Starbucks has a long history of litigation about the height of its pickup counters. In 2003 Starbucks settled a claim by a California disabilities rights group concerning the height of its pickup counters. In 2011 Starbucks obtained the dismissal of another pickup counter height lawsuit, Chapman v. Starbucks, 2011 WL 66823 (E.D.Cal. 1022) based on mootness. The counter had been lowered to comply with the ADA requirements. In 2012 Starbucks settled a case that included counter height allegations in the Southern District of Florida. Access 4 All, Inc. v. Starbucks, Case No. 0:11-cv-61010 (S.D. Fla.). The settlement terms do not appear in the record, but most ADA settlements include remediation plus attorney’s fees, so it is a reasonable guess that Starbucks had to lower the counters in the 4 stores at issue. Just a few days ago, on June 5, 2013, a different District Court awarded Robert Cruz some $145,960.07 in attorney’s fees for his successful action against Starbucks concerning one Starbucks store. The Consent Decree in that case called for lowering the pickup counter. Cruz v. Starbucks Corporation, 2013 WL 2447862 (N.D. Cal. 2013) and see Docket 29-1 in the underlying case, 3:10-cv-01868. More
Restaurants
Snap Judgment! The ADA requires it, but are you ready?
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, ADA FHA Litigation General, Public Facilities, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers Tags: ada litigation, private lawsuits, real-estate, restaurants, retail, service animals
Imagine you are the operator of a paintball facility. A group of 15 blind individuals make a reservation without, however, mentioning they are blind. They arrive more than an hour late after a hike of several miles and are in a generally bad mood. One or two of them have trouble navigating the facility, with one running into a post and another almost falling off a deck. You conclude that they cannot, in the time available, learn to use the equipment and safely engage in the sport, so you decline to allow them to play. Naturally, you are sued under the ADA.
Another story of ADA absurdity? Not exactly. In Blind Industries & Services v. Route 40 Paintball Park, 2013 WL 1209649 (D.Md. 2013) the District Court concluded that under the circumstances it was reasonable for the owner to conclude that there was a direct threat to the More
ADA pleading – can a plaintiff give fair notice of an ADA violation if he doesn’t know it exists?
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Litigation General, Professional services, Public Facilities, Residential Development, Restaurants Tags: ada litigation, ADA pleading, ADA standing, private lawsuits, private litigants
What does it mean when a plaintiff has standing to sue on a claim but cannot give fair notice in his complaint because he isn’t even sure it exists? It means, of course, that you are in the topsy turvey world of ADA standing in the 9th Circuit.
Let’s start with the basics. In Chapman v. Pier 1 Imports, 631 F.3d 939 (9th Cir. en banc 2011) the Court reaffirmed its earlier holding in Doran v. 7-Eleven. Doran held that if a plaintiff had knowledge of at least one architectural barrier and is deterred from visiting a place of public accommodation as a result then he may, in a single suit, challenge all barriers in that public accommodation that are related to his or her specific disability and that he is likely to encounter on future visits. He is not, however, required to have any knowledge of such barriers or even any reason to think such barriers exist beyond his suspicion that where there is one barrier there may be more. More
ADA Standing – in the 9th Circuit all you need is paranoia and the presumption of guilt
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, ADA FHA General, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers Tags: ada litigation, ADA pleading, ADA standing, ada violation, private lawsuits, private litigants
In the Ninth Circuit and in courts that follow its holdings ADA standing can be based on nothing more than a paranoid fantasy by the plaintiff or a presumption of guilt by the court. This conclusion follows logically from two decisions that themselves rest on neither logic nor the law.
The first case is Pickern v. Holiday Quality Food, Inc., 293 F.3d 1133 (9th Circ. 2002). In Pickern the Court held that a plaintiff who is “deterred from patronizing a public accomodation” by ADA violates has suffered an actual injury. The Court substituted deterrence for an actual encounter with an architectural barrier. According to Pickern simply by stating that he was “deterred” from trying to go into the store the plaintiff had “stated sufficient facts to show concrete, particularized injury.” Id. at 1137-1138. More
ADA Access Barrier Cases – A request for removal should be an element of the claim.
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Litigation General, Restaurants, Retail Tags: ada litigation, ada violation, private lawsuits, private litigants, restaurants, retail
While reading the latest ADA case reports this arresting statement caught my eye:
“The [ADA] does not ordinarily require the owner of a facility to take affirmative measures to make the facility accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.”
Davis v. John S. Ciborowski Family Trust, 2013 WL 1410007 (D.N.H. 2013). The statement notes that “in certain circumstances” barrier removal is required, but still seems to stand the common understanding of barrier removal on its head. I think I can fairly say that most of the ADA bar, whether representing plaintiffs or defendants, assumes that barrier removal is required in all circumstances, and is the rule rather than the exception. However, when a federal district judge says something, it is usually worth thinking about, so I went back to the statute to see whether spending too much time on the specifics of what constitute barriers and what is reasonable in their removal might be tempered by looking back at the big picture. More