tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17248149983389280972024-03-10T23:21:02.757-04:00The Legal Roller CoasterSignificant Legal Developments Affecting The Amusement and Tourism IndustryErik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-14449406186940852672020-05-16T22:54:00.000-04:002020-05-17T12:59:42.718-04:0013 Reasons Why You Should Feel Safe Going Back To Amusement Parks This Summer<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">We’re in a strange time and, while I’ve been away from writing for quite some time, I think circumstances warrant a brief revival of the blog. Is this my last article? Probably not. But maybe. We’ll see how things go over the next few months. The reason I’m back is because I've been recently asked by a friend to explain why it will be safe for her to go back to her local amusement park - something that I know raises a lot of eyebrows in the current environment. I thought this might be a question that others are interested in so ... here goes. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">For background (for those that don't know what I do these days), I am still a lawyer as I’ve been for the last 15 years, but I’m also a consultant to the theme park industry specializing in operations. As many of you know, I've been involved in ride operations in one form or another for 27 years. Through our company, <a href="http://www.ridetraining.com/" target="_blank">International Ride Training LLC</a>, my partners, the amazing duo of Cindee Huddy and Patty Beazley, and I advise amusement parks around the globe on the best way to manage people and, in particular, run rides. We don't do anything with maintenance, foods, games, or retail. We know rides and, more generally, operations - and hopefully without sounding too arrogant - we are pretty good at what we do. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Since this whole thing began, we have done pretty much nothing except help the amusement industry get ready to reopen in a manner that is safe from both a traditional ride safety perspective and from a public health perspective. So I know – very, very well - what is being done behind the scenes to make sure that it is safe for you to come to the park this summer. Our industry is, however, an unfamiliar one to most people who see only the end result in the park but have no idea what it takes to actually operate on a daily basis. Because of this, many in government and in the general public instinctively believe that an amusement park, water park, or family entertainment center cannot open in a COVID-19 world. In short, those people are wrong and are operating from a lack of understanding about what parks can and will do to limit exposure. So I thought I would share those things with you so you have some better idea of what to expect when/if you return to the park this summer. I should also add that I work with parks all over the world, so I'm not speaking for any one particular park specifically. While every park may do things slightly differently to get ready to welcome you this year, in general, you can expect to see some or all of these precautions the next time you visit a park this summer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;"><br />Before showing you some of the sausage-making on the changes you will see this summer, one thing that I need to emphasize is that an amusement park, waterpark, or family entertainment center is not a "mass gathering" like a sporting event, concert, or theatrical event - even though state governments keeping saying they are. While it is easy for parks to get lumped into that category because, like those other events, parks admit tens of thousands of people per day during normal operation, doing so overlooks guest density. Density is a critical issue to keep in mind when talking about mass gatherings. Most parks have dozens, if not hundreds, of acres to spread people across. So while both a large park and a baseball stadium might host 50,000 guests in a day, the density of those guests is vastly different. Park guests are typically spread out all over the park, whereas spectators at a baseball game are sitting elbow to elbow and all occupying the limited public spaces in the stadium. Think of it this way: At a game, you might have to wait 45 minutes to get into the bathroom because 15000 people in your section of the stadium are all trying to use it too. In a park, you might wait 5 minutes (and usually you don't wait at all) because there is a lot fewer people in the are trying to use that bathroom. Because of density, it is not correct to think of parks as a "mass gathering". Sheer number of people doesn't really matter - what matters is how dense they are, or put another way, how much space those people have to themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Now that I've addressed density, let's talk about attendance levels at parks this year. Current CDC distancing recommendations are 6 feet or 36 square feet per person (slightly less if you draw a circle around a person, but we can use 36 square feet since that is easier). At most parks during normal operation, it is not at all unusual for guests on the midway to be separated by well more than six feet. Rarely does a park get so packed that public spaces are literally shoulder to shoulder. Even so, to be absolutely sure that crowds will not get so big that people start to get concerned about distancing, parks are limiting their attendance to allow in SIGNIFICANTLY less people per day this summer. Remember - DENSITY is far more important than number of people - how many people is a park allowing in and how much room does that number allow for each guest. And limiting attendance is how parks minimize guest density to comply with public health distancing requirements. Importantly, parks