Procedural Posture

Plaintiff challenged the decision of the Superior Court of Sacramento County (California) that sustained defendants’ demurrer to plaintiff’s suit alleging defendants wrongfully failed to spend money received by them under the Education of Handicapped Act (EHA), 20 U.S.C.S. § 1400 et seq.

California Business Lawyer & Corporate Lawyer, Inc. is an Orange County business attorney

Overview

Plaintiff, a disabled person, brought suit claiming defendants wrongfully failed to spend money received by defendants under the Education of Handicapped Act (EHA), 20 U.S.C.S. § 1400 et seq., on handicapped children. The trial court sustained defendants’ demurrer without leave to amend. On appeal, the court concluded that plaintiff and his class were not entitled to money damages for any past denial of a free appropriate public education. Moreover, the court held that plaintiff and his class could not pursue a lawsuit to compel the expenditure of current EHA funds for their benefit without first exhausting available administrative procedures. However, the court held that plaintiff and his class were entitled to be provided with compensatory educational services to remedy any past denial of services for which they were eligible. Further, the court held that plaintiff was not barred from pursuing the action to obtain an adjudication of the entitlement of eligible children in state hospitals to compensatory education services. The court reasoned that there was no administrative remedy to adjudicate the past class-wide, systemic exclusion from the EHA alleged by plaintiff.

Outcome

The court reversed the decision of the trial court granting defendants’ demurrer to plaintiff’s suit. The court held that plaintiff and his class were entitled to compensatory educational services to remedy past wrongs.