Liberty Resources, Inc. v. City of Philadelphia

What this case is about

This is a settled class-action lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia, filed by Liberty Resources, Inc. (a Philadelphia center for independent living) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in August 2019. The lawsuit challenged Philadelphia's decades-long failure to install ADA-compliant curb ramps at intersections and to maintain existing ramps when they fell into disrepair. People who use wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, or have other mobility disabilities were effectively cut off from the public sidewalk network — unable to cross streets safely, forced into the roadway with vehicle traffic, or stuck on a block with no way out. The case was settled and Philadelphia agreed to a remediation schedule covering the entire city, with priority routes, deadlines, and reporting obligations to plaintiffs and the court. The settlement is in compliance phase. If you encounter a missing curb ramp, a curb ramp that doesn't meet ADA Standards (too steep, no detectable warning, no flush transition, located out of the line of travel), or a damaged ramp that should have been repaired, you can report it to Liberty Resources or directly to Philadelphia.

Who may qualify

The settlement protects people with mobility disabilities in Philadelphia and visitors who experience curb-ramp barriers anywhere in the city. You can report a problem if: - You use a wheelchair, walker, scooter, cane, or other mobility device. - You encountered a Philadelphia city sidewalk where a curb ramp was missing, broken, too steep, or otherwise inaccessible. - The barrier kept you from crossing the street, or forced you into the road, or stranded you on a block. This case is about Philadelphia City sidewalks. It does NOT cover SEPTA or transit-related accessibility, private property, or sidewalks in suburban townships.

What helps your case

Documentation supporting non-compliance reports: - Precise location (intersection cross-streets or GPS coordinates). - Photographic documentation of the ramp condition (missing ramp, slope, detectable warnings, path-of-travel alignment, surface condition). - Date and time of encounter. - Description of impact: rerouting required, ingress to vehicular traffic, physical injury, alternative-route distance and time burden. - Any prior city complaints filed regarding the same intersection (city service requests via 311 establish notice).

How to document what happened

For prospective documentation of pedestrian-access barriers: Field documentation: - Photographic capture from multiple angles establishing ramp absence, slope deficiency (visually evident steepness), detectable-warning failures (missing or non-compliant truncated domes), or path-of-travel misalignment. - GPS coordinates or precise intersection identification. - Where measurable, ramp dimensions, slope percentages, and surface condition. Reporting: - File a 311 service request to establish city notice and create administrative record. - Submit to plaintiffs' counsel for inclusion in settlement-compliance reports. - Where systemic non-compliance is evident on a corridor or in a neighborhood, document the pattern and report jointly. Class-level enforcement support: - Maintain a tracker of repeatedly reported intersections that remain unremediated. - Document any city responses to 311 requests; pattern of unresponsiveness or inadequate responses is independently actionable under the settlement.

What if you don’t have documentation?

Documentary records are not required for reporting. Plaintiffs and the city accept narrative reports of non-compliance. Reporting channels: - Philadelphia 311 (city service request system). - Plaintiffs' counsel (Liberty Resources). - DOJ Civil Rights Division administrative complaint (ADA.gov). - Class counsel direct contact for systemic pattern reporting. - Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission for parallel state-law claims. - Prospective documentation: contemporaneous photographic capture of barriers strengthens systemic enforcement and individual claims.

What this case doesn’t cover

Scope limitations: - Bound only the City of Philadelphia for its pedestrian rights-of-way curb-ramp obligations. SEPTA, PennDOT, federal facilities, and private property are outside scope. - Limited to curb-ramp installation and remediation. Other Title II/§504 obligations (programmatic accessibility, communication access, employment, etc.) require separate enforcement. - Compliance-phase, not damages. Section 504 may provide individual compensatory remedies in cases of deliberate indifference but requires separate showing. - Sidewalk maintenance per se (cracks, heaving, condition) is implicated to the extent it affects ADA accessibility but is governed by separate municipal-tort and city-ordinance frameworks.

Legal theory

ADA Title II + Section 504

Named defendants

• City of Philadelphia

Case facts

Type

Class action

Affected states

PA

Court

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Filed

2019-08-26

Who to contact

Nobody is running an intake for this one. You can still report what happened.

• Government agency

  U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

  Takes complaints about businesses open to the public and about state and local government. It investigates and enforces, but it does not represent individuals and cannot advise you on your own claim.

  Phone 800-514-0301

  TTY 833-610-1264

  civilrights.justice.gov/report

  Filing a complaint is not the same as having a lawyer, and it does not pause any legal deadlines. If you may want to bring a case, talk to an attorney about your dates as well as filing.

  Every state has one. They are free, they take intake directly, and unlike a federal agency they can represent you. Find yours

Key dates

Status

Compliance phase, ongoing monitoring

Settlement

Court-approved settlement agreement

Complaint filed

2019-08-26

Remediation schedule

Citywide multi-year