Counsel’s Corner

Update on Two Disability Discrimination Cases Against the Social Security Administration (SSA)

By Steven Bruce, PWDF Legal Director

In our Spring 2024 e-newsletter, I last gave updates on two discrimination cases in federal court based on psychosis (schizophrenia, paranoid type). In John Doe v. Commissioner of Social Security, No. 3:23-cv-01037, we finally got into formal discovery at the beginning of this year after doing just one deposition before the government shutdown on October 1, 2025. Now that the government has reopened and the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office has returned from being furloughed, we are proceeding to file a motion to compel documents production in this case.

The agency’s position is that, as the defendant in this Section 504 disability discrimination lawsuit, it will unilaterally decide which documents are relevant or not. At the deposition, it became clear that important document(s) were missing. In October 2024, we went to court on the very same issue with the same response; however, while in court the judge stated that without a letter motion to compel against the SSA there was nothing she could do, and that plaintiff should begin taking a deposition scheduled before then. This was done. The deposition involved an SSA employee who falsely accused Mr. Doe of owning a million dollars of real estate in Mexico, thereby alleging ineligibility for SSI disability benefits, notwithstanding the fact that this individual had recently been hospitalized in a psychiatric unit at a community hospital.

PWDF and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) are jointly filing a motion to compel production of documents on this and other grounds as soon as possible and hopefully before the upcoming holidays. Although this may sound obvious to some people, one party to a lawsuit cannot unilaterally decide what is relevant and what is not. Nevertheless, this has been occurring since mid-2024, when the SSA first put in writing, after a meet-and-confer session regarding plaintiff’s complaints that the agency was not producing relevant documents.

We expect to go back into court in another case, Jane Doe v. SSA; however, the SSA now claims it found missing documents from the year 2021, when it unlawfully terminated this individual, who has psychosis and severe cognitive impairments. This will be her fifth U.S. ALJ hearing, which was just postponed from November 7, 2025.

We thank our readers for paying attention to the work we are doing, in addition to currently representing an individual who has an autism spectrum disorder, is 21 years of age, and has other mental or developmental disabilities, which remain the focus of PWDF to destigmatize mental and developmental impairments.

PWDF invites others to submit articles to info@pwdf.org so long as they are related to what we do. See www.pwdf.org.

PWDF Profile

Who We Are

People With Disabilities Foundation is an operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, which focuses on the rights of the mentally and developmentally disabled.

Services

Advocacy: PWDF advocates for Social Security claimant’s disability benefits in eight Bay Area counties. We also provide services in disability rights, on issues regarding returning to work, and in ADA consultations, including areas of employment, health care, and education, among others. There is representation before all levels of federal court and Administrative Law Judges. No one is declined due to their inability to pay, and we offer a sliding scale for attorney’s fees.

Education/Public Awareness: To help eliminate the stigma against people with mental disabilities in society, PWDF’s educational program organizes workshops and public seminars, provides guest speakers with backgrounds in mental health, and produces educational materials such as videos.