ADA pleading
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Good News for ADA Defendants – Plaintiffs required to prove discrimination.
My friend and fellow ADA blogger William Goren wrote about Grider v. City of Aurora, 2013 WL 6633404 (D.Colo. 2013) within a week after the December 16, 2013 order denying the prevailing defendants their attorneys fees. [http://www.williamgoren.com/blog/2013/12/22/breed-restrictions-service-dogs-violation-ada/] He correctly pointed out that fights over breed restriction ordinances were likely to prove expensive for cities who… Continue reading
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Are you saying these guys couldn’t deal with a 1:15 slope? Just what is an “architectural barrier” under the ADA
Just a few weeks ago I wrote about what seems to be a pervasive though obvious problem with the analysis of standing for ADA accessibility plaintiffs. (“Oops! – Can a plaintiff suffer an ADA injury if he gets exactly what he wants?” Oct. 4, 2013). The 11th Circuit apparently overlooked my critique when it decided Houston… Continue reading
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Reminders – the same news, some good, some bad.
A couple of recent cases caught my eye because they serve as reminders of the persistence of certain strategic considerations in ADA defense. The first, Taylor v. Wing It Two, Inc., 2013 WL 3778315 (S.D. Fla. 2013) demonstrates the perils of a settlement that isn’t followed by complete remediation. The defendant had settled a previous ADA lawsuit… Continue reading
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Pleading ADA defenses: What’s sauce for the goose . . .
A case decided just last week, Dodson v. Strategic Restaurants Acquisition Co., 2013 WL 3120322 (E.D. Cal. 2013) is worth study for any ADA or FHA defense attorney. There is plenty of technically useful information because the Court has provided an extensive survey of cases discussing whether Iqbal and Twombly apply to affirmative defenses. This is an unsettled… Continue reading
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Starbucks and the ADA – more perilous settlements and temporary victories
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… Continue reading