are not generally starting from a number representing 100% capacity and working backward to determine how many people they can fit and still comply with distancing recommendations. Instead, most parks are starting from the assumption that each guest will get FAR MORE than the minimum 36 square feet required and they are calculating their attendance caps by dividing this per-guest allotment into their total public space square footage. In fact, the vast majority of parks (and I don’t personally know a park that isn’t doing this) is calculating their attendance cap to allot double, triple, or even more square footage than just 36 per guest just to be safe. I personally know of parks that have set their attendance cap for this summer based 100-200 square feet per guest and I know of one that has gone as high as 250. Point is ... that is a lot of room per person. In some cases, parks are allotting enough space for each guest to carry around a decent sized bedroom with them everywhere they go. That is significantly more than you will get at a grocery store, hardware store, or restaurant. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So you will have a lot of room to yourself in the park, but it gets better because....<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> <u> </u></span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Guest Density will actually be EVEN LESS than what the park calculates for attendance purposes</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Those attendance caps are typically based only on available square footage in publicly accessible areas like midways and food patios. Ride queues, retail shops, and indoor restaurants are not usually included in the calculation. This is important for two reasons:<br /><br />First, it means that the park has enough square footage to have every single ride, restaurant, and retail shop closed all at once and still give every guest more than the recommended 36 square feet to themselves on the midway.<br /><br />Second, and relatedly, this means that the minute people start standing in lines at rides, going to indoor restaurants, or shopping for merchandise, the spacing gets LESS DENSE. For example, a park with 100,000 square feet of public space might set its attendance cap at 1,000 to allow everyone a minimum of 100 square feet (this would be a very small park, but let's use these numbers because they are easy). But ride queues, shops, and restaurants add another 20,000 square feet to the park which was not factored in when setting the attendance cap. So, instead of 1,000 guests having 100 square feet to themselves, they could have as much as 120 square feet once guests start doing fun things. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So, once people start riding rides, you will have even more room to yourself in the park, but it gets better because .... <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">The spacing calculations done to figure out per-guest square footage and attendance caps assume that each and every guest has to stay distanced from each and every other guest. But, per the CDC, guests living under the same roof do not need to stay distanced in public because they are already living in close proximity at home. That's important because a significant percentage of park guests are families or people that live together. And while each of those people will count toward the attendance cap, they will not need to stay distanced from one another once they are inside. This creates EVEN MORE room to space other people apart. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So, once families arrive and people start riding rides, you will have even more room to yourself, but it gets better because....<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>At Least Initially, Parks Will Be Admitting A Lot Fewer Guests Than Permitted By The Attendance Cap</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Many parks are likely going to take a cue from Disneyland Shanghai which reopened this week. While it was permitted to allow up to about 26,000 guests through the gates on day one (about 30% of its max capacity of 80,000 reportedly), i<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/11/all-masks-no-fireworks-shanghai-disneyland-in-muted-reopening-after-coronavirus-closedown.html" target="_blank">t actually allowed a lot fewer just to make sure things went OK. </a>I expect that parks in the US will do the same when they open - at least initially - to assess how the new precautionary procedures are working.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So this will give early guests even more room to themselves, but it gets better because ...<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> <u> </u></span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Parks Are Actively Controlling Attendance At The Gate</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Many, not all, but many parks this summer will require guests (even season pass holders) to make reservations so that the park knows exactly how many people are coming on a particular day. When the park hits the attendance cap, no more tickets get sold. And if you show up without a reservation, you won't be admitted. Period. This system prevents an unexpectedly large crowd on any random day that might overwhelm the system and reduce guest distancing below acceptable levels. For parks that won't require reservations, expect to see more attention paid to "in-park" attendance levels to ensure that the park stays under the attendance cap and expect to hear about parks turning guests away because of distancing concerns (assuming they get busy enough to do that).<br /><br />So guests will have PLENTY of room in the park because, in addition to everything else, only people with reservations can come, but it gets better because ....