Chaffin v. Kansas State Fair Bd.
| Citation | 348 F.3d 850 |
| Decision Date | 28 October 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-3410.,02-3410. |
| Parties | Mandy CHAFFIN; Tiffany Nickel; Cecil Stinbrink, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. KANSAS STATE FAIR BOARD; Bill Ogg, as General Manager of the Kansas State Fair; Bob Barker; Mary Alice Lair; Marc Johnson; Charles Craig, Jr.; Kelly Goss; Carole Jordan; Kent Oleen; Brad Rayl; Robba Moran; Gary Sherrer; Tracy Taylor, in their official capacities as members of the Kansas State Fair Board; State of Kansas, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
David P. Calvert, David P. Calvert, P.A., Wichita, KS, for Plaintiffs-Appellees.
Harry Kennedy, (and Hsingkan Chiang, Assistant Attorney General, with him on the briefs), Attorney General's Office, Topeka, KS, for Defendants-Appellants.
Before KELLY, McKAY, and LUCERO, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff-Appellees are disabled persons who have attended the Kansas State Fair in the past, and who plan to attend future fairs. They alleged intentional discrimination and violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134, by Defendants-Appellants the State of Kansas, the Kansas State Fair Board, its members, and the general manager of the fair. Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief against the Kansas State Fair for alleged failure to comply with the ADA and various of the federal regulations promulgated thereunder, including the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), 28 C.F.R. pt. 36, app. A.
On cross motions for summary judgment, the district court granted the Plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment directing all of the Defendants except the State of Kansas (hereinafter the Fair) to prepare a self-evaluation and a transition plan pursuant to 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.105 and 35.150. See U.S. Dep't of Justice, ADA Title II Technical Assistance Manual §§ II 8.200 to .300, http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/taman2.html. Defendants appeal from the district court's order of November 1, 2002. We affirm.
All of the plaintiffs rely on wheelchairs for mobility. II Aplt.App. at 410, 438-39, 463. On September 16, 2000, Plaintiff Mandy Chaffin went to the Kansas State Fair to attend a concert at the Grandstand, and was seated in the designated wheelchair section of the facility — a platform at the front of the Grandstand on which all persons in wheelchairs are placed. Id. at 416. Chaffin states that she could not see anything on the stage because the people who stood in front of her blocked her view. Id. Although security guards at the concert, upon Chaffin's request, told the people standing in front of Chaffin to sit down, once the security guards walked off, these people would stand up again. Id.
Chaffin also states that she soiled herself at the concert because she could not reach the restroom in time because of the overly-crowded wheelchair seating in the handicapped section of the Grandstand. Id. at 421. In order for a wheelchair patron to reach the restroom, many of the other wheelchairs between the platform and the restroom would have to be moved. None of those people were permitted to return to their spaces until the person who had gone to the bathroom returned. Id. at 416.
Plaintiff Tiffany Nickel has had problems with the parking at the State Fair. According to Nickel, the free parking lot where she was directed to park was far away from the fair and contained potholes. As a result, she chose to pay to park in a closer but unpaved parking lot. Id. at 444-49.
Plaintiff Cecil Stinbrink alleges that he was seated in the Grandstand handicapped section where he was climbed over, stepped on, and bumped into by other attendees. Id. at 467-68. Because of the crowd sitting in the wheelchair section of the Grandstand, he could not get out of the section for food or use the restrooms until the shows were over. Id. Additionally, Stinbrink states that he was denied access to the restroom because he relies on his wife's assistance, and there is no unisex restroom available at the Grandstand. Id. at 468. Stinbrink also complains that the free parking provided by the State Fair was either too far from his point of interest at the fairgrounds, or too difficult to use due to its swampy conditions. Id. at 477-78.
On April 1, 1994, the Fair submitted a "draft" self-evaluation plan, pursuant to 28 C.F.R. § 35.105, for one of its fifteen programs ("Space Sales") to Jane Knight, the Kansas State ADA Coordinator. Aplee. Supp.App. at 547-65. Although Knight noted in her response "I look forward to receiving the entire Plan when it is completed," id. at 567, there is no evidence that any ADA self-evaluation plan for the remaining programs was ever performed.
