Our civil rights work is some of the most important advocacy work that we do. From fighting racism and race discrimination, to protecting immigrants, to advocating for the constitutional rights of peaceful protesters and incarcerated Oregonians, David and Nadia take on important and impactful cases that go to the heart of our democracy.
Maney v. Brown, No. 6:20-cv-00570-SB (U.S. District Court of Oregon)
In this ongoing case, Nadia and David, together with attorneys at the Oregon Justice Resource Center, represent adults incarcerated in Oregon prisons who contracted COVID-19. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the confirmed rate of COVID-19 in Oregon’s prisons was roughly twice that of the rate of infection in the general population. Over 5000 people were infected, and at least 49 people died. In an earlier stage of the case, we obtained an injunction requiring the State to prioritize access to vaccines for adults in custody. In 2022, the district court certified a class of individuals who contracted COVID-19 while in custody, as well as a class of those who died from COVID-19 while incarcerated. In 2024, the district court denied motions for summary judgment filed by Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) officials, denying their claims of qualified immunity and allowing the case to go to trial. The case is currently on interlocutory appeal in the Ninth Circuit.
Doe #1 v. Trump, No. 3:19-cv-01743-SI (U.S. District Court of Oregon)
In this class action case, Nadia represented a class of immigrant visa applicants seeking to reunite with family members in the United States but who were subject to the Trump Administration’s healthcare ban—an Executive Order that arbitrarily imposed health insurance requirements on intending immigrants. Nadia litigated this case in her capacity as Senior Litigation Attorney for the Portland-based nonprofit Innovation Law Lab, together with the Justice Action Center and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Richards v. Or. Health & Sciences Univ., No. 21CV47583 (Multnomah Cnty. Cir. Ct.)
Nadia and David, along with co-counsel from Albies & Stark, represent a proposed class of people of color who work or worked for Oregon Health Sciences University. OHSU disciplines and terminates employees who are Black or people of color at far greater rates than it does its white employees. This race discrimination class action was filed in December 2021. Plaintiff’s motion for class certification is currently pending.
Nordenstrom v. Corizon Health, Inc., No. 3:18-cv-01754-HZ (U.S. District Court of Oregon)
This case arose out of the tragic death of a pretrial detainee at the Clackamas County Jail. Nadia worked with trial attorneys John Coletti and Chad Stavley to bring civil rights, negligence, and gross negligence claims against the County, its healthcare provider, Corizon Health, Inc., and several of their individual employees and officers. The case involved significant and important questions surrounding the constitutional right to adequate medical care in the corrections setting.
Davis v. Multnomah County, No. 3:20-cv-2041 (D. Or. 2020)
In this ongoing case, Nadia and David, together with Joe Piucci, represent a class of people who were detained in the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) in June and July 2020, when federal agents used teargas and other chemical agents on protestors gathered at Lownsdale Square in downtown Portland. The chemical agents made their way through the HVAC system at MCDC and into the cells of hundreds of detainees. Because they were confined to their cells, the detainees suffered harms from chemical exposures night after night after night. The plaintiffs in this case represent of class of detained individuals in § 1983 and state-law claims against the County. The district court certified the class, and dispositive motions are pending.