<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Expect Guest Screening At The Gate:</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Just because a guest has a reservation, though, does not mean they automatically will be admitted to the park. Guests at most facilities will have to go through some level of screening to minimize the risk that infectious people are allowed in. At a minimum, expect most parks (depending on local health recommendations and requirements) to have a strict facemask policy for all guests. Remember – parks are private property. If you don’t want to wear a mask to protect other guests from your potential infection, that’s fine – but they don’t have to allow you past the front gate. Guests may also see temperature screening at the gate (although, honestly, I’m not a fan of temperature screening as it simply doesn’t detect enough to be an overly reliable tool for screening – but it makes people feel better, I suppose) and/or be asked about whether they are experiencing symptoms.<br /><br />And, incidentally, for anyone that thinks the ADA means you don’t have to wear a mask – think again. That topic could take up an entire blog post on its own, but suffice it to say that the mask is there to prevent a direct threat to the health and safety of other guests and employees. A park can probably rely on that fact alone (in the absence of any equally effective alternative) to insist that everyone – even people with disabilities - wear one or don’t come in.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So, you will have tons of space to yourself, attendance will be by reservation only, and parks will screen guests for health issues before they are allowed in … but it gets better because …<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Ride Lines are being reconfigured and guest spacing controlled:</u></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">OK, so guests will have tons of room on the midway, that should be clear by now, but what about the line for rides. Lines are the bane of most park's (and park goer's) existence. You will see significant changes to lines that are being instituted solely to ensure that the rider’s health is protected.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">The first change to the ride line you might notice is that there isn’t one (or there’s a very short one). The need to keep guests distanced has resulted in a lot of parks implementing new “virtual queue” technology even if they never had this technology before. A virtual queue uses an app on your phone to assign a place in a virtual line for a particular attraction. The app notifies you when it is your turn to ride or may set an appointment time for you to go to the attraction. When you arrive, instead of an hour long wait for the ride, you might have a 10-15 minute wait in an abbreviated queue. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJM2U4pYI3gc9A3TPTKurIiPuMZP-aUZ7VQrQHTjyHgSMpJiXj4URatOVqve-qVXjQdvOgBDEhulS-dLB2HiFATntwOTGagiXaXox3fc_CoWR5bVclrGO3dQn8JLDd-loozFDe3udqlzwQ/s1600/Queue+Markings.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: ; color: ;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="1125" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJM2U4pYI3gc9A3TPTKurIiPuMZP-aUZ7VQrQHTjyHgSMpJiXj4URatOVqve-qVXjQdvOgBDEhulS-dLB2HiFATntwOTGagiXaXox3fc_CoWR5bVclrGO3dQn8JLDd-loozFDe3udqlzwQ/s200/Queue+Markings.jpeg" width="200" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SeVSWq5YVbnmz6BVewQXPqVqjrc8AFfYDFudgaClbnGmyT9PKt0YZIJ6NRr1x2yYw7LTyWSnKGVUT_d7QLT9pGqXCH0i6lAKZeXD82Rd0BsSiJKaoSsVZZT1sj0DJt35LNYPik7IRo4t/s1600/Queue+Markings+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: ; color: ;"><img border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="1125" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8SeVSWq5YVbnmz6BVewQXPqVqjrc8AFfYDFudgaClbnGmyT9PKt0YZIJ6NRr1x2yYw7LTyWSnKGVUT_d7QLT9pGqXCH0i6lAKZeXD82Rd0BsSiJKaoSsVZZT1sj0DJt35LNYPik7IRo4t/s200/Queue+Markings+2.jpeg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">The second change you might notice is that queues will probably have spacing markers on the ground to help guests figure out where to stand so they remain six feet apart (again, families and co-habitants need not distance). These may be fancy, custom made decals (like at Disney Shanghai) or they may simply be duct tape or hazard tape on the concrete. Either way, the purpose is the same. You might also see an employee walking the line reminding guests to stay distanced.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: ;">EXAMPLE ONLY - NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF ANY <br />ACTUAL RIDE OPERATING PLAN</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">The third change to the ride line you might see is that there’s a lot less of it being used. If the ride has “back and forth” style queues, those generally won’t work with distancing requirements because as guests wind their way through the line, they come within six feet of guests travelling in the next row over heading the other direction. So, many parks with these style of queues will be reconfiguring them so that only the perimeter is used. If a switchback is used, expect to see a couple of empty queue rows between occupied rows to allow for six foot distancing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So that is great! You will have lots of space to yourself on the midway and you will have lots of space to yourself in line, but it gets even better because …<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Ride Operators will be distanced throughout as much of the ride operation as possible.