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In the summer of 2021, 69 people died from heat-related causes during an extreme heat wave in Multnomah County, where Portland is located. Many of those who died during this emergency had disabilities, and other people with disabilities later reported that they were unable to get to cooling centers or even receive information in accessible formats about where such centers were located.

Later that same year, Portland’s City Auditor published a scathing report outlining how Portland's and the county’s emergency system failed to account for the needs of residents with disabilities, particularly in the areas of alerts and warnings, evacuation and transportation, and shelters and disaster resource centers. The audit also noted that the disability community had not received outreach about emergency preparedness or been consulted about emergency planning, despite multiple requests to be included.

Five years later, Portland and Multnomah County have taken no meaningful steps to address the deficiencies noted in the auditor’s report, even as the region continues to face serious threats of wildfires, flooding, and other natural disasters. As a result, two advocacy organizations—Disability Rights Oregon and Bridges Oregon—as well as three individuals with disabilities—Jonathan Simeone, Audra Pearson, and Philip J. Wolfe, filed suit in federal court in Oregon in July 2026, represented by the ACLU, Disability Law United, Disability Rights Oregon, and Cambreleng & Marton LLC.

The suit seeks injunctive relief requiring Portland and Multnomah County to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act by fully including people with disabilities in their emergency system, as well as damages under Oregon state law for the individual plaintiffs.