JONATHAN SIMEONE, PHILLIP J. WOLFE, AUDRA PEARSON, DISABILITY RIGHTS OREGON, and BRIDGES OREGON v. MULTNOMAH COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of Oregon, CITY OF PORTLAND, a political subdivision of the State of Oregon, KEITH WILSON, in his official capacity as Mayor of Portland, and JESSICA VEGA PETERSON, in her official capacity as Chair of Multnomah County. U.S.D.C. Oregon, Case No. . 3:26-cv-1557.
Disability Law United, together with Disability Rights Oregon, the ACLU’s Disability Rights Project, and the Portland firm Cambreleng & Marton, filed a lawsuit against the City of Portland and Multnomah County, arguing that their emergency preparedness plans systemically fail to account for the needs of people with disabilities during natural disasters and other emergencies, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Oregon disability law.
The suit was filed on behalf of Jonathan Simeone, a blind Multnomah County homeowner who depends on accessible, time-sensitive government communications; Phillip Wolff, a deaf resident of Portland, Audra Pearson, a Portland resident with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair or walker and relies on refrigerated medication, accessible transportation, and reliable electricity; Disability Rights Oregon, the state’s federally designated protection and advocacy organization; and Bridges Oregon, a nonprofit serving people who are Deaf, Blind, or hard of hearing.
The complaint identifies six areas where the City and County have failed people with disabilities: they have not meaningfully included people with disabilities in emergency planning; disaster-preparedness education and outreach have not been made accessible; emergency alert systems do not effectively reach people who are blind, deaf, or have other communication-related disabilities; no workable plan exists to evacuate people who cannot use stairs or need accessible transportation, or to help people shelter in place when they cannot evacuate; few emergency shelters are wheelchair-accessible, and none has a plan to provide electricity, refrigeration, or effective communication for people who need it; and Disaster Resource Centers, where residents go for benefits navigation, housing assistance, and replacement medication and equipment after a disaster, are not accessible and have no plan to reach people who cannot travel to them.
A 2021 city audit documented these gaps, and a 2021 heat wave that killed several people with disabilities in the Portland area underscored the stakes, but the City and County made no discernible improvements in the years since. DLU attempted to resolve the issues through pre-suit negotiations; the City withdrew from that process entirely, and the County declined to engage beyond informal discussions.
The lawsuit seeks an order requiring the City and County to overhaul their emergency preparedness planning, outreach, alert systems, evacuation and shelter-in-place protocols, shelter accessibility, and benefits distribution, as well as damages for the individual plaintiffs and attorneys’ fees.
U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.