</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">In any ordinary ride operation, there are times where people have to get close together. Think about the ride operator checking the height of your child by getting really close, or the platform attendant that has to get close to check your seatbelt or lap bar. Well, some of that might be changing and, if it doesn’t, you will probably see more personal protective equipment to protect both guests and employees.<br /><br />My company, International Ride Training, has issued guidance to the entire industry – anyone that wants it, not just our clients – on how to operate a ride in a distanced fashion. I can almost guarantee that not every park will adopt all of IRT’s recommendations, but you are probably going to see some of the following in the park you visit this summer:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Ride operators will measure children from a distance using fixed height measurement devices like height signs rather than relying exclusively on height sticks. Parents may be asked to assist with getting their child properly positioned for an accurate measurement so that the employee can stay distanced.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Your park may have a designated height measuring station near the entrance to allow children to be measured once at the beginning of the day. This reduces the number of opportunities for exposure between ride operators at each ride and the child since the child won’t have to be measured over and over.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Ride operators may assign seats on rides. While riders frequently like to wait for their favorite seat, to keep guests spaced apart on ride units, employees will assign seats. This also enhances distancing since riders will not be waiting together for the front or back seat on a coaster.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Rides will operate at reduced capacity. While families / co-habitants can ride together, other guests will need to stay distanced. This may mean that strangers won’t get grouped together, operators may leave ride units empty to maintain distancing between other loaded ride units, or seats may be left empty to create spacing. On a coaster, for example, you may see guests seated in a staggered fashion so that no rider has another guest next them, immediately in front of them, or immediately behind them.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Riders on many rides will wear facemasks during the ride. While it is likely that riders on some rides will not be able to wear facemasks, many riders will. This will also reduce guest exposure to potential infection.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Ride operators may ask guests to assist in checking their own restraint security. A process of operator-observed guest verification has already been in place on some attractions at Disney and Universal for some time. Expect to see this procedure expanded to other parks so that ride operators can stay distanced. This might slow down dispatch times for some rides, but it is necessary to keep operators and guests distanced and safe.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">When ride operators cannot ask guests to check their own restraints, guests will probably see employees wearing additional protective equipment. Most parks will probably require employees (and many will require guests) to wear facemasks. Where a ride operator has to get close to a guest, you might also see the employee wearing a plastic face shield over the facemask as an additional layer of security.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><span style="font-family: "symbol";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Guests will likely be offered hand sanitizer, or at least directed to a hand sanitizer location, as they get in line, as they board the ride, and/or as they exit the ride. For many parks, guests will be given hand sanitizer at least twice at every ride. This helps reduce surface contamination for ride unit and restraint surfaces.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So that is great! Guests will have plenty of space to themselves in lines AND on the rides, but it gets better because … <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>You Will See A LOT more cleaning and sanitizing going on …</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Distancing is only half the equation, the other half is cleaning and sanitizing. Parks are tackling this in two ways. A) Clean the person, and B) Clean the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMi-BBY0ZebGLAHQIrl4sx8qtJcyPUVOVuJtw685-BiUOwHIJipc6Q2e7jYv3MuFR3fUlYd3go6hdG5vOpC6k8WGPK_GY9Opth6LsJZOyPht4iRAg4cE2qc6CdRYN10Gw7cdNmvPD0op4E/s1600/71olaGDnEhL._AC_SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: ; color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1426" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMi-BBY0ZebGLAHQIrl4sx8qtJcyPUVOVuJtw685-BiUOwHIJipc6Q2e7jYv3MuFR3fUlYd3go6hdG5vOpC6k8WGPK_GY9Opth6LsJZOyPht4iRAg4cE2qc6CdRYN10Gw7cdNmvPD0op4E/s200/71olaGDnEhL._AC_SL1500_.jpg" width="190" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpK2Bef69zk6GzqCx8Ddskm2VFirWOb5Yxw4YpNvKw3KvLrkYXPrRUgEDLBmUCWCHAk-soq1GYK225M9nIOujV1oIBxYTRedAJPWQfk9bhnq3hBFccgHJWByf0OWCA1wi3MaOdcJom1n4Q/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-16+at+10.46.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="background-color: ; color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="261" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpK2Bef69zk6GzqCx8Ddskm2VFirWOb5Yxw4YpNvKw3KvLrkYXPrRUgEDLBmUCWCHAk-soq1GYK225M9nIOujV1oIBxYTRedAJPWQfk9bhnq3hBFccgHJWByf0OWCA1wi3MaOdcJom1n4Q/s200/Screen+Shot+2020-05-16+at+10.46.59+PM.png" width="155" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">As for “Clean the Person,” park guests can expect to get hit over the head with new signage and spiels reminding guests of the importance of washing hands and sanitizing. Guests will almost certainly see new hand washing stations installed throughout the park and even more sanitizer dispensers. Employees will be stationed throughout the park to assist guests with distancing, but also to remind guests to wash hands and use sanitizer.