A lawsuit filed by two women who are confined to wheelchairs alleges that the Genius Bar at Apple’s San Francisco retail store is in violation of federal accessibility laws. Jana Overbo and Nichole Brown-Booker said in the lawsuit that they visited the two story store and found several access issues: elevator buttons and products were out of reach, there was no wheelchair space in the theater, and a too-high Genius Bar prevented the staff from seeing the women or allowing the women to interact during their appointment. The women also noted that the store’s staff, who didn’t offer them assistance. As with other lawsuits filed under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the women asked in the lawsuit that the accessibility issues be corrected, and also for compensation for their emotional and physical losses.
The lawsuit was filed by attorneys for the Paul L. Rien law firm in Oakland (Calif.), which specializes in disability rights issues. The lawsuit is unlike the many class-action lawsuits filed against Apple, since it involves just two specific plaintiffs. The class-actions are usually filed by representative plaintiffs, who then solicit others who are affected to join the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is also different from many other ADA lawsuits that have been filed across the country under the ADA, so-called “drive-through” lawsuits generated by attorneys seeking to generate revenue and not remedies. The ADA allows lawsuits to be filed even if there is no specific victim or actual damages. That provision has generated hundreds of lawsuits, filed by attorneys and plaintiffs who have only driven past the defendant business, but who have never actually visited the interior of the building. Many businesses have chosen to settle for moderate amounts of money rather than fight the lawsuit, and then to also fix the accessibility issues.
In this case, both Overbo and Brown-Booker state in the lawsuit they are Apple product users and intend to return to the San Francisco store when the accessibility issues are remedied.
The court’s scheduling order in the case notes that both parties will hold joint inspections of the premises by December 3rd, and then have until December 13th to hold meet-and-confer sessions to discuss a settlement. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, they must then file a mediation notice with the court 45 days after the site inspection.
Some original store configurations include specific access for those in wheelchairs, including a pull-out shelf at the end of the old-style Corian Genius Bar.
Download (pdf) the women’s lawsuit filing.
Apple’s individual retail store Web pages have at least two standard paragraphs that are sometimes displayed about “special needs,” both saying the company is “committed” to providing assistance, and asking such customers to give the store “reasonable advance notice.”