There is evidence, however, of various other purported self-evaluation and transition studies performed by the Fair. In 1997, an ADA compliance study of buildings and restrooms on the State Fairgrounds was conducted by Architects and Engineering Consultants, a professional consulting company located in Kansas. I-A Aplt.App. at 102-13. A memorandum report containing measurements was generated and submitted for advisory input to the Hutchinson Resource Center for Independent Living (HRCIL) on behalf of the State Fair Board.
Between February and April 1998, Architects and Engineering Consultants, with assistance from the Fair and HRCIL, conducted a survey on behalf of the State Fair regarding fire safety and ADA compliance of buildings and sites where the Fair provides its public services and programs. A report and cost summary was subsequently compiled by senior staff of the Kansas State Fair in April 1998. Id. at 114-48. The report's purpose was to "identify and provide cost estimates for solutions to fire safety and ADA deficiencies in buildings owned/managed by the Kansas State Fair." Id. at 115.
In September 1999, the Fair completed its "Long Range Master Plan." Id. at 149-58. The Master Plan identifies and schedules major renovations to be completed. The Master Plan includes — within a list of eighteen bulleted "major recommendations" — "[c]omply[ing] with all building and site ADA and code requirements." Id. at 150. There is no other mention of the ADA in the ten-page document. Particular improvements under the ADA are not otherwise mentioned in the Master Plan, nor does the plan include any specific recommendations for improving access at the Fair for persons with disabilities.
In 2000, the Fair completed a review regarding Kansas State Fair Grandstand life safety, egress, fire protection, and ADA-related accessibility issues. A report resulted from this review, known as the "Life Safety, Egress, Fire Protection and Accessibility Analysis for the Kansas State Fair Grandstand," which contained a single page of findings regarding the physical characteristics of the handicapped seating area. Id. at 167. The report contained recommendations and cost estimates for each of the suggested improvements. Id. at 169-73. Among the mostly non-accessibility-related modifications proposed in the report, it also called for a new ramp for the existing handicapped section, additional wheelchair seating at the box seating area, and minor modifications to the restrooms at the Grandstand. Id. at 169-73.
On April 29, 2002, the State Fair completed its "Additional ADA Transition Plan." I-B Aplt.App. at 193-326. This plan compiled the previous studies in a single package, and proposed renovation and structure modification schedules for parking facilities and the Grandstand at the State Fairgrounds. It provided schematic drawings for the parking systems and Grandstand projects with completion dates for the same.
The district court also identified numerous deficiencies at Fair facilities, including twenty-five buildings or areas that did not comply with ADA standards. I-A Aplt. App. at 29. For example, in the Administration Building, the following deficiencies exist: the Board room restrooms, the public restroom, and the first aid restroom are not ADA compliant; the east entry to the board room, main entry doors, west ramp, counter top, drinking fountain, and ticket window are not compliant; there is no handicap access from the east sidewalk; and the Highway Patrol office does not have handicap facilities.
In addition, the district court found that many of the vending and dining facilities at the Fair are not readily accessible. Id. at 37-38. The plan for modifications to the grandstand does not meet ADAAG standards, which require dispersed seating for persons in wheelchairs. Id. at 37. There are still twenty-two public restrooms on the Fairgrounds that do not comply with the accessibility requirements of the ADA, compared to twelve that do. Id. at 29. Moreover, even after the completion of the Kansas State Fair Master plan, scheduled for either 2006 or 2008, there will still be approximately sixteen public restrooms that do not comply.
In a Memorandum and Order filed November 1, 2002, the district court held that Plaintiffs are entitled to bring an action to enforce the various federal regulations enacted under the ADA against all Defendants excluding the State of Kansas. The court further granted relief sought by Plaintiffs and ordered the Defendants to complete a self-evaluation and transition plan in compliance with 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.105 and 35.150 and submit the same to the court on or before January 1, 2003.
Defendants assert that the district court erred in (1) refusing to apply Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275, 121 S.Ct. 1511, 149 L.Ed.2d 517 (2001) to preclude Plaintiffs from asserting a private right to enforce the ADAAG and other federal regulations; (2) applying an improper legal standard to determine compliance under the ADAAG; (3) holding that Defendants have not completed a self-evaluation and a...
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