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Cleaning the Person is the most important step to be taken to reduce the potential for infection, but parks will of course not stop there. The second part of an amusement park’s sanitization program is to step up cleaning of surfaces in the park. In most parks, the great news is the nature helps out significantly. T<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/reopen-guidance.html" target="_blank">he latest CDC recommendations on surface disinfecting state that for surfaces located outdoors, no change to a park’s general cleaning regimen is necessary</a>. This is because wind, space, and direct sunlight work together to reduce viral concentration outside – even on surfaces. Nonetheless, you will still see a lot of employees cleaning and cleaning frequently. Parks are paying close attention to the chemicals they are using to ensure that they are EPA approved for COVID-19, and they are paying a lot of attention to how to properly use those chemicals to ensure they are effective. From restrooms, to food counters, to ride queues, to cash registers, expect to see a significant amount of cleaning to keep guests safe this summer.<br /><br />So not only will guests be distanced but they will be clean – and so will the park surfaces – but it gets even better because ….<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">11.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Cashless Payment and Mobile Apps Are Going To Be A Lot More Frequently Used</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">OK… I know I said I don’t work with food and beverage or retail. That’s true. But I have been involved in many conversations over the last three months to know at least some of what is in store (no pun intended) for these locations in the park. To further reduce the potential for viral spread, many parks are either expanding the use of cashless systems they already have or are will be implementing brand new systems to reduce contact between guest and employee. Many parks that never used mobile ordering for food and beverage locations will now have them and, in many locations, this will be the only way of ordering food or drinks. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So you will be distanced in the park, on the rides, clean everywhere, and won’t have to touch money … but it gets better because…<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Expect To See All The Things You See In Your Local Restaurants, Only At The Park</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Food and beverage service won’t only be different because of the way you order or pay, it might even be different in how it is served, what is sold, and where you eat it. Across the United States, restaurants are reopening at reduced capacity with tables spaced apart. You will see this at parks too. Restaurants in your hometown are likely moving to disposable menus or posted menus to reduce surface contamination. You will see this at parks too. And your local restaurants may reduce menu items or eliminate buffets and salad bars to further reduce potential exposure either between guests or employees. You will see that at your local park too.<br /><br /><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background-color: ;"><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">13.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u>Waterparks Have All This … And Something Extra</u><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">For those of you who frequent waterparks, you will see much or all of everything I’ve just gone through when you return. But waterpark guests get a bonus. The latest CDC recommendations for aquatic facilities make clear that there is no evidence that the virus can survive in treated water or on surfaces that are consistently covered in treated water. That means that guests on water slides, wave pools, swimming pools, lazy rivers, and other aquatic attractions are at an even lower risk of exposure than guests in other kinds of facilities (and, as shown above, that risk is pretty low already). Of course, waterparks will still be sanitizing tubes, mats, rafts, life jackets, and other frequently touched equipment and surfaces, but the presence of treated water will help significantly in reducing risk of infection from swimming or immersion in water.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">So there you go… To say that the amusement industry has given this a tremendous amount of thought should by now be, I hope, obvious. The entire industry has collectively spent thousands of man-hours over the last three months thinking about this issue, planning for it, and adjusting those plans as the data or the public health recommendations change. And we will continue to do so. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">Is it safe to go back to a park? I can’t answer that for you. I think it is, but you can look at all of this and decide for yourself. And if you still aren’t sure, by all means, contact your favorite park and ask them to tell you everything they are doing. I’m sure you will hear a lot of what I’ve just told you, but at least you will know that its in place at your park. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: ;">I hope to see you riding the rails this summer. And I mean that more sincerely than ever before.