Success Stories
AIDS Legal Assistance Project
Community Development Legal Services
Consumer Law
Family Law
Micro-Entrepreneur Legal Assistance Project
Child Care
Housing Project
Immigration
Southeast Asian Legal Outreach Program
AIDS Legal Assistance Project
After his electricity had been turned off in a payment dispute, an ALAP client came to PLC for assistance. Although the client's sole income came from disability payments, the electric company demanded full payment from the client. It was essential for the client to have his electricity restored in order to keep his AIDS medicine and food refrigerated. ALAP assisted the client by negotiating a payment plan that the client could afford while allowing the electricity to be turned on immediately.
After minor surgery, an ALAP client contracted infection that kept him bedridden for a year. The client was eager to return to work, but the back-to-work order from his physician included information about his HIV status, viral load, and CD4 count. Even though the physician explicitly stated that our client presented no risk of infection to others, he insisted on making the information available to our client's employer. Our client did not want to disclose this information for fear of being subjected to discrimination, so ALAP staff contacted the physician. After a discussion of California medical disclosure laws and potential liability of those who disclose patient's medical information without permission, the physician agreed to remove the information about our client's HIV status. Subsequently, ALAP received referrals from that same physician concerning other patients of his who were facing discrimination and had confidentiality concerns.
Community Development Legal Services
Greet the Day is a new community-based nonprofit organization to assist people affected by cancer enhance their health and well-being through participation in a free professional program of education, support and body work. Michael Lee and Candice Lee of McDermott, Will, & Emery recently assisted Greet the Day by preparing Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and other corporate governance documents while helping Greet the Day obtain tax-exempt status. For more information on Greet the Day, visit: http://www.greettheday.com.
Consumer Law
Client was harassed over a period of approximately one year by a department store's debt collectors, including multiple calls in a day, and harassing calls to her neighbors and landlord. The client became so distraught and worried that her employer would find out about her unpaid bills that she became sick and eventually went on disability. Joe Ceglio, a PLC in-house volunteer, negotiated a settlement agreement whereby the department store agreed to pay Client $3500 for their violations of fair debt collection laws and forgive her outstanding debt of $700.
A former victim of domestic violence who was undergoing chemotherapy came to PLC seeking tax assistance. Her abusive former husband had filed fraudulent tax returns with the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board during their marriage, then remarried and placed his assets in his new wife's name. As a result, the IRS and FTB were coming after the client for the entire understatement of tax: $337,670.55 to the IRS and $137,644.48 to the FTB, with interest and penalties accruing daily. The FTB levied her bank account and left the client unable to pay for rent and food. With the assistance of volunteer attorney Pamela Young Valencia and PLC staff, the IRS granted the client's request for relief as an innocent spouse and returned over $2500 of her overdue tax refunds. Following the IRS's determination, the CA Franchise Tax Board also relieved client of over $100,000 and returned her tax refund for $158.15.
Family Law
Maria, a forty-year old mother of four children (ages two to fifteen), learned she was dying of cancer and had no way to support her children. The father of her children had disappeared, and neither the mother's nor the father's parents were able to help. Maria agonized over who would care for her children after her death.
Maria's neighbor and best friend, Rosa, offered to become the legal guardian of the four children. Although Rosa had four children of her own and neither she nor her husband had high-paying jobs, PLC helped Rosa gain legal guardianship of Maria's four children.
As the case proceeded with the assistance of a volunteer attorney, Maria's condition rapidly declined. Whenever papers needed to be signed, the pro bono attorney visited Rosa and Maria as necessary. The guardianship was granted and Maria died peacefully knowing her children were well cared for.
Advocacy and Impact Litigation
Recently, PLC participated in a coalition opposing the sale of an Anaheim nonprofit hospital to a for-profit corporation notorious for engaging in controversial practices when it acquired hospitals. In the past, it had often eliminated managed care contracts for vital services important to the community because they but were not considered profitable enough. Fierce opposition from community members and medical professionals had surfaced nearly every time it purchased a nonprofit hospital, yet the Attorney General had never stopped such a sale.
PLC testified at the public hearing held by the Attorney General and submitted written testimony. PLC also helped create a non-binding resolution from the Anaheim City Council to oppose the hospital sale. As a result of these and other coalition partners' efforts, the Attorney General took unprecedented action and withheld approval for the sale.
MELAP
In November 2006, the attorneys at Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher accepted an LLC start-up case. The LLC owner is a low-income individual with disabilities who is living on SSI. He is seeking to start a business so he can become economically self-sufficient.
In February 2007, attorneys at McDermott, Will, & Emery LLP took a start-up case. The client is an individual with Multiple Sclerosis who is forming a business entity to provide employment training and referrals for other individuals with disabilities. The main entity will be a nonprofit organization, but the client also wanted to form a for-profit income-generating subsidiary.
