I buy small gifts for the holidays at a handful of stores with inexpensive products and cluttered aisles. I’ve even been told by clients that clutter can be a marketing strategy because it coveys the idea of bargain prices. Unfortunately, it may also violate the ADA by making otherwise accessible aisles too narrow and otherwise accessible counters too crowded. That, at least, was the finding in the most recent chapter of the long running lawsuit between Byron Chapman and Pier 1 Imports. The case has been pending for more than eight years, and has already generated two opinions from the Ninth Circuit. The last of these seemed to be a complete victory for Pier 1, but on remand and with an amended complaint Chapman obtained a summary judgment and permanent injunction. The case is headed once again for the Ninth Circuit, but the facts and holding should be of interest to any retailer. More
ADA
Prying open Pandora’s Box – ATM litigation in Texas
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Litigation General, ATM Litigation, Financial Institutions
Most of the 37 ATM lawsuits filed in Texas since June of 2012 have been dismissed or settled, but two have just moved past the motion to dismiss phase and may become significant as models for later class actions concerning ATMs and other facilities. The decisions denying the defendants’ motions to dismiss point to some of the problems with this kind of case and suggest strategies for dealing effectively with them. More
A statute of repose proposal for FHA and ADA design/build liability
By richardhunt in ADA, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Legislation, Apartments, Condominiums, FHA, Multi-Family, Residential Development, Statute of Limitatinos
Last week I described how liability for design/build claims under the FHA can last forever. The same problem exists with design/build claims under the ADA, as shown by the decision in Frame v. City of Arlington. There are even surprises with the statute of limitations for barrier removal cases. For example, after a plaintiff encounters an access barrier he can wait as long as he wants before filing suit. In Pickern v. Holiday Quality Foods the Ninth Circuit said that as long as the plaintiff is aware of the discriminatory condition and is deterred from returning to the building the violation of the ADA continues. In Pickern the plaintiff had driven to the store within the limitations period, and although he remained in his car there was some evidence of real deterrence. Nonetheless, the rule stated in Pickern would allow a plaintiff to stew at home for as many years or decades as she chose before filing suit. More
Event planners take note.
By richardhunt in ADA, ADA FHA General, Convention Centers, Public Facilities Tags: balls, convention centers, events, museums, parties, rodeos
You don’t have to own or lease a facility in order to have possible ADA liability when you are using it. The Supreme Court’s decision in PGA Tour v. Martin got quite a bit of attention because it seemed to pit the ADA against the rules of the PGA for golf tournaments. The case also created a much broader and more important rule. An event, even one that lasts only a few hours or days, can be a public accommodation whose organizers become responsible for ADA violations in facilities they only rent on a short term basis. In my last blog I described the possibility that the owner of a residential facility might become temporarily subject to more stringent ADA requirements. This is the inverse: the user of a facility who becomes responsible for ADA compliance when using a building whose owner may be subject to different standards. More
Are you experienced?
By richardhunt in ADA, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Litigation General, Restaurants, Retail
In her song “Raised on Robbery” Jonie Mitchell describes a man “sitting in the bar of the Empire Hotel, drinking for diversion and thinking for himself” while he watches a hockey game that he’s bet on. I thought about that song when I ate lunch with a wheel chair bound at a local restaurant. We had no trouble being seated; there were plenty of accessible tables. What we couldn’t do was see the three large flat screen TVs behind the bar because the bar area only had raised tables and raised booths.
Does the inability to sit in the bar or see a TV amount to discrimination against those with disabilities? It depends on how you look at the business of the restaurant. If the restaurant is only selling food and drink then a person with a mobility disability gets the same thing everyone else does – food and drink. But if the restaurant is the experience of drinking and watching a hockey game the disabled person is out of luck. More