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com420tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-90448289086440874872019-04-22T10:43:00.000-04:002019-04-22T10:44:00.135-04:00Is The Industry Overreacting to AT&T’s Carnival Commercial?<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Recently, an AT&T commercial has caused quite a stir in the amusement industry. The commercial, which I’ve embedded below, depicts a carnival operator loading guests into a scrambler-type ride. The guest’s ask the operator whether the ride is safe and what will happen if something “bad” happens during the ride. The operator’s answers – “I assembled it myself last night … think I did an OK job,” and “We just move to the next town,” indicate an obviously apathetic attitude toward guest safety. The tag line for this commercial – “just OK is not OK” – is given as the guest’s let themselves out of the ride. This commercial is the latest in a string of ads for AT&T that poke fun at a number of industries and professions – doctors, car mechanics, tattoo artists – all to drive home the point that consumers should expect better than just “OK” and, of course, AT&T provides just that “better than OK” experience for its customers. Check it out for yourself:</div>
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<a name="more"></a>This ad has really rankled a large segment of the amusement industry. Both the Outdoor Amusement Business Association and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions have issued formal letters to AT&T protesting the ad's depiction of amusement ride safety and demanding the discontinuance of this commercial. At least one carnival owner has posted a video protesting the commercial. The tenor of these, and other, objections essentially boils down to the fact that the commercial portrays a carnival ride operator in ways that do not accurately represent safety in our industry.<o:p></o:p><br>
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On the other hand, there are those in the industry who argue that expressed outrage is misplaced. These folks argue that the commercial is obviously satirical, just like the similar ads targeting other professions, and that we, as an industry, should be able to take the joke. Matt Heller and Josh Liebman even devoted <a href="http://attractionpros.com/ap-podcast-episode-85-practical-thoughts-on-the-att-carnival-commercial/" target="_blank">an entire episode of their AttractionPros podcast</a> to a detailed discussion of this issue after which, SPOILER ALERT, they both concluded that the commercial should not be pulled from the airwaves. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So who is right? Is the industry’s outrage over this commercial justified or are we being too sensitive about an obvious attempt at advertising humor? I’ve really been thinking this over and, while I don’t think we should necessarily demand that the ad be withdrawn entirely, I do think that this ad is qualitatively different than the ads that came before it in a way that AT&T should consider as it rolls out additional spots in this ad campaign.<br><br><o:p></o:p></div>
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At the outset, I think it is worth noting what is actually GOOD about this ad. The overall message, that “just OK is not OK" when it comes to ride safety should be viewed as a positive. In fact, by total coincidence, a few weeks before this ad debuted, I actually used the AT&T car mechanic “just OK is not OK” commercial to kick off a class I was teaching at the iROC Ride Camp. The point of the class was that ride operators certified under the International Ride Operator Certification program cannot be “just OK.” And, to that extent, I think the message of the AT&T carnival commercial – and its predecessors – is spot on.<br><br>But there is a difference between this ad and the others that came before it. Prior ads focused on professions about which the stereotype, to the extent there is one, is generally positive or, at least, neutral. Doctors are well trained and instill confidence. A car mechanic actually knows how to fix brakes well. Tattoo artists are just that – artists – who take pride in their creative expression. The portrayal of a doctor proclaiming his uncertainty about performing surgery right after being reinstated, or a car mechanic who espouses the saying “If the brakes don’t stop you, something will,” or the tattoo artist who openly recognizes his mediocre skill, thus works <i>against </i>the public stereotype of these professions. The humor comes from the fact that the person featured in the ad is the polar opposite of what anyone generally expects to encounter in those scenarios. The contrast between the positive stereotype and the obviously substandard individual portrayed in the commercial drives home the point that, as consumers, we cannot accept “just OK.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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But the AT&T carnival commercial is different because rather than contrasting a substandard example against a positive societal stereotype, the commercial feeds into a negative stereotype and furthers it. <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2011/08/curing-crisis-of-credibility-and.html" style="color: #954f72;">I’ve written, years ago, about the stereotype that our industry is full of “carnies”</a> that are “toothless, uneducated, and frequently intoxicated ‘rednecks’ who have no concern for the safety of our guests.” This stereotype is particularly strong when it comes to mobile operators. Notwithstanding the fact that the mobile operators I know are uniformly dedicated to guest safety just as much as their fixed-site counterparts, the public stereotype is that these rides are not as safe and their operators are not as attentive. This commercial thus establishes its message not by contrasting reality with a ridiculous example of the opposite, but by capitalizing on an existing negative stereotype that our industry has worked hard, for decades, to overcome. The message is not, “most doctors are of a very high caliber and thus you would never accept this example of a substandard doctor.” Instead, it is, “this is what carnival ride operators are and you should demand better.” That is what distinguishes the AT&T carnival commercial from its predecessors and that is why, to an extent, the industry has a legitimate gripe about the message this commercial sends. