Laura
09-09-2008, 04:28 PM
Will this mean wheelchair tie-downs and space for peoples' wheelchairs in commercial planes? Let us pray...
from The Detroit News - LINK:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809030438
Federal judge: Airports, airlines subject to ADA rules
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
*DETROIT* -- The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to airports and to airlines such as Northwest, a federal judge in Detroit has ruled.
U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh on Tuesday denied a motion by
Northwest Airlines to dismiss a lawsuit brought by five Detroit area
residents with physical disabilities. That means the lawsuit, filed in
April by Farmington Hills attorney Richard Bernstein, can continue.
The plaintiffs allege Northwest fails to provide them adequate
assistance in the airport and on the plane, causing problems such as
missed flights and damaged wheelchairs.
Northwest, in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, argued the Americans with Disabilities Act does not apply to services at airports.
But Steeh ruled otherwise and said in a 13-page opinion that to conclude the ADA did not apply to airports "would leave the door open for acts of discrimination that could not be remedied."
Bernstein said Steeh's ruling has major ramifications for domestic and
international air travel.
"This is really a monumental case, and I don't say that often,"
Bernstein said Wednesday.
Some courts had earlier ruled the ADA did not apply to airports because aircraft are excluded from the definition of "specified public
transportation" under the act.
Disabled travelers have had to rely on the Air Carrier Access Act,
Bernstein said. But under that act, they have not been permitted to
bring private claims and have had to rely on the federal government for enforcement, he said.
Steeh dismissed claims the Detroit area plaintiffs made under the Air
Carrier Access Act.
Kristin Baur, a spokeswoman for Northwest Airlines, said Northwest "is
currently reviewing the ruling and evaluating its options regarding
future actions."
Northwest "remains committed to providing accessible air travel for all of its customers," she said.
The Wayne County Airport Authority, which earlier had an Air Carrier
Access Act claim against it dismissed through an agreement with the
plaintiffs, was not a party to the motion to dismiss.
from The Detroit News - LINK:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809030438
Federal judge: Airports, airlines subject to ADA rules
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
*DETROIT* -- The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to airports and to airlines such as Northwest, a federal judge in Detroit has ruled.
U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh on Tuesday denied a motion by
Northwest Airlines to dismiss a lawsuit brought by five Detroit area
residents with physical disabilities. That means the lawsuit, filed in
April by Farmington Hills attorney Richard Bernstein, can continue.
The plaintiffs allege Northwest fails to provide them adequate
assistance in the airport and on the plane, causing problems such as
missed flights and damaged wheelchairs.
Northwest, in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, argued the Americans with Disabilities Act does not apply to services at airports.
But Steeh ruled otherwise and said in a 13-page opinion that to conclude the ADA did not apply to airports "would leave the door open for acts of discrimination that could not be remedied."
Bernstein said Steeh's ruling has major ramifications for domestic and
international air travel.
"This is really a monumental case, and I don't say that often,"
Bernstein said Wednesday.
Some courts had earlier ruled the ADA did not apply to airports because aircraft are excluded from the definition of "specified public
transportation" under the act.
Disabled travelers have had to rely on the Air Carrier Access Act,
Bernstein said. But under that act, they have not been permitted to
bring private claims and have had to rely on the federal government for enforcement, he said.
Steeh dismissed claims the Detroit area plaintiffs made under the Air
Carrier Access Act.
Kristin Baur, a spokeswoman for Northwest Airlines, said Northwest "is
currently reviewing the ruling and evaluating its options regarding
future actions."
Northwest "remains committed to providing accessible air travel for all of its customers," she said.
The Wayne County Airport Authority, which earlier had an Air Carrier
Access Act claim against it dismissed through an agreement with the
plaintiffs, was not a party to the motion to dismiss.