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Amputee sues Cadillac hotel for ADA violations
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/amputee-...uding-faulty-toilet-paper-dispenser/371903917
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. - A door peephole installed too high and an improperly-mounted toilet paper dispenser are among complaints cited by a Montcalm County amputee in a lawsuit targeting a Cadillac hotel for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids says violations were found in the parking lot, hotel lobby and in guest rooms at Hampton Inn.
A hotel manager said Friday, Dec. 16 the business is ADA compliant and called the lawsuit “frivolous.’’
It was filed by an Ohio lawyer who has brought other lawsuits against businesses for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which celebrated its 26th anniversary in July.
Rudolph Betancourt, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and leg amputee who uses a wheelchair, filed the lawsuit this week based on his experience at the hotel in August. It is the third federal lawsuit Betancourt and Toledo attorney Owen B. Dunn Jr. have filed since September against Michigan businesses for alleged ADA violations.
“In addition to accessibility concerns, he also voiced displeasure about the cleanliness of the accommodations, cars blocking the access ramps, no television service during his stay and overall a terrible night,’’ Dunn wrote in the 8-page complaint filed Dec. 13.
Betancourt, who lives in the Montcalm County community of Fenwick, acts as a “tester for the purpose of discovering, encountering and engaging discrimination against the disabled in public accommodations,’’ according to the lawsuit.
“Betancourt travels all over Western Michigan with his family and was in the area most recently to visit Mitchell State Park,’’ the lawsuit says. During his Aug. 8 stay at the hotel on South Mitchell Street, Betancourt encountered “architectural barriers’’ that endangered his safety, according to the lawsuit.
Nineteen violations are mentioned. They include inadequate knee and toe clearance in the bathroom, missing or non-compliant bathroom grab bars and a light switch mounted too high. Improperly-mounted toilet paper dispensers also made the list.
Betancourt wants to visit the hotel as a guest and “assure himself that this property is in compliance with the ADA so that he and others similarly situated will have full and equal enjoyment of the property without fear of discrimination,’’ the lawsuit says.
Hotel manager Jason Day on Friday disputed claims in the lawsuit, saying the hotel has undergone extensive work to improve accommodations for the handicapped.
“This is the first time we’ve dealt with something like this, trying to nitpick everything and find anything they could,’’ he said. “We’ve done everything by code.’’
Betancourt in September filed a federal lawsuit against an Oakland County Burger King restaurant for alleged violations encountered during an Aug. 5 visit. They include problems with a parking ramp, pavement cracks and an insufficient number of handicap-accessible parking spaces. He sued a Holiday Inn Express in Flint last month for alleged violations found in the lobby, restrooms and parking lot. It stems from a visit to the hotel on Aug. 13.
Those two cases are pending in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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http://www.wzzm13.com/news/amputee-...uding-faulty-toilet-paper-dispenser/371903917
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. - A door peephole installed too high and an improperly-mounted toilet paper dispenser are among complaints cited by a Montcalm County amputee in a lawsuit targeting a Cadillac hotel for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids says violations were found in the parking lot, hotel lobby and in guest rooms at Hampton Inn.
A hotel manager said Friday, Dec. 16 the business is ADA compliant and called the lawsuit “frivolous.’’
It was filed by an Ohio lawyer who has brought other lawsuits against businesses for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which celebrated its 26th anniversary in July.
Rudolph Betancourt, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and leg amputee who uses a wheelchair, filed the lawsuit this week based on his experience at the hotel in August. It is the third federal lawsuit Betancourt and Toledo attorney Owen B. Dunn Jr. have filed since September against Michigan businesses for alleged ADA violations.
“In addition to accessibility concerns, he also voiced displeasure about the cleanliness of the accommodations, cars blocking the access ramps, no television service during his stay and overall a terrible night,’’ Dunn wrote in the 8-page complaint filed Dec. 13.
Betancourt, who lives in the Montcalm County community of Fenwick, acts as a “tester for the purpose of discovering, encountering and engaging discrimination against the disabled in public accommodations,’’ according to the lawsuit.
“Betancourt travels all over Western Michigan with his family and was in the area most recently to visit Mitchell State Park,’’ the lawsuit says. During his Aug. 8 stay at the hotel on South Mitchell Street, Betancourt encountered “architectural barriers’’ that endangered his safety, according to the lawsuit.
Nineteen violations are mentioned. They include inadequate knee and toe clearance in the bathroom, missing or non-compliant bathroom grab bars and a light switch mounted too high. Improperly-mounted toilet paper dispensers also made the list.
Betancourt wants to visit the hotel as a guest and “assure himself that this property is in compliance with the ADA so that he and others similarly situated will have full and equal enjoyment of the property without fear of discrimination,’’ the lawsuit says.
Hotel manager Jason Day on Friday disputed claims in the lawsuit, saying the hotel has undergone extensive work to improve accommodations for the handicapped.
“This is the first time we’ve dealt with something like this, trying to nitpick everything and find anything they could,’’ he said. “We’ve done everything by code.’’
Betancourt in September filed a federal lawsuit against an Oakland County Burger King restaurant for alleged violations encountered during an Aug. 5 visit. They include problems with a parking ramp, pavement cracks and an insufficient number of handicap-accessible parking spaces. He sued a Holiday Inn Express in Flint last month for alleged violations found in the lobby, restrooms and parking lot. It stems from a visit to the hotel on Aug. 13.
Those two cases are pending in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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