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Even still, I have to agree with Matt and Josh (and others) that I don’t think the ad should be discontinued. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, I tend to think that the distinction I’m making here, while true, is one that is missed by the vast majority of the viewing public. Most people will see this commercial as just another “Just OK is not OK” commercial without any positive or negative consideration of stereotype being reinforced. Some may even see the positive message discussed above – that ride safety is serious business and no one would ever accept this kind of apathy toward it. Second, I think that too much public protestation over this ad risks the industry appearing defensive about ride safety when we have no basis for such defensiveness. As we all know, the industry is extraordinarily safe largely because of, not in spite of, the operators we employ. The vast majority of our operators are responsible, well-trained, attentive, and truly care about our guest’s experience. The numbers prove it. The more we vociferously demand the removal of this ad, the more we risk unintentionally sending a message that it might have hit too close to home. This is not to say that IAAPA or OABA should not have protested – they absolutely should have come to the defense of their members. That is precisely why trade associations exist. I just think continued protestations, beyond what is already out there, might actually undermine our message - a message we have every right to be extremely proud of. </div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-40213564019963469522018-11-17T10:07:00.001-05:002018-11-17T10:07:35.024-05:00Innovate and Improve Through One Simple Change In How You Ask Legal Questions<br />
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<a href="https://i0.wp.com/viva-naija.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mindset-3.jpg?fit=591%2C582&ssl=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Image result for changing mindset" border="0" class="irc_mi" height="313" src="https://i0.wp.com/viva-naija.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mindset-3.jpg?fit=591%2C582&ssl=1" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></span></a>As I write this, I’m sitting in the United Club at Orlando International Airport (a perk of the constant travel I seem to do) and am reflecting back on a truly fantastic week at the IAAPA Expo 2018. This year, for the first time, International Ride Training exhibited and had a booth in the Exploration Station – to the left of the ninjas and across from the dinosaur (you have GOT to love this industry). The booth was a monumental success as it gave us the opportunity to meet with countless clients, potential clients, and new friends just discovering us for the first time. I was also privileged to be a featured speaker for two seminars on the Americans With Disabilities Act and to actively participate in other sessions and meetings. In short, I met A LOT of people and, being a lawyer, got a lot of questions about compliance and best practices, whether it be with respect to the ADA or ride operations safety or business issues. Most often, these questions started with a familiar clause: “Do I have to ….” Now, in reflecting back on these conversations, I’m wondering if that’s not exactly the right question. Maybe the better question is “How do I ….” Or “What’s the most reasonable way to ….” What’s the difference? Read on, friends. </div>
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To put it simply:<span> </span>mindset.<span> </span>That’s the difference.<span> </span>The way we initially approach a question or a challenge, whether it be a business question or a legal challenge, defines in large measure how the solution will proceed and, I believe, charts the course for how effective the end solution may be.<span> </span>Let me illustrate using my favorite area of the law, the Americans With Disabilities Act.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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In one of my sessions at IAAPA, a gentleman stopped me at the end of the session and explained that he worked in a waterpark and that he was confused about the issue of guests with cognitive disabilities and, specifically, guests with autism spectrum disorder.<span> </span>He explained that, from the operator’s perspective, there was considerable confusion about how to accommodate these guests when it comes to waiting in line and even whether the law required an accommodation.<span> </span>Now, I don’t blame this gentleman for asking the question – he’s right.<span> </span>There is a lot of confusion about these issues.<span> </span>I point out this interaction because, at the end of it all, he said something like, “Do I have to allow these guests to go straight to the front of the line?”<span> </span>And while unsaid, there’s a lot communicated in that question and the way it’s phrased that speaks to a mindset that sometimes arises in the industry.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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“Do I have to …” suggests that we don’t want to, but we will if forced to.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Implication:</b><span> </span>I would really prefer not to be bothered with these guests, so tell me the bare minimum the law is going to make me do.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Implication:</b><span> </span>My rides are safe already and we know what we’re doing.<span> </span>But some plaintiff’s lawyer is going to make a big deal if I don’t do something else I don’t really need to do. <o:p></o:p></div>
