Nicole Brown-Booker, an Oakland resident and disability advocate, has long used a wheelchair to navigate Oakland’s potholes and ragged sidewalks. And she has long believed that she has the same right to travel safely in Oakland as any able-bodied person.
But the city’s poorly managed sidewalks, which often jut from the ground, pushed up by tree roots, or break into jagged pieces thanks to temperature changes and earthquakes, have made it nearly impossible for the 59-year-old to get around. That’s why she decided to do something about it: sue the city.
In that lawsuit, Curran v. City of Oakland, Brown and a second plaintiff, Michael Curran, another Oakland resident, claimed that the city had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by keeping its sidewalks in “a condition not suitable or sufficient for use.” The pair officially filed the suit in May 2023 as a class-action case that has attracted the attention of disability advocates across the country…