restaurants
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ADA and FHA Policies – One size does not fit all.
“Defendants cannot guarantee that an individual employee will not act inappropriately in a particular instance. However, under the ADA, Defendants can and must ensure that they adopt the proper policies and procedures to train their employees on dealing with disabled individuals and make reasonable efforts to ensure that those policies and procedures are properly carried… Continue reading
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The next wave – ADA lawsuits against touchscreen POS devices
Touchscreen point-of-sale devices are ubiquitous, and the next wave of ADA lawsuits will undoubtedly be against businesses that use them. This is easy to predict because on April 10 the DOJ filed a “Statement of Interest” supporting the claims of the plaintiff in New v. Lucky Brand Dungarees Stores, Inc. (Case No. 14-CV-20574 in the Southern… Continue reading
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Curb cuts, accessible parking and avoiding ADA litigation
95% of the ADA lawsuits filed in Texas and elsewhere seem to start with barriers to access in the parking lot. It isn’t hard to understand why. Before the effective date and for many years afterwards business owners believed that a ramp up to the existing curb next to a marked parking spot was all… 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