On Friday, Susan McKay filed a class action complaint in the Western District of Michigan against Border Foods, Inc. and Border Foods of Wisconsin, LLC alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the complaint, the defendants collectively own, lease and operate at least 189 Taco Bell restaurants in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The complaint states the named plaintiff is a member of a protected class under the ADA as a person with a mobility disability as she must use a wheelchair for mobility.
The plaintiff alleges that she visited the defendants’ Taco Bell facility in Battle Creek, Michigan, where she experienced unnecessary difficulty and risk of physical harm exiting and entering her vehicle and navigating the facilities due to the facilities ADA accessibility violations. In particular, the plaintiff alleges the defendants’ maintenance and operational policies, practices or procedures have systematically and routinely resulted in excessive sloping conditions in the parking areas of the defendants’ facilities in violation of the ADA.
According to the complaint, after the plaintiff’s difficulty at the Battle Creek location, the plaintiff hired investigators to examine multiple locations owned by the defendants’ for possible ADA violations. According to the plaintiff, these investigators found ADA violations for excessive slope at over 15 other locations owned by the defendant. The plaintiff argues this illustrates that the defendants’ existing policies, practices or procedures are discriminatory, unreasonable, inadequate and routinely result in excessive sloping conditions in the parking spaces in violation of the ADA.
The plaintiff seeks class certification for all wheelchair users with qualified mobility disabilities who were denied the full and equal enjoyment of the defendant’s goods, services and facilities on the basis of their disability. Further, the plaintiff seeks declaratory judgment, injunctive relief and payment of attorney’s fees and costs on behalf of herself and the members of the class for the defendants’ violation of ADA Title III. The plaintiffs are represented by Nye, Stirling, Hale & Miller, LLP.
