Published on: | by

What to do when you receive an ADA Compliance Questionnaire from the U.S. Department of Justice

Earlier this year, I wrote about the the sweeping scope of the DOJ’s ADA Compliance Review Survey of Manhattan hotels.  Today, I’ll answer questions about what to do if you receive such a questionnaire from the DOJ.  Be aware that if you receive an ADA questionnaire from the DOJ, it is very likely its investigators have already been to your establishment and have identified some issues of concern.

If I am a hotel owner or manager and I get an envelope from the DOJ with the ADA Compliance Review questionnaire inside. What do I do?

Continue ›

Published on: | by

ADA Lawyer Update: California Supreme Court decision likely to fuel increased ADA litigation, but the Certified Access Specialists program (CASp) offers some protection


A step backward

In a decision that is likely to lead to more lawsuits filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California’s disabled access laws, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled on June 12, 2009 that plaintiffs do not have to prove “intentional discrimination” to recover the $4,000 minimum statutory damages provided, per occurrence, under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.

Continue ›

Published on: | by

The Global Financial Crisis is motivating lenders, developers and operators to get creative. We at JMBM are busy looking at opportunities with our clients to purchase and/or reposition distressed hotel properties, unsold condo hotels or condo hotel inventory, and unsold timeshares and timeshare inventory. Some of these properties will need to be renovated and repurposed to compete in this difficult market. It is important to understand what physical modifications to a timeshare, hotel or other facility may involve upgrades under the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state disabled access laws.


How can you determine if your property is compliant with applicable access laws?

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against individuals “on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges,

Continue ›

Published on: | by

ADA Compliance perspective

With the increasing importance of ADA compliance for hotels, restaurants, and other public places, we are lucky to have a team that can help set up ADA compliance approaches and programs to minimize later issues on new construction, rehab, and defense of ADA claims from the government or private litigants. Our team is led by Marty Orlick, a seasoned veteran who has seen ADA issues tested in defending more than 300 ADA lawsuits, many of them involving hotels, restaurants and hospitality facilities.

Marty stresses that our role is not avoid the ADA, but rather to help clients interpret the often murky requirement to understand what their obligations are and develop reasonable plans for compliance that are likely to meet the test of future challenge.

Continue ›

Published on: | by

The Department of Justice “ADA Sweeps” in NYC’s Times Square theater district

I have been defending clients in a number of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) ADA investigations. A number of our clients have properties in New York City, and one of them was included in the DOJ’s “Manhattan Hotels/Time Square Theater District ADA Compliance Review Survey”, a sweep of hotels around Time Square. I am the only California lawyer involved in this DOJ investigation. A complaint was lodged by a disabled tourist with the DOJ against one of the 60 Theater District hotels, not our client’s property. Some of the hotels are over 100 years old, while others are newly built or renovated properties. Below are some of the questions I have been asked about this “ADA Sweep”.

Why is the DOJ auditing hotels about ADA compliance?

Continue ›

Published on: | by

Target Corporation was sued under the ADA for inaccessibility of its website

We gave you an early heads up about how lawsuits brought under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) can target your website or online reservation system . . . and what you should do about it now. (See “How your company’s website can make you a target for ADA lawsuits”.)

Now there is much more.

Continue ›

Published on: | by

A “professional plaintiff” that has filed more than 400 nearly identical lawsuits against hotels, restaurants and other businesses in California may have to find a new line of work. The U.S. Supreme has let stand a prior ruling that this serial plaintiff, and his lawyer, cannot file ADA lawsuits without first obtaining the court’s permission.

On November 17, 2008, the United States Supreme Court let stand a key Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that a “serial plaintiff” and his attorney, who had filed more than 400 lawsuits against California businesses, could not file repeated Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) lawsuits against business owners without first obtaining court permission. In all but one of the 400 cases, the businesses settled out of court, avoiding substantial defense costs and time needed to fight the litigation.

A federal judge in Los Angeles called these litigation tactics “extortion” and based on trumped up claims of injury. The United States Supreme Court refused to grant a hearing to review the appellate court’s highly extraordinary ruling in the case, Molski v. Evergreen Dynasty Corp., 08-38, which found the plaintiff and his attorney to be “vexatious” for filing over 400 virtually identical ADA lawsuits in federal court.

The ruling is important because the lower courts found that the lawsuits were filed for improper purposes, even though barriers to accessibility existed at many of the businesses. Continue ›

Published on: | by

The ADA Compliance and Defense Blog asks Marty Orlick, Chair of JMBM’s ADA Compliance & Defense Group about ADA litigation involving pool lifts

ADA lawsuits regarding pool lifts sound like a very specialized and narrow category of claim.  Is this a threat of any real significance?

Last year, I would estimate that there were 50-100 ADA lawsuits in California alone, involving pools for hotels, health clubs and spas. I personally handled 5 ADA lawsuits involving hotel pools in 2006.

Continue ›

Published on: | by

How can the ADA apply to web sites?

While most hoteliers are aware of how the ADA affects architectural barriers, paths of travel, parking spaces, swimming pools and even guests’ service animals, a recent court ruling has opened up an entirely new area to litigation: websites.

When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted by Congress in July 1990, the Internet was in its infancy and few, if any, considered its applicability to cyberspace. But a San Francisco Federal judge’s recent decision not to dismiss a discrimination case against retailer Target Corporation has brought the issue to the forefront. Believed to be the first court ruling determining that the ADA’s architectural barrier requirements can apply to the Website of a private business, the stage is now set for increased ADA litigation involving Web accessibility.

Continue ›

Published on: | by

Service animals are not pets

According to the law, service animals are not pets. Whether your hotel is “pet friendly” or a “no pets” establishment does not affect your obligation to treat disabled guests with service animals like all other guests: they are to be provided the same services and access to all areas of the hotel’s property that other guests are allowed such as pool areas, laundries, business centers, lobbies, restaurants and so on. Health codes that prohibit animals in restaurants do not apply to service animals.

Many states, such as California, recognize “service canines,” such as sight or guide dogs, signal dogs and seizure alert dogs. But under the ADA, which is enforced throughout the 50 U.S. states, the definition of “service animals” includes any kind of animal individually trained to provide assistance. Service monkeys have been encountered and can provide legitimate services to the disabled. But the potential for abusing the “service animals” designation is obvious, so what can hotel staff do?

Continue ›