Curran, et al. v. City of Oakland
On May 15, 2023, Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise, along with Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP, Dardarian Ho Kan & Lee (DHKL), and Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), filed a lawsuit in federal court against the City of Oakland for its failure to properly install and maintain curb ramps and sidewalks throughout the City that are accessible to and usable by people with mobility disabilities.
These violations severely impact people with mobility disabilities, making it difficult or impossible for them to fully and equally participate in civic life in Oakland. Oakland’s own data shows that there are systemic barriers to the accessibility of the City’s pedestrian right-of-way. In 2021 and 2022, the City surveyed its pedestrian right of way and found that 63 percent of the City’s curb ramp locations failed to meet disability access standards, and more than 2 million square feet of City sidewalks were so damaged or broken that they are insufficient for use by people with mobility disabilities. The lawsuit asked for a court order requiring the City to bring its sidewalks and curb ramps into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and California Government Code section 11135.
After several years of informal discovery and two years of extended and thorough negotiations, the parties reached a settlement of this case, in the form of a Consent Decree, which received preliminary approval by the federal court. Under the Consent Decree, the City has agreed, among other things, to install or upgrade hundreds of curb ramps and fix tens of thousands of square feet of damaged and unusable sidewalks each year for the next 25 years, so that the City’s pedestrian right of way is fully compliant with federal and state disability access standards by no later than 2050. The City estimates that it will spend between $157 million to $325 million to fix curb ramps and sidewalks required by the Consent Decree.
The Consent Decree also requires Oakland to maintain programs designed to increase sidewalk accessibility to Oakland residents and visitors with mobility disabilities and to improve its system for requests and complaints about the accessibility of curb ramps, crosswalks and sidewalks.
Case Articles
Mayor Barbara Lee announces major investment in Oakland sidewalks and curb ramps: The Oaklandside
Case Documents
- Order Granting Preliminary Approval of Settlement PDF 09/05/2025
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement PDF 09/09/2025
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement (Spanish) PDF 09/09/2025
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement (Chinese) PDF 09/09/2025
- Consent Decree PDF 07/21/2025
- Complaint PDF 05/15/2023