Walt Disney Grandson Bradford Lund Files Complaint with California Judicial Council Against California Judge David J. Cowan Seeking Monetary Damages for Alleged Illegal Discrimination Under the U.S. Americans with Disabilities and Rehabilitation Acts

SAN FRANCISCO, July 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bradford Lund, grandson of the late Walt Disney, today announced the filing of an anti-disabilities discrimination complaint against LA Superior Court Judge David J. Cowan and the entire LA Superior Court system. Lund filed the complaint under California law with the Chief Justice of California Supreme Court, who is also Chair of the state Judicial Council. 

Under state law, such a complaint of disabilities discrimination by a sitting judge and a county Superior Court System must be forwarded to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing ("DFEH") for investigation and determination. Dario J. Frommer, a partner at the international and renowned law firm Akin Gump, writes in the written complaint to the Chief Justice that if the DFEH finds that Judge Cowan and the Superior Court system engaged in such disabilities discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities and Rehabilitation Acts, even based on a false perception, then that the judge and the court system should be found liable for monetary damages and other sanctions.

Lund's complaint, filed by Frommer on his behalf on July 7 with the California Judicial Council, specifically quotes Judge Cowan's false comments from the bench, in open court, that Lund "may" have Down Syndrome. It was in part based upon that utterly false and discriminatory statement and other baseless findings made by Judge Cowan regarding Lund's lack of mental capacity, that Cowan appointed a "guardian ad litem" – a temporary new lawyer for the probate court proceeding – denying Brad's request for a trial and due process. That resulted, Frommer alleged, in discriminatory action based on a false perception of a disability.  

During a June 25, 2019 hearing transcript (p.19, ll. 10-13), Judge Cowan stated from the bench, in open court, without a trial or any evidence:

"Do I want to give 200 million dollars, effectively, to someone who may suffer, on some level, from Down Syndrome? The answer is no."

According to the June transcript of the court hearing, Lund's attorney, Sandra Slaton, demanded a public retraction, reminding Judge Cowan that a DNA test precluded the possibility that Lund had Down Syndrome. "It's been proven not true, and even the [trustees] don't allege that anymore," Slaton said. When again asked to withdraw his false statement in light of the dispositive DNA evidence, Judge Cowan responded with one word: "Denied." (June 25, 2019 transcript, p. 21, l. 4).

"Judge Cowan's [false] comment [from the bench] and actions appear to be based on nothing other than pure animus for Mr. Lund on the basis of a perceived disability," Akin Gump's Frommer, former majority leader of the California State Assembly, wrote to the Hon. Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of California and Chair of the Judicial Council, based in San Francisco, California. "Judge Cowan was also aware that the Arizona courts had determined that Mr. Lund is competent. Yet, Judge Cowan disregarded this evidence and let his implicit biases lead him to unlawfully strip Mr. Lund of his civil rights and his right to control his own affairs."

Last March, Lund brought a case in U.S. federal court, central district of California, alleging violations of his constitutional rights to due process after Judge Cowan, based on this and other false conclusions that Lund lacked sufficient mental capacity, denied Lund's request for a hearing and due process of law.

"Brad Lund will continue to fight against unjust disabilities discrimination with the Chief Justice and in federal court and prove to the federal court that his due process rights were violated," said Lanny J. Davis, a former White House Special Counsel and co-counsel in the Lund U.S. Civil Rights Act case filed against Judge Cowan and the LA County Superior Court system in federal court last March. 

"Mr. Lund recognizes that far too many victims of discrimination, including discrimination based on a false perception, often do not have the resources to file their own cases," Dario Frommer said. "And Mr. Lund is fighting on their behalf as well."

"Mr. Lund believes that not even judges are above laws prohibiting discrimination or can violate the U.S. Constitution, and he is right," Davis added. 

Contact: Alex Lange
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(202) 480-4309 

SOURCE Lanny Davis