Transgender Prof Wants Surgery Class Action Certified

A transgender University of Arizona professor has filed a motion for Class certification for his class action lawsuit claiming that the state healthcare plan in which he is enrolled denied treatment for his gender transition and for the transitions of others on the same plan. 

According to Dr. Russell Toomey, a professor of family studies and human development, his gender discrimination class action lawsuit should be granted Class certification because it meets the requirements for such claims.

He says that he can identify at least six transgender employees on the same plan as he, who have been denied healthcare related to their transition. 

The plaintiff goes on to say that he has further met the standard for filing Class claims because he has identified around 40 people who are pursuing healthcare related to their transition or who may seek such healthcare in the future.

The U of A healthcare class action lawsuit calls Toomey’s claims “paradigmatic” for Class certification, because the healthcare plan affects many people. Toomey argues that there may be many more people who fall into this group, as his proposed Class extends to those who might be affected in the future.

In an attempt to fight Toomey’s transgender discrimination class action lawsuit, the state requested that the complaint be stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court made a determination of whether or not gender-identity was covered under Title VII.

However, this move proved to be unsuccessful after a judge determined that the transgender healthcare class action lawsuit should be able to proceed, even before the Supreme Court renders a decision.

Toomey filed his transgender class action lawsuit in early last year. He claimed that he had been transitioning since 2003 and received recommendation from his doctors to have a hysterectomy. Allegedly, the procedure was declared medically necessary by his doctor, but was nonetheless denied for coverage by his state healthcare plan. 

According to Toomey, this amounts to transgender discrimination. Toomey claims that this denial of coverage violated his constitutional rights and was a violation of Title VII.

A judge had previously said that Toomey should make claims that his constitutional rights were violated and scrap the Title VII claims. However, Toomey fought this recommendation, pointing to previous court decisions. A judge rejected the University of Arizona’s move to dismiss the transgender healthcare class action lawsuit, and eventually approved both Toomey’s constitutional claims and his Title VII claims to move forward. 

Have you had your claims for healthcare wrongly denied? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

The plaintiff is represented by Kathleen E. Brody, Molly Brizgys, Joshua A. Block, and Leslie Cooper of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and Wesley R. Powell and Matthew S. Friemuth of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.

The University of Arizona Gender Reassignment Coverage Class Action Lawsuit is Toomey v. State of Arizona, et al., Case No. 4:19-cv-00035-LCK, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

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