse.

Successfully negotiated settlement with the State of Maryland to require the provision of equal fertility coverage to lesbian state employees.

Successfully represented transgender individuals seeking insurance coverage for gender-confirming health care.

Part of team that successfully blocked Trump administration’s “Separate-Billing Rule,” which would have required health insurers to issue separate bills—one for general health insurance and the other for insurance for abortion care—in an attempt to impose an unnecessary obstacle to access to abortions. Planned Parenthood of Maryland v. Azar (2020).

Won a $1.5 million settlement from the State of Maryland in a civil rights claim against workers at the Baltimore City Department of Social Services who failed to protect the safety of a boy abused while in foster care.

McIntyre v. Robinson – Appointed by federal court to represent prisoners injured by second-hand tobacco smoke in case that resulted in ban on cigarettes and other tobacco products in Maryland state prisons. 126 F. Supp. 2d 394 (D. Md. 2000).