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These questions suggest begrudging acceptance of the solution or the answer.<span> </span>They suggest a willingness or desire to do only the minimum that is required to address the issue and to implement only that which is absolutely necessary under the law.<span> </span>Perhaps most importantly, the way these questions are phrased suggest prejudgment about the answer – that it’s probably not “really” necessary from a practical standpoint, and that its only a “technicality” required to comply with a legal directive or address only a theoretical possibility.<span> </span>Structured this way, we start down the path of problem-solving predisposed against the very solution we’re looking for.<span> </span>Is that really the best way to approach the problem?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t think it is.<span> </span>So what about changing the way we ask the question in the first place?<span> </span>Instead of asking “Do I have to …” how about “….<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->How do I accommodate guests with autism?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->What’s the most reasonable way of warning riders with my signage?<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->How do I ensure that the restraints are secure on every seat, every cycle?<o:p></o:p></div>
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See the difference?<span> </span>Whereas before the question suggested immediate skepticism about the answer, the question now implies a genuine desire to solve the problem in the most effective and most reasonable way.<span> </span>Making this slight change in syntax implies that we <u>want</u>to accommodate guests with autism, provide meaningful warnings to our guests, and that we genuinely care about the safety of every guest that takes a ride.<span> </span>We are asking the question because we want to know the answers and find solutions that work, not only because we are being forced to do so by the invisible hand of the law.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Isn’t this the approach that fits best within our industry on the most fundamental level?<span> </span>I’ve worked with parks and attractions all over the country and, while there are many differences between them, at their core they all have the same central value:<span> </span>to provide the best experience for their guests that they can (taking, of course, budgetary restrictions into account).<span> </span>In so many other aspects of our industry, we strive to find new ways to exceed our guests expectations so they feel welcome and wanted in our parks. <span> </span>If that’s the way we are approaching food and beverage offerings, new attraction construction, guest service training, and park cleanliness, shouldn’t it also be the way we approach legal questions and risk management?<span> </span>If we want all of our guests to feel welcome and wanted, we should be actively looking for ways to accommodate autistic guests so they feel welcome and wanted.<span> </span>We should be genuinely interested in ways to make our warning signage more impactful and effective so that our guests get the information they need in a way that also manages your risk exposure.<span> </span>We should be trying to innovate in the areas of ride safety so that we continue to improve guest safety beyond its already enviable current level while, again, reducing your risk profile.<span> </span>Approaching these questions as ways to make your business better, rather than obstacles and expenses impeding business growth and burdening your operation, changes the entire calculation, encourages innovation, and motivates creative thinking about solutions.<span> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Not too bad for such a little change in wording, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-4134007613620885622018-09-13T15:46:00.001-04:002018-09-13T15:50:47.383-04:00The Eleventh Circuit Ruling That Calls Autism Policies Across The Industry Into Question<br />
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Well, it has now been just over two years since my last
entry on The Legal Roller Coaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much
has happened since then, and I’ll tell you about a lot of it very soon, but
suffice it to say that it has never been my intention that The Legal Roller
Coaster would be shelved permanently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
brief (or not so brief, depending on your perspective) hiatus was, however,
required.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nonetheless, I’m pleased to
say that I’m back and that there will be some changes (for the better) coming
soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the meantime, a new
long-awaited decision has been issued that makes now the best time in two years
to return to the blogosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqEC05YTCukPRcJnJs1nyfoksmUrfFB_GFmXfytupIUVNKUtanHq5iGxzc2IlNcSgOLeIMTHbzL1gpJXaUqrwUb7mXI3p_EbVnaVd9wK2XIWwHwrLMSQiG4oMgRhVyvHACiekuJCblwhe/s1600/11th-circuit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqEC05YTCukPRcJnJs1nyfoksmUrfFB_GFmXfytupIUVNKUtanHq5iGxzc2IlNcