Federal Judge Michael Simon Denies
Disabled Woman Legal Counsel
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Judge Michael Simon

By Edward Snook
Investigative Reporter
Joseph Snook and Dana Hoffman Contributing

Imagine that you have searched high and low for an attorney without resolve because the action you are facing involves employment discrimination claims against the federal government. As time limits draw near for certain documents to be filed, you ask the courts for help, explaining how you are incapable of representing yourself; you're ill, and most important, you are disabled. I know you're thinking that a person like this should be protected, right? For Andrea Olson, the person with the disability, she's been shunned by the very system that was supposed to help her.

Andrea's story begins back in 2010 when she became employed as an Independent Contractor holding the title of Reasonable Accommodation Coordinator, at Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in Portland, Oregon. After a few short years, BPA decided that she needed to sign up with MBO - another company, for the purpose of payroll. MBO was previously an abbreviation for "My Biz Office." Shortly after filing a BPA ethics complaint and discovering problems within the contracts that Andrea was directed to sign, she began taking legal steps to try and resolve what she found to be wrong, and more important, perhaps also illegal.

Bonneville Power Administration Corporate Headquarters - Portland, OR.

Attorney Donna Oden-Orr

Soon, retaliation ensued, which was reportedly headed by BPA's Scott Hampton, Manager of BPA's Supplemental Labor Management Organization. Eventually Andrea's employment was terminated. Legal battles arose and because Andrea was not represented by adequate counsel, BPA and MBO had a field day, knowing Andrea was on her own, trying to fight a big corporation connected at the hip with the federal government. Attorney Donna Oden-Orr, part of BPA's legal counsel, allegedly made matters worse by accusing Andrea of not being very disabled and releasing confidential medical information to MBO’s attorney. While Andrea used to help Oden-Orr and BPA management be compliant with anti-discrimination laws, Andrea found herself suddenly the enemy for pointing out wrongdoing and facing discrimination herself.

Attorney Michael Owens

Franticly seeking legal help, after being relieved of over $10,000 by Attorney, Richard Senders, to no avail, Andrea eventually found Attorney Michael Owens, who quickly relieved her of an additional $6,000.00. Attorney Michael Owens filed a federal complaint on her behalf, and then filed a Motion with Federal Judge Michael Simon to have himself removed from her case after communicating with MBO’s attorney on Andrea’s behalf. Simon allowed Owens to withdraw as counsel, which left Andrea without an attorney and on her own, yet again. Anyone who reads the lawsuit Owens filed will certainly conclude that Ms. Olson would not be able to even begin to represent herself – you see, not only does she not understand the complexities of law, with deadlines and statutes, she has a severe disability!

Time passed, all while Andrea's health continued to decline. Still unable to find legal help, Andrea was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, eventually suffering from several mental breakdowns.

Andrea Olson

With no luck finding an attorney, Presiding Judge Michael Simon's clerk prompted Andrea to request court-appointed legal help. So, Andrea emailed the court, asking for the help of a court-appointed attorney. Andrea eventually received a letter from Judge Michael H. Simon. In his letter, he stated, "Even assuming, however, that plaintiff can demonstrate that she is indigent, her motion is denied... legal issues involved in this case are not of substantial complexity..." Judge Simon continued, "Additionally, at this stage of the proceeding, Plaintiff has yet to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits...Denied." What the judge conveniently fails to address is the fact that literally everything is substantially complex to a disabled person!

This is a case where the corruption runs so deep it makes one wonder where the roots actually started. Judge Simon is not new to law. He was an Attorney in California prior to being appointed by President Obama to the Oregon District Court. In fact, since he denied a person that is in a protected class, we checked out some of his past cases. It seems he is no stranger to cases involving disabilities, so he should have known better than to be biased against Andrea, knowing she needed help, knowing she has an illness, knowing she is disabled and that all of her pleas fell upon the deaf ears of the very ones that are supposed to be impartial and treat everyone fairly.

U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici

Judge Simon is married to U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici. Perhaps his connections in politics have influenced him to legislate new laws from the bench - unlawful rulings that obstruct justice for the disabled. And perhaps there are ties to BPA or large corporations somewhere in his or his wife’s life – what are the connections? Rest assured, we will dig until we find the answers to these questions, just as we will uncover ALL of the facts concerning the employment practices of BPA and MBO where it concerns their dealings with disabled people.

This is an ongoing investigation. If you have any information regarding MBO, BPA, Scott Hampton, Attorney Donna Oden-Orr, Michael Owens, Judge Michael Simon, or anyone else connected to these people or entities, please contact us immediately at: editor@usobserver.com, or by phone: 541-474-7885.

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