Disney wins First DAS ADA Discrimination Lawsuit

[avagaston]

https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202012720.pdf

It took a bit longer than I expected bu@t the court affirmed the judgment in Disney’s favor in the lead DAS lawsuit.

@jcb
what are the options now?

 

[NightGuardianAngel]

As far as the DAS goes, the way I feel about it is that it is fair to everyone. People who could not wait in a physical line due to a legitimate disability can wait their turn elsewhere in the park and go participate in other activities while they are waiting their turn for the attraction of choice is the purpose of the DAS. To me (I am on the autism spectrum), this is fair to all guests. To be honest, standing in line may be a sensory overload for some who are on the autism spectrum and the DAS would allow them to wait in an environment that is quiet and that is more sensory friendly as some people with autism cannot tolerate being in close proximity of others for long periods of time. The ADA requires that reasonable accommodation be made to provide equal access. Also, the fact that you can go on a virtual chat and get the DAS pass and pre-select two return times per day is definitely something that Disney went out of their way to do and is not required by the ADA since those who do not qualify for the DAS cannot pre-book times, even if they purchase Genie Plus. The one thing i would suggest is for Disney to have a sensory and calming room at all of its parks just like Dollywood, Legoland, Cedar Point, and Space Center Houston has. I am so happy Disney won. All children have to learn to wait their turn regardless of disability and that the world does not revolve around them. We have to wait our turn even at grocery stores, driver’s license office, airports, doctors and dentist offices, restaurants, etc. Thank goodness at many places, we can wait in a virtual queue and receive a text when we are next in line and that many restaurants have mobile order and mobile pay via apps as well too.

Children today are a lot more blessed then I was when I was a kid back in the 1980s. At Six Flags Astroworld in Houston, TX, there was no such thing as such passes. Everyone waited in the same line regardless during that time (that time pre-dates the ADA).

 

[jcb]

@jcb
what are the options now?

Nothing very good. Getting the appeals court to overturn the lower court was itself a longshot. The odds are even worse now. The plaintiffs could ask for reconsideration or they could ask the Supreme Court to review the case. Both are minimum 1000 to 1 odds and this decision doesn't satisfy any of the criteria the Supreme Court has used to agree to review a case. Technically, the other cases which have not been tried are still active. But at this point, the families would have to present evidence a good bit more compelling than this family presented to get the judge to rule in their favor. I won't say it could never happen - I don't know the facts in the other cases - but given this decision, it is hard to believe any of the other lawsuit have a snowball's chance in a Florida summer of succeeding.

 

[Narcoossee11]

The only people that are going to win are the lawyers . $$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[GoingSince1990]

Disney absolutely goes above and beyond to welcome and accommodate people with disabilities. I always expected these frivolous lawsuits to fail and I am very happy that I am turning out to be correct in this.

 

[OKW Lover]

https://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202012720.pdf

It took a bit longer than I expected but the court affirmed the judgment in Disney’s favor in the lead DAS lawsuit.

Thanks for posting this Jack. In reading the opinion it sounds like the judge was pretty much hamstrung by the overwhelming evidence provided in the original case by Disney and the lack thereof by the plaintiff.

Hopefully this puts it all to bed.

 

[jcb]

I should mention that I think there is a pending appeal in the Ninth Circuit, which hears federal lawsuits out of California. I’ll have to check up on the status to be sure. The issues are similar though not identical to the WDW claims.

 

[avagaston]

Nothing very good. Getting the appeals court to overturn the lower court was itself a longshot. The odds are even worse now. The plaintiffs could ask for reconsideration or they could ask the Supreme Court to review the case. Both are minimum 1000 to 1 odds and this decision doesn't satisfy any of the criteria the Supreme Court has used to agree to review a case. Technically, the other cases which have not been tried are still active. But at this point, the families would have to present evidence a good bit more compelling than this family presented to get the judge to rule in their favor. I won't say it could never happen - I don't know the facts in the other cases - but given this decision, it is hard to believe any of the other lawsuit have a snowball's chance in a Florida summer of succeeding.

what should they presenty

 

[RoseGold]

"In fact, A.E.P. testified that during their first visit, the family went on at least 42 rides over three half-days at the parks, which he conceded was a “good number” of rides." Wow. Guess DAS worked out OK for them. They sued over that????

 

[peteykirch]

"In fact, A.E.P. testified that during their first visit, the family went on at least 42 rides over three half-days at the parks, which he conceded was a “good number” of rides." Wow. Guess DAS worked out OK for them. They sued over that????

Which is hilarious because I remember research with regards to FP and then FP+ was that the average guest was able to experience between 6-8 attractions a day.

 

[sheilafri]

It seems that the plaintiff in the Florida case wanted to be able to dictate the terms of their ADA accommodations rather than follow Disney rules.

 

[GreatLakes]

It seems that the plaintiff in the Florida case wanted to be able to dictate the terms of their ADA accommodations rather than follow Disney rules.

No, they want front of the line access for any ride at any time. That is the only "accomodation" they will accept as "fair".

Disney brought this in themselves to some extent with the old pass (I forget the name) and despite what some claimed that pass was essentially a skip the line pass. They were mad when that loophole was closed.

The plantifs are using their handicapped children as pawns in a court case and it is sickening.

