On January 19, 1993, before a packed San Francisco Superior court, Judge Stuart Pollak approved the settlement agreement in Coffelt v. Department of Developmental Services (DDS). The Settlement in this class action lawsuit – to move more people from institutions into the community – was the largest of its kind in the country. Protection and Advocacy Incorporated (PAI), (now Disability Rights California) filed the suit in February 1990 on behalf of 950 class members, 14 individual plaintiffs and six organizations.
Ellen Goldblatt was a senior PAI attorney and a lead on the case.