Impact Litigation
Patterns of injustice and broad institutional failures can deprive thousands of people of their rights. NYLAG seeks systemic reform for these individuals through class actions and other impact litigation.
Wrongful denial of public benefits, fraudulent debt collection, disability discrimination, and predatory for-profit colleges can harm tens of thousands of vulnerable people. Yet those dealing with these challenges often feel like they are in the battle alone. Many do not realize that they have rights that can be enforced. This is where we come in.
Our Approach
Our Special Litigation Unit (SLU) collaborates with NYLAG attorneys across practice areas to identify broad institutional failures. Alone, or in partnership with private firms and other not-for-profit organizations, we initiate class actions and other impact lawsuits to bring about systemic change for thousands of people in need.
What is a class action? It is a lawsuit in which a group of people who suffer similar harm caused by the same conduct sue a defendant together—seeking redress for all those who are injured, even those who cannot find their own lawyers or appear in court.
Cases and Advocacy
Below is a list of our class action cases and advocacy work. Click on the relevant case below to learn more and how to contact us if you believe that you’ve been affected.
Our Recent Wins
We secured a settlement worth nearly $6 million for 61,000 New Yorkers victimized by fraudulent debt collection litigation [Mayfied v. Asta, settlement Apr. 2018]
We challenged New York’s denial of critical subsistence benefits to certain asylum applicants, prompting New York to change the policy and extend benefits to those immigrants [Colaj v. Roberts, filed Aug. 2017, policy change Nov. 2017]
We reached a settlement requiring the United States Department of Education to notify 60,000 student loan borrowers harmed by Wilfred Beauty Academy, a chain of abusive for-profit schools, of their right to seek valuable loan discharge [Salazar v. DeVos, settlement approved Aug. 2017, administered through the present]
We reached a settlement forcing NY State to better protect Medicaid home health care recipients whose managed long-term care providers unlawfully stopped or reduced their care [Caballero v. Senior Health Partners, settlement approved Dec. 2018]
We entered an unprecedented settlement requiring a charter school network to make far-reaching changes to protect students with disabilities entitled to special education supports [Achievement First, settlement approved Dec. 2017]
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NYLAG to part of the solution to end broad institutional failures.
NYLAG, NCLEJ & MRNY File Federal Civil Rights Complaint Against New York State Department of Labor for Discriminating in Unemployment Insurance Procedures
The complaint alleges that the New York State Department of Labor discriminates against its clients and workers who have limited English proficiency by failing to provide meaningful multilingual access to unemployment insurance.
NYLAG Obtains Records From NYC’s Department of Homeless Services That Show Agency Projects Lack of Shelter Capacity
Data obtained by NYLAG through a Freedom of Information Law request shows that, for over six months, New York City’s Department of Homeless Services has projected that its shelters, especially shelters for families with children, will not have enough available beds for all of the New Yorkers who need them.
NY Focus: For Scandal-Plagued For-Profit Colleges, No State Is More Welcoming Than New York
NYLAG’s Jessica Ranucci was interviewed for this piece from New York Focus on New York State’s tuition subsidies for poorly-performing for-profit colleges.
