Attorney Omar Qureshi's Legal Cases

Civil rights

Wong et al. v. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Oct 20, 2022

OUTCOME: $45,000,000 jury verdict for Plaintiffs.

FACTS: Christian and Christopher Wong were both enrolled as students of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District at Juan Cabrillo Elementary in Malibu. Both twins are nonverbal, and when they we ... re in second grade, they were under the care and supervision of a district employee, Galit Gottlieb. During that school year, Gottlieb employed corporal punishment against the two children, including physically restraining them and putting hand sanitizer on cuts. In 2019, the twins' parents, Charles and Nadine Wong, filed suit on behalf of themselves and on behalf of Christian and Christopher against the school district and Gottlieb.

Civil rights

Native American Tribe v. United States Government

Mar 30, 2018

OUTCOME: Victory for Native American Tribe

Mr. Qureshi won a victory on behalf of a Native American tribe when a US district court ruled that the federal government has an affirmative obligation to provide adequate educational and mental health ... services at Havasupai Elementary School on the Havasupai Reservation in northern Arizona. In a lawsuit brought by several children and the Native American Disability Law Center, the court denied the government’s partial motion to dismiss and held that the government is required to address the impact of trauma and childhood adversity so that all students have the ability to learn and participate in school. After the federal defendants moved to dismiss several of the students’ claims, the Havasupai Tribe enlisted Jenner & Block to draft an amicus brief supporting the plaintiffs. Omar Qureshi worked with the tribal chairman and tribal council to draft a brief informing the court of the history of the tribe and its federally operated school. The brief detailed not only the substandard conditions inside the school, but also decades of work by tribal officials to improve those conditions. The ruling recognizes that the federal government has been on notice of its failures for decades and will protect the rights of students at Havasupai Elementary to attend a school with enough resources, teachers and wellness services to provide a safe and effective learning environment.

Omar Qureshi's Legal Cases (2)

Wong et al. v. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District

Native American Tribe v. United States Government