 

[NightGuardianAngel]

Also to add, the reason why mobility conditions alone do not qualify for DAS is that the lines are wheelchair and ECV accessible for over 90% of the ride (the few that are not would allow a return time without the DAS ) and guests can bring their own wheelchair or ECV or rent them from the park. You cannot any more fair and inclusive than that and this also prevents guests from renting or bringing a wheelchair, canes, walkers, or ECV just to get the DAS pass. I am very grateful that Disney is fair to all guests and if this is not fair and inclusive, then I don’t have a clue what is. The ADA only requires reasonable accommodations and Disney has been very reasonable. Allowing guests to cut in front of the line is not reasonable.

Also, a lot of theme parks, such as Universal Studios, Cedar Fair, Dollywood, Six Flags, Sea World, Legoland, etc, has a very similar approach as a result of Disney rolling out the DAS pass, however Disney is the only one that allows pre-qualification pre-selections on their system via a virtual chat.

 

[jcb]

I mentioned the lawsuit challenging DAS at Disneyland. The district court dismissed the claims and the court of appeals had scheduled oral argument for yesterday (10/18/2022). Last week, however, the parties agreed to dismiss the appeal. That typically means the parties settled, though with Disney's track record on these cases, that's doubtful. What sometimes happens is the parties agree that if the appeal is dismissed, the winner will not seek the payment of court costs which here required the losers pay $86,387.39 to Disney. I'm speculating that this happened but not having an $86k debt hanging over your head is a powerful incentive to stop the bleeding.

I am pretty comfortable saying this move ends the litigation at Disneyland over DAS. For now.

I haven't seen anything on the other DAS lawsuits in Florida. I had some technical issues a bit ago that might have caused me to miss some filings. I'd expect the trial court in Florida will start pushing the plaintiffs to say whether they intend to keep pursuing their claims.

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks for the update Jack!

 

[jcb]

As anticipated. This afternoon (10/19/2022), 21 stipulations of dismissal were filed in what I assume are all the remaining lawsuits by families who sought to challenge the adoption of DAS at WDW. I looked at one stipulation and it stated the dismissal was "with prejudice" meaning, for the most part, that the lawsuits / claims cannot be refiled. I'm comfortable assuming all 21 say that as well.

The families filed the initial complaint on April 3, 2014, to give you an idea how long it can take to resolve civil lawsuits. Eight and a half years is longer than most litigation but shorter than some others.

I remember writing the first of several articles on the lawsuit. I was in a hospital waiting on my father to finish a procedure that ultimately turned out to show he had pancreatic cancer. He survived it, miraculously for eight more years until after he turned 90. The litigation outlasted him. Pete later told me my article about the complaint was the most viewed article published on The DIS to that point, at least, that how I remember it.... After being up only 7 hours, it had over 9000 shares and more than 14,000 page views. I was almost viral.

This also illustrates that litigation very often ends with a whimper rather than with herald trumpets.

 

[avagaston]

As anticipated. This afternoon (10/19/2022), 21 stipulations of dismissal were filed in what I assume are all the remaining lawsuits by families who sought to challenge the adoption of DAS at WDW. I looked at one stipulation and it stated the dismissal was "with prejudice" meaning, for the most part, that the lawsuits / claims cannot be refiled. I'm comfortable assuming all 21 say that as well.

The families filed the initial complaint on April 3, 2014, to give you an idea how long it can take to resolve civil lawsuits. Eight and a half years is longer than most litigation but shorter than some others.

I remember writing the first of several articles on the lawsuit. I was in a hospital waiting on my father to finish a procedure that ultimately turned out to show he had pancreatic cancer. He survived it, miraculously for eight more years until after he turned 90. The litigation outlasted him. Pete later told me my article about the complaint was the most viewed article published on The DIS to that point, at least, that how I remember it.... After being up only 7 hours, it had over 9000 shares and more than 14,000 page views. I was almost viral.

This also illustrates that litigation very often ends with a whimper rather than with herald trumpets.

itw a shuame dfkisney cou agree to have both GAC and DAS~

 

[OKW Lover]

Of course lawsuits against Disney seem to be never ending. https://blogmickey.com/2022/10/walt-disney-world-sued-over-disney-park-pass-reservation-system/

 

[jcb]

Of course lawsuits against Disney seem to be never ending. https://blogmickey.com/2022/10/walt-disney-world-sued-over-disney-park-pass-reservation-system/

Next time we get together, remind me to show you the folder on my MacBook where I keep court filings from current and past Disney lawsuits..... I'll even copy the contents to a USB.

 

[jcb]

Last night, several more stipulations of dismissal were filed in Florida federal court by families who had asserted claims involving DAS. That's not surprising or even notable. But just to follow up on my speculation about Disney agreeing not to seek court costs, Disney and the family that lost the recent appeal also filed a notice yesterday. After prevailing in the district court, the Disney filed a motion asking the court to award it $23,104.32 in costs. Costs are a term of art and typically include the out of pocket expenses a party has to pay in a lawsuit other than experts and attorney fees. Typically, the most expensive "cost" is to pay court reporters for depositions and in court transcripts. Disney claimed it had to pay some $13k for these transcripts.

The notice filed yesterday, however, said

the parties have agreed that A.L. will not seek review of the of the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in the above-referenced matter (Appellate Case No. 20-12720) and will allow the mandate to issue according to the normal timeframe. After the Eleventh Circuit issues the mandate to this Court, Disney will withdraw its previously-filed proposed bill of costs (Doc. Nos. 347 & 348).

It's still a whimper.