Case Of Interest
Many restaurateurs ask what exactly their responsibility is, according to the ADA, when it comes to patrons with visual impairments. Here is a case that sites some specifics regarding your industry. Link to full documents at the bottom.
Excerpt from U.S. Court of Appeals Case
Camarillo vs. Carrols Corp.
United States Court Of Appeals For The Second Circuit – August Term, 2007
(Argued: January 10, 2008 – Decided: February 8, 2008) Docket No. 06-4909-cv
See the links below for additional information on this case & the Americans with Disabilities Act
Title III of the ADA provides that “[n]o individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation.” 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a).
Discrimination is defined by the Act to include “a failure to take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless the entity can demonstrate that taking such steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the good, service, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation being offered or would result in an undue burden.” Id. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(iii).
Regulations promulgated under these provisions by the United States Department of Justice provide that “public accommodation[s] shall furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities.” 28 C.F.R. § 36.303(c).
To state a claim under Title III, Camarillo must allege (1) that she is disabled within the meaning of the ADA; (2) that defendants own, lease, or operate a place of public accommodation; and (3) that defendants discriminated against her by denying her a full and equal opportunity to enjoy the services defendants provide. See 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a); Molski v. M.J. Cable, Inc., 481 F.3d 724, 730 (9th Cir. 2007); Powell v. Nat’l Bd. of Med. Exam’rs., 364F.3d 79, 85 (2d Cir. 2004); Stan v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 111 F. Supp. 2d 119, 124 (N.D.N.Y.
2 2000).
Only the last element is disputed here. Camarillo argues that her complaint sufficiently alleges that she was not afforded a “full and equal” opportunity to enjoy the services at defendants’ restaurants because the restaurants provided neither a large print menu that she could read, nor any other means to ensure “effective communication” of their menu options. Defendants contend that all that is required under the ADA is for their employees to be “available” to read the menus to Camarillo. They argue that Camarillo’s allegations at most amount to a complaint about poor or impolite service, and that the ADA does not provide a remedy for occasional service failures.
Assuming the allegations in the complaint are true and drawing all reasonable inferences in plaintiff’s favor, we find that Camarillo has adequately pleaded that she has standing and that defendants violated the ADA. The complaint alleges that on multiple visits to each of defendants’ restaurants, Camarillo informed employees that because of her disability she could not read the menu herself, and that the employees “often” responded with annoyance or impatience, at best reading her only a “part” of the menu. Camarillo alleges that at a McDonald’s restaurant operated by Magliocca Stores, Inc., for instance, a cashier pointed to promotional literature and insisted that it constituted the menu. Compl. 42 As even defendants acknowledge, the ADA and the regulations promulgated thereunder require owners of public accommodations to “ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities.” 28 C.F.R. § 36.303(c).
While restaurants are not necessarily required to have on hand large print menus that Camarillo would be able to read, they are required to ensure that their menu options are effectively communicated to individuals who, like Camarillo, are legally blind. See U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Americans with Disabilities Act – Guide for Places of Lodging:
3 Serving Guests Who Are Blind or Who Have Low Vision 9 (2001), available at
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/lodblind.pdf. Put simply, Camarillo cannot experience “full and equal enjoyment” of defendants’ services if she is unable to access the list of the services available to her.
The District Court interpreted Camarillo’s complaint as conceding that “restaurant employees at all of defendants’ establishments were willing and able to read her the menus.” Camarillo, 2006 WL 2795238, at *3. But on a motion to dismiss, the only fair inference to draw from Camarillo’s complaint is that on numerous occasions, employees at defendants’ restaurants were at best willing to read her part of the menu, and that they were unwilling to communicate effectively the range of options available to her. This is sufficient to state a claim under the ADA.
We do not disagree with the District Court that “legislation such as the ADA cannot regulate individuals’ conduct so as to ensure that they will never be rude or insensitive to persons with disabilities.” Id. (quoting Stan, 111 F. Supp. 2d at 126-27). However, Camarillo alleges more than mere rudeness or insensitivity, and more than one or two isolated mistakes.
Rather, a reasonable inference to be drawn from her complaint is that defendants failed to adopt policies or procedures to effectively train their employees how to deal with disabled individuals. Such a failure to train can constitute a violation of the ADA, which requires owners of public accommodations, with limited exceptions not applicable here, “to take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services.” 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(iii) (emphases added); see also Stan, 111 F. Supp. 2d3 at 127 (“[U]nder the ADA, [d]efendants 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 out and enforced.”).