State Rejects Settlement Offer of Married, Disabled Couple

While a disabled couple, married in April, moved in with Riverhead nonprofit East End Disabilities recently so they could live with one another, a civil lawsuit with their former providers and the State of New York appears one step closer to trial after the state rejected a settlement offer.

Shortly after they were married, Paul Forziano and Hava Samuels – as well as their parents – sued Port Jefferson-based MaryHaven Center of Hope, Independent Group Home Living out of Manorville, as well as the NYS Office of Persons With Developmental Disabilities. And while the suit, their parents believe, opened the door to them eventually living with one another, they said they were at least hoping to settle the issue so their children – and other married couples in care of organizations that receive state dollars – could be guaranteed the right to live together.

"If something happens to go wrong (with EEDA), we don't know what happens next," said Martin Coleman, one of two lawyers representing the families. "Unfortunately the state is not taking a lead here and clarifying something that needs to be clarified. And clarified now. Because there are other couples who want this same kind of relationship and the state needs to step in and make clear what the obligations are of group homes."

A spokesman with the OPWDD declined to comment on the matter, citing pending litigation. And Coleman, not wanting to hamper further potential settlement discussions, declined to detail what settlement had been offered to the state. 

The lawsuit alleges that the couple's civil rights were violated under the Americans With Disabilities Act, seeking damages in addition to the right to live together as a married couple in group homes. A George Washington University law professor, quoted in an Associated Press report, said that Samuels' and Forziano's lawsuit "is moving into uncharted territory," as no similar challenges to the ADA are apparent.

After failing to get such treatment from their former providers, the couple moved in with EEDA on July 1, into a one-bedroom apartment of their own. The apartment just so happened to open up at the time they were looking for someplace to live. Otherwise, they would have continued to live separately.

Forziano's mother, Roseann, said the settlement rejection had her feeling "a little pessimistic."

"Life is uncertain. Who knows what could happen. While Paul and Hava living together as a married couple seems like the ultimate goal, this is so much more than that," Forziano said. "Now I don't know if the court is going to realize what this is all about, or what the judge might say."

Coleman said that moving forward, he and Robert Briglio – the couple's other lawyer – will seek injunctive relief granting the couple the right to live together during the case's proceedings. Coleman added that motions to dismiss the relief will likely be made, after which, the case will likely move forward to trial based on its merits, which could be a year away.