SENIOR MOMENT Franke v. Parkstone, Arkansas, 2010
Dr. Robert Franke, a 70-year-old retired professor and minister, relocated from Michigan to Little Rock, Ark., in 2009 to live closer to his daughter, Sara Bowling. After an application process that included detailed medical information, Franke moved into an assisted-living facility called Fox Ridge—but was evicted the next day when staff noticed his HIV status in his paperwork.
With the help of Lambda Legal, Franke and Bowling sued Fox Ridge. Although the case never went to trial, settling out of court in September 2010, it has raised awareness about this growing problem. In fact, Franke and his daughter were recognized for their contribution to the fight against HIV discrimination at a White House meeting in October 2010.
Bowling says the case has already had an impact in the Little Rock area. “Recently, I received an email from a friend who works at a living facility in town,” she reports. “She told me that the staff was being educated and trained about HIV and that our case was described to the staff. I can’t tell you how happy this news has made my father and me.”
DIPLOMATIC DISPUTE Taylor v. Rice, Washington, D.C., 2008
This five-year-long HIV discrimination case against the U.S. State Department finally came to an end when the department agreed to drop its policy of banning all HIV-positive applicants from serving overseas as Foreign Service Officers.
Lorenzo Taylor was barred from joining the Foreign Service because he had HIV. Lambda Legal represented Taylor by filing suit in federal court, alleging that the policy violated the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits the federal government from discriminating against people with disabilities.
On a motion for summary judgment, the federal district court sided with the State Department’s contention that an HIV-positive Foreign Service Officer (FSO) would have health needs—lab work and visits with HIV specialists, for instance—that the department would not be able to provide in every country across the globe. Lambda Legal appealed the district court’s decision, and the U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with Lambda Legal that Taylor’s claims had merit. Two weeks before trial on remand, the blanket ban against FSO applicants with HIV was lifted.