Courts almost universally agree that the ADA does not require that a plaintiff give notice before filing suit. I have argued that while notice is not a procedural requirement, it should be implied as a substantive requirement for any claim based on a failure to remove barriers because one cannot fail to do something that one has not been asked to do. For a defendant in a barrier removal case there are other arguments to make as well. More
ada violation
ADA standing rules that turn people into stereotypes.
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA, Retail, Shopping Centers Tags: ada litigation, ADA standing, ada violation
The liberal standing rules in the Ninth Circuit seems to benefit advocates for those with disabilities by allowing them to file suits that go far beyond any actual discrimination experienced by the plaintiff. However, this comes at a real cost because this kind of lawsuit encourages the courts and business owners to view “the disabled” as stereotypes rather than individuals. When the law treats everyone with a disability as an abstraction, it isn’t surprising if ordinary business people view the disabled in the same way.
The Ninth Circuit and some other circuits say that when a person with a mobility disability encounters a ramp that does not comply with the ADAAG standards he has suffered the discrimination that the ADA forbids, regardless of whether the steepness of the ramp actually interferes with his ability to use and enjoy the premises. Once he has encountered the non-compliant ramp it is presumed that any other failure to comply with the ADAAG in the same facility would also interfere with his use and enjoyment, at least if they violate guidelines related to mobility disabilities. The plaintiff is not treated as a person: He is treated as a “person with a mobility disability” whose relationship to architectural barriers is completely abstract. Is he proud of his strength and fitness, which makes a ramp that is slightly too steep irrelevant? It doesn’t matter. For purposes of the ADA the court will treat him as if he were weak. Has he developed strategies for overcoming things that might be barriers to others? It doesn’t matter. For purposes of the ADA the court will treat him as if he were completely helpless. 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
Obesity and disability – demographics will drive litigation.
By richardhunt in Accessibility Litigation Trends, ADA FHA General, ADA FHA Litigation General, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers Tags: ada litigation, ada violation, FHA Litigation, private lawsuits, real-estate, restaurants, retail
The obesity epidemic that attracts so much attention in terms of public health serves as an additional reason for businesses and property owners to pay attention to ADA and FHA accessibility issues. The statistics are well known and striking. In the last 40 years obesity (Body Mass Index >30) has increased from around 12% to more than 30% of the population. Extreme obesity (Body Mass Index > 40) has increased from around 1% to more than 6% of the population. (http://win.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/index.htm) If current trends continue, extreme obesity will become as common as mobility disabilities, which affect around 7.5% of the population (http://www.pascenter.org) . More