1970s

  • 1970-1973

    TOOR v. U.S. Dept of Housing & Urban Development

    This lawsuit, filed by Public Advocates, stopped displacement of over...
  • 1971

    Counting the Unseen: Correcting the 1970 Census

    As the time for the 1970 census drew near, Public...
  • 1971

    Incorporation of Public Advocates Inc.

    Public Advocates’ four founders – Bob Gnaizda, Anthony Kline, Sid...
  • 1971

    First case initiated by Public Advocates

    La Raza Unida & The Sierra Club v. Volpe resulted...
  • 1971

    NAACP v. Reagan

    This omnibus suit charged racial discrimination in employment, housing, education,...
  • 1971

    Western Addition Community Organization (WACO) & NAACP v. Alioto

    This successful constitutional challenge to the San Francisco Fire Department’s...
  • 1971-1978

    Serrano v. Priest I, II, III and IV

    This landmark lawsuit involving four separate State Supreme Court decisions...
  • 1971

    Larry P. v. Riles

    For decades, thousands of African American students in California public...
  • 1973 – 2011

    Officers for Justice v. SF Civil Service Commission (and related cases)

    Public Advocates launched this class action civil rights lawsuit in...
  • 1978

    Bracco v. Lackner

    Public Advocates filed this challenge to a nursing home operator’s...

1980s

  • 1980

    Greenlining Takes First Action – Banking

    In its first action, the Greenline Coalition threatened to file...
  • 1983

    Petition to reduce the incidents of low birth rates and resultant infant mortality

    This Administrative Petition was filed by Public Advocates in June...
  • 1984

    Consumers Union & Black Women Organized for Political Action in Oakland v. Wells Fargo

    This lawsuit filed by Public Advocates stemmed from early staff...
  • 1985

    King v. Meese

    King v. Meese, filed by Public Advocates in 1985, charged...
  • 1985

    HomeBase launched to challenge homelessness in the Bay Area

    In 1985, Public Advocates initiated a project to address the...
  • 1986

    Massive refund to Pacific Bell telephone customers misled by the company

    ​In 1986, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) ordered Pacific...

1990s

  • 1992

    Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC) Founded

    In 1992, Carmela Castellano-Garcia, then a staff attorney with Public...
  • 1992

    Association of Mexican American Educators v. State of California

    In 1992, Public Advocates sued California on behalf of 50,000...
  • 1997

    Yvette Doe, et al. v. Kim Belshé

    In December of 1997, a judge in Alameda County blocked...
  • 1997

    Underserved California communities win huge benefits under PUC approval of Pacific Telesis – SBC merger

    In 1997, Public Advocates managing attorney Mark Savage represented several...
  • 1998

    Spanish Speaking Citizens’ Foundation v. Quackenbush

    In this 1998 lawsuit, Spanish Speaking Citizens’ Foundation v. Quackenbush,...

2000s

  • 2000

    Williams v. California

    Eliezer Williams, 6th grade student at San Francisco’s Luther Burbank...
  • 2004

    State Farm v. Garamendi

    Following oral argument on February 11, 2004, a unanimous California...
  • 2005

    Darensburg v. Metropolitan Transportation Commission

    Beginning in 2005, Public Advocates represented a class of AC...
  • 2006

    Urban Habitat v. City of Pleasanton

    Public Advocates brought suit against the City of Pleasanton in...
  • 2009

    Urban Habitat v. BART Oakland Airport Connector Campaign

    In 2009, when BART proposed the construction of a connector...

2010s

  • 2019

    “A Law Firm Like no Other” Public Advocates on Public Television

    In May of 2019, Public Advocates was profiled by the...
  • 2010

    Campaign for Quality Education (CQE) v. California

    CQE v. CA​ was a state constitutional challenge to the...
  • 2010

    The 6 Wins for Social Equity Network

    Public Advocates was one of the creators, and is still...
  • 2011

    The Equity, Environment & Jobs Scenario for regional planning

    In 2011, the 6 Wins for Social Equity Network developed...
  • 2013

    Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)

    In a major step towards greater educational equity, on July...
  • 2014

    Climate investments bring major benefits to low-income communities of color

    Beginning in 2014, carbon cap-and-trade auction revenues brought billions of...
  • 2015

    Community Coalition & Reyna Frias v. LAUSD

    On July 11, 2015 Public Advocates filed lawsuit on behalf...
  • 2016

    Facebook Community Benefits Agreement with East Palo Alto

    Public Advocates, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern...
  • 2017

    Housing Now! Founded and Passage of Tenant Protection Act AB 1482

    In 2017, Public Advocates co-founded Housing Now!—a coalition dedicated to...
  • 2017

    Alliance for Housing Justice (AHJ)

    AHJ was formed in 2017 following the 2016 presidential election...
  • 2018

    Fair Housing Protection Law in California AB 686

    In 2017, among other assaults on the rights of people...
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