Snyder v. Lady Slings Booze, LLC

73 F. Supp. 3d 871, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176992, 2014 WL 7366665
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Kentucky
DecidedDecember 24, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 3:12-CV-00659-CRS
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 73 F. Supp. 3d 871 (Snyder v. Lady Slings Booze, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Snyder v. Lady Slings Booze, LLC, 73 F. Supp. 3d 871, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176992, 2014 WL 7366665 (W.D. Ky. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHARLES R. SIMPSON III, Senior District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the renewed motion of Plaintiff Howard Stephen Snyder for partial summary judgment (DN 37). Plaintiff asserts that he is entitled to summary judgment on his claim of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12182. For the following reasons, the Court will grant Plaintiffs renewed motion for partial summary judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff suffers from muscular dystrophy, a disease that impairs his mobility to the extent that he must use a motorized wheelchair.1 On June 8, 2012, Plaintiff tried to enter a bar known as Third Street Dive, which Defendant Lady Slings the Booze, LLC, owns and operates. Third Street Dive’s entrance directly abuts a public sidewalk and has a step of approximately four inches in height at the doorway’s threshold. Upon inquiry with the bar’s manager, Plaintiff learned that Defendant did not provide a ramp of any kind to aid wheelchair users in accessing the facility. The parties dispute what next occurred. Plaintiff claims that Defendant excluded him from bar based on the allegation that the step violated the ADA, but Defendant asserts that it denied Plaintiffs entry because he appeared intoxicated, behaved belligerently, and refused to pay the cover charge.

Prior to that incident, Defendant did apply for a building permit to eliminate the four-inch step with a permanent ramp. (Building Permit, Jan. 13, 2011, DN 28-1.) However, the permit application was denied because a permanent ramp at that location would create a tripping hazard by reducing the useable width of the public sidewalk. (Building Permit, Jan. 13, 2011, DN 28-1; Wohlleb and Brown Emails, DN 28-1; Barcenas Aff., DN 28-1, ¶ 8.) In place of a ramp, Defendant instructed its employees to assist wheelchair users by lifting or pushing them over the four-inch step. (Frost Aff., DN 28-1, ¶ 4; McDaniel Aff;, DN 28-1, ¶ 4; see also Barcenas Aff., DN 28-1, ¶¶ 5-6.) Defendant maintains that such human assistance is its preferred method of providing access to wheelchair users and that offering human assistance alone satisfies its legal obligations. Defendant nonetheless admits that, after this litigation commenced, it did purchase a portable ramp for the entrance of Third Street Dive, but it still argues that the use of a portable ramp is unnecessary. (Barcenas Aff., DN 28-1, ¶ 9; Darr Aff., DN 28-1, ¶ 10; Frost Aff., DN 281, ¶5.) -

On October 15, 2012, Plaintiff filed this action alleging discrimination (Count I) and retaliation (Count II) in violation of the ADA. (Compl., DN 1; see Am. Compl., DN 6.) On September 15, 2013, Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on his ADA discrimination claim (DN 27). Plaintiff argued that no genuine dispute existed regarding Defendant’s failure to remove an architectural barrier as required by the ADA. Then, on October 22, 2013, Defendant moved for summary judgment on both the discrimination and retaliation claims (DN 30). First, Defendant argued that the discrimination claim failed because removal of the step was not readily achievable and human assistance satisfied its ADA obligations. Second, Defendant [873]*873argued that the retaliation claim failed because Plaintiff was denied admission based on his alleged intoxication, belligerent behavior, and refusal to pay the cover charge.

On May 21, 2014, the Court denied both parties’ motions. (Mem. Op., May 21, 2014, DN 34, 2014 WL 2118075; Order, May 21, 2014, DN 35) The Court denied Plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment based on his failure 'to support the motion with citations to materials contained in the record as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c). With respect to Defendant’s motion, the Court denied summary judgment on the discrimination claim because Defendant failed to carry its burden in showing that a portable ramp was not readily achievable. Additionally, the Court concluded that a genuine issue of material fact existed regarding the reason Plaintiff was denied admission to the bar. That factual dispute precluded summary judgment on the retaliation claim.

On June 3, 2014, Plaintiff filed a renewed motion for summary judgment (DN 37), correcting the lack of citations in its previous motion. Once again, Plaintiff calls upon this Court to grant summary judgment in his favor on the ADA discrimination claim based on Defendant’s failure to remove the four-inch step as an architectural barrier.2

II. STANDARD

The Court shall grant summary judgment if “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of .explaining the basis of its motion and demonstrating that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). That burden may be satisfied only by “citing to particular parts of materials in the record” or “showing that the materials cited do not establish the ... presence of a genuine dispute.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1). Should the movant meet its burden, the nonmov-ing party may not simply rest on its prior pleadings; it must produce further evidence showing a genuine issue for trial. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

When considering a motion for summary judgment, the Court must view the facts and draw reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 378, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007). Even so, the nonmoving party “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). A genuine issue of material fact exists “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). “The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [nonmoving party’s] position will be insufficient....” Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

III. DISCUSSION

Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in [874]*874places of public accommodation. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a).

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73 F. Supp. 3d 871, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176992, 2014 WL 7366665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/snyder-v-lady-slings-booze-llc-kywd-2014.