December 1, 2014; Baltimore, MD – Today, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the law firm of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP filed a lawsuit in a Baltimore federal court against Key Brand Theatrical Group, Inc., The Hippodrome Foundation, and the Maryland Stadium Authority. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Baltimore resident Jessica Gill, alleges that the defendants are refusing to provide captioning for theatrical performances at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore, in violation of federal disability law.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants refused Ms. Gill’s request for captioning of their theater performances, denying Ms. Gill equal access. The lawsuit asks the court to order defendants to caption theatrical performances at the Hippodrome, Baltimore’s premier venue for on tour Broadways plays.
“Ensuring that deaf and hard of hearing individuals have full and equal access to live theatrical performances is an important mission of the NAD,” said Howard A. Rosenblum, Chief Executive Officer of the NAD. “Ms. Gill and other deaf and hard of hearing individuals want to enjoy live theatrical performances, just like everyone else. This lawsuit will help ensure that theatrical performances are accessible to all.”
The Plaintiff is represented by Marc Charmatz and Caroline Jackson of the National Association of the Deaf Law and Advocacy Center and Joseph B. Espo and Brooke Lierman of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP. For further information contact Caroline Jackson, (301) 587-7466 at the NAD or Joseph Espo at (410) 962-1030.
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Brown, Goldstein & Levy is an 18-lawyer law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm handles cases of every stripe, both civil and criminal. The firm also has an active practice in many other areas, including family law and health care law. Above all else, the client-centered law firm strongly identifies with their clients and their problems, and has the skill, the experience, and the tenacity to solve those problems.
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is the nation’s premier civil rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America. The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more – improving the lives of millions of deaf and hard of hearing Americans. The NAD also carries out its federal advocacy work through coalition efforts with specialized national deaf and hard of hearing organizations, as well as coalitions representing national cross-disability organizations.