An Arizona Father Wins Big for His Disabled Son
A routine trip to a shopping mall for a father and his young son turned into an opportunity for social change.
Last year, an Arizona father and his young son went to a shopping mall for dinner. But the owners of shopping mall wouldn't let them into the restaurant.
The son uses a wheelchair and the owners made the shopping mall inaccessible for people in wheelchairs.
Rather than teach his son about giving up, this father decided to do something about it. He knew that for over twenty years the Americans with Disabilities Act has made it illegal for shopping malls to exclude people with disabilities.
The father approached our law firm for representation. He wanted to see the shopping center comply with the law. He knew that we would share his vision that all families with disabled members should have equal access to public places.
We went to work. We filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court of Arizona, arguing that the owners of the shopping mall were violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The shopping mall owners tried to have our case thrown out of court, arguing that only the son could bring the lawsuit, not the father.
We argued that the father has also suffered a legally recognized injury. The father was harmed by being denied the right to access the mall along with his son.
In March 2013, the Chief Judge for the District of Arizona ruled in our client's favor. The court held that the father's lawsuit could go forward. The court recognized that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects the father as well as the son.
This ruling strengthens the rights of all families with disabled members to associate together in public places. The ruling confirms that family members have a simple remedy to enforce the law.
The promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act was that it would eradicate discrimination against people with disabilities. As our clients are well aware, the promise is not yet reality. In an unrelated case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized that as few as 1 in 10 buildings currently complies with the law. Many private businesses and governments routinely ignore the law. They wait until they face a lawsuit to comply.
The role of the civil rights lawyer is to work with people with disabilities and their families to bring about the law's promise of eradicating discrimination, even if it occurs one case at a time.
Last year, an Arizona father and his young son went to a shopping mall for dinner. But the owners of shopping mall wouldn't let them into the restaurant.
The son uses a wheelchair and the owners made the shopping mall inaccessible for people in wheelchairs.
Rather than teach his son about giving up, this father decided to do something about it. He knew that for over twenty years the Americans with Disabilities Act has made it illegal for shopping malls to exclude people with disabilities.
The father approached our law firm for representation. He wanted to see the shopping center comply with the law. He knew that we would share his vision that all families with disabled members should have equal access to public places.
We went to work. We filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court of Arizona, arguing that the owners of the shopping mall were violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The shopping mall owners tried to have our case thrown out of court, arguing that only the son could bring the lawsuit, not the father.
We argued that the father has also suffered a legally recognized injury. The father was harmed by being denied the right to access the mall along with his son.
In March 2013, the Chief Judge for the District of Arizona ruled in our client's favor. The court held that the father's lawsuit could go forward. The court recognized that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects the father as well as the son.
This ruling strengthens the rights of all families with disabled members to associate together in public places. The ruling confirms that family members have a simple remedy to enforce the law.
The promise of the Americans with Disabilities Act was that it would eradicate discrimination against people with disabilities. As our clients are well aware, the promise is not yet reality. In an unrelated case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized that as few as 1 in 10 buildings currently complies with the law. Many private businesses and governments routinely ignore the law. They wait until they face a lawsuit to comply.
The role of the civil rights lawyer is to work with people with disabilities and their families to bring about the law's promise of eradicating discrimination, even if it occurs one case at a time.