Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition v. Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

835 F. Supp. 2d 1077, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97784, 2011 WL 4002250
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedAugust 31, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 09-cv-02757-WYD-KMT
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 835 F. Supp. 2d 1077 (Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition v. Abercrombie & Fitch Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition v. Abercrombie & Fitch Co., 835 F. Supp. 2d 1077, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97784, 2011 WL 4002250 (D. Colo. 2011).

Opinion

ORDER

WILEY Y. DANIEL, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, filed March 16, 2011, [ECF No. 87]. Defendants filed their Response in Opposition on May 11, 2011, [ECF No. 93] and Plaintiffs filed their reply on May 27, 2011, [ECF No. 96]. On May 31, 2011, a Statement of Interest regarding Plaintiffs’ motion was filed by the United States, [ECF No. 97], On June 8, 2011, Defendants filed an Unopposed Motion for Leave to Respond to the Statement of Interest [ECF No. 101]. Defendants’ motion will be granted and their responsive considered.

II. BACKGROUND

The factual background of this case was set forth in this Court’s Order denying Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Standing, originally entered May 18, 2011. It will not be repeated here. Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment requests summary judgment on the issue of [1078]*1078whether the entrances to Defendants’1 Hollister clothing stores located at the Park Meadows and Orchard Town Center malls in suburban Denver violate Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Standard

Pursuant to Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court may grant summary judgment where “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the ... moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Equal Employment Opportunity Comm. v. Horizon/CMS Healthcare Corp., 220 F.3d 1184, 1190 (10th Cir.2000). “When applying this standard, the court must ‘view the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment.’ ” Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Farm Credit Bank of Wichita, 226 F.3d 1138, 1148 (10th Cir.2000) (citation omitted). All doubts must be resolved in favor of the existence of triable issues of fact. Boren v. Southwestern Bell Tel. Co., 933 F.2d 891, 892 (10th Cir.1991).

B. Undisputed Material Facts

The parties agree on some of the material facts regarding this motion. The Hollister stores at issue were both built after the passage of the ADA. Although one store is in an enclosed, “indoor” mall (Park Meadows) and the other is in an “outdoor mall” (Orchard Town Center), the design of the front of the stores is the same, at least for purposes of this motion.

Each store has a raised porch-like platform that is two steps above ground level. It is not accessible to people in wheelchairs. The platform is covered by a roof and contains a door leading into the store. Inside the door are two steps down into either the half of the store with goods for males or the other half with goods for females. On each side of the ‘porch structure,’ are two doors at ground level.2 The stores adjacent to the Hollister stores at both malls have ground level entrances. Consequently the steps at the Hollister stores are purely ornamental. The porch structure creates an aesthetic which is a valuable part of Defendant Hollister’s branding efforts.

C. Arguments of the Parties and Non-party

Plaintiffs’ arguments start with the policy statements regarding the aims of the ADA and the timing for the requirements that new buildings be “readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.” 42 U.S.C. § 12183(a)(1). As mentioned, the parties agree that the Hollister stores were built after this ADA requirement went into effect. They also agree that no exceptions apply to these stores. There is no ‘feasability’ issue in this case.

In particular, Plaintiffs allege that those stores violate the ADA regulation that re[1079]*1079quires that accessible entrances, where feasible, shall be the entrances used by the majority of people visiting or working in the building. 28 C.F.R. § 36.406 Appendix A-1991 Standard for Accessible Design 4.1.3(8)(a) [hereinafter “Design Standard — .—”].3 Plaintiffs go on to note that the ADA encourages that facilities be provided in the “most integrated setting appropriate.” 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(1)(B). A discussion of the statutory aim of ending the segregation of handicapped individuals and allowing them, whenever possible, to use the same facilities as individuals who are not disabled is also discussed by Plaintiffs. It is their view that the two entrances that frame the porch-like structure of the central door are ‘separate’ and ‘different’ entrances that are an important part of what the statutory plan was attempting to preclude.

It is Defendants’ contention that the Hollister stores do not violate the ADA, its regulations or standards. Their briefs contain several arguments in support of this position. The first is that the words in the Design Standard quoted above including the words “where feasible,” are an aspirational standard that essentially can be ignored when adequate accessible entrances are provided. This argument must be rejected in light of the use of the mandatory “shall” in that sentence.

As an alternative, Defendants argue that even if the three doors at the front of Hollister stores comprise three separate entrances, the feasability standard set forth in Design Standard 4.1.3(8)(a), by its own terms, refers only to entrances used by the majority of people entering the facility. Only for those ‘majority use’ doors does the Design Standard relied upon by Plaintiffs express that they should be accessible if feasible. Defendants argue that Plaintiffs have presented no evidence to show that the center door is the majority use door and it would be improper for the Court to assume this ‘crucial’ fact. Furthermore, they contend that as the center door involves a ‘more arduous and less direct route,’ it would make no sense for the Court to assume the center door is used by a majority of customers.

Defendants rely on another subsection of the same Design Standard to argue that the doors at the Hollister stores meet the requirement that “[a]t least 50% of all public entrances ... must be accessible.” Design Standard 4.1.3(8)(a)(i).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
835 F. Supp. 2d 1077, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 97784, 2011 WL 4002250, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colorado-cross-disability-coalition-v-abercrombie-fitch-co-cod-2011.