Child Care Law
In June 2006, PLC assisted a low-income child care provider seeking a conditional use permit from the city. PLC provided guidance on state and municipal law and successfully represented the provider at the city council hearing.
Housing Project
Suzanna Adelizi and Jessica Brys Brownsell represented a mother and daughter facing unlawful detainer actions while living in separate units in a Fullerton apartment building notorious for code violations. Many tenants alleged that the landlord routinely used evictions as a retaliation tactic against those who, like PLC's clients, who tried to assert their rights. Thanks to Suzanna and Jessica's efforts, both clients saved more than $2,000 in plaintiff's attorney fees and court costs. More importantly, they were able to stay in their apartments for several additional months while they secured alternate subsidized housing. Suzanna and Jessica closely monitored the return of their client's security deposit refund, and Suzanna secured donations to cover her client's security deposit fee at her new apartment.
Frank Conner of Wordes, Wilshin & Conner LLP recently represented a disabled elderly client who was served with an unlawful detainer after requesting much needed repairs and properly withholding rent. Problems with the apartment included lack of heat and hot water, falling plaster, bad plumbing, vermin, defective wiring, and extensive mold. Frank was able to settle the matter on the trial date. As a result of his efforts, the landlord waved $1,060 in back rent, gave the client 30 more days to move, and paid the client $2,000 in moving expenses. Each party covered their own fees and costs. Frank said the key to his successful result was that he went to the client's apartment himself and took many pictures to document the habitability issues for the court.
Immigration
Victims of Serious Crimes
Anita arrived in the U.S. from Mexico in 2000 with her husband and young son. Shortly after arriving, her husband began physically and emotionally abusing her. She obtained a temporary restraining order against her husband, but the abuse continued and escalated to spousal rape on numerous occasions, and Anita became pregnant with their second child. Anita's husband continued to abuse her during the pregnancy and had an affair when she was eight months pregnant. Later he came to the apartment unannounced and became violent. The police were called and charged Anita's husband with battery and violation the restraining order.
Anita was referred to PLC by the Anaheim Police Department, and an evaluation showed that Anita and her eldest child qualified for U visas. In the summer of 2006, their case was placed with Snell & Wilmer attorney Katherine J. Hughes, who supervised summer associate Lily Toubi in the preparation of Anita's petition. Anita's petition was successful and she is now able to live and work in the U.S. legally and work toward providing a better, safer life for herself and her children.
Victims of Human Trafficking
Xue was born in Taiwan to an extremely poor family. At the age of eight, she was sold by her parents to a wealthy Taiwanese family, where she worked as an unpaid domestic servant for an elder member of the family, Ping, who physically and emotionally abused Xue. Ping eventually decided to move to the U.S. to be with her daughter, Ying, a jewelry store owner. So that Xue could legally emigrate to the U.S. to continue to serve Ping, Ping forced Xue to marry a U.S. citizen who worked at her daughter Ying's jewelry store.
Xue hoped that coming to a new country would offer her more freedom and a better life than what she had endured with Ping in Taiwan. But it became clear that Xue would have no freedom. Xue had to care for Ping, and cook and clean for the entire family, as well as cleaning Ying's store daily. However, Xue related her story to another store owner, who helped Xue escape from the family.
Xue was referred to PLC by The Cambodian Family, a human services agency in Santa Ana. After evaluating Xue's case, it was determined that she was a victim of human trafficking and forced marriage. Xue's immigration case was placed with Beverly Johnson of Dorsey & Whitney, who successfully petitioned for Xue to gain T visa status, allowing her to live and work legally in the United States. Ernest Klatte and Jeff Wertheimer of Rutan & Tucker continue to work on client's wage and hour claim, while Mark Minyard of Minyard Morris continues to assist with client's dissolution.
SEALOP
A Vietnamese-speaking single mother worked two jobs and attended evening classes to make a better life for her and her two children, but lived on an extremely low-income. When her bank accounts, totaling approximately $3,000, were levied by a creditor to collect a former spouse's debt, she sought PLC's assistance. Without access to her funds, the clients was unable to pay for her family's necessaries. The bank levy resulted in the client and her children being evicted from their home,
Due to her limited English proficiency, the client did not understand the notices sent from her bank and all of the money in her bank account was turned over to the creditor. PLC filed claims of exemptions for the client and sought the return of the funds, arguing that the funds in her bank account remained exempt despite the late filing of the claim of exemption. PLC represented the client at the exemption hearings and the judge ordered the creditor to return a majority of the funds that were seized. The client was able to avoid homelessness and found another residence once her funds were returned to her.
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