Successful Defeat of Appeal to the Eleventh Circuit Following Judgment on Federal Jury Verdict on Claims of Failure to Accommodate, Discrimination and Retaliation Under ADA

On April 20, 2023, Lisa Taylor argued in front of a three-judge panel at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, explaining why the court should affirm the District Court’s judgment entered on a 2021 jury verdict in favor of our client, special education teacher Crystal Lamb. The appeal raised a question of the Court’s jurisdiction after the appellant, the Clayton County School District, failed to file a timely notice of appeal after the entry of final judgment on the trial court’s award of attorney’s fees.  CCSD also raised challenges to the judgment on the merits, but we argued that all of those challenges were procedurally barred under black-letter appellate law. The court agreed with us and rejected all of CCSD’s contentions.  We are excited to have fought and ultimately prevailed in this multi-year litigation so that our client can receive the award she deserves after CCSD’s unlawful discrimination against her. To read the unpublished opinion from the 11th Circuit, click here, and to read about the oral argument in the news, click here.