On September 6, 2002 twenty-one developmentally disabled individuals and an advocacy organization, the ARC of Texas, filed suit against the Texas Department of Human Services, the Texas Department of Mental Health & Mental Retardation, and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. They alleged that the defendants had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Medicaid Act, the Fourteenth Amendment, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by failing to provide sufficient community based services to which the plaintiffs were entitled. This meant they were needlessly confined or might be forced to leave their families. They also alleged that the defendants were unlawfully restricting their choice of services, denying them the opportunity to apply for services, and failing to provide prompt services. They sought class action status and declaratory and injunctive relief.



On March 17, 2003 the court (Judge Ron Clark) transferred the case to the Western District of Texas because that was where some of the plaintiffs and all of the defendants resided. On May 23, 2003 the court (Judge Sam Sparks) granted in part and denied in part the defendants' motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity grounds. The defendants appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals but on August 11, 2004 the Court of Appeals (Judges Garza, King, and Reavley) affirmed the district court.



The parties then proceeded into discovery in preparation for trial. The court (Judge Sparks) granted the plaintiffs' motion to withdraw their motion for class certification on October 15, 2005. On May 22, 2006 the court (Judge Sparks) denied or dismissed all pending motions for summary judgment. A trial was then delayed as the parties pursued settlement negotiations. A settlement was reached and on October 6, 2006 the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice. On October 12, 2006 the court (Judge Sparks) dismissed the case. The details of the settlement are not known.

Michael Perry - 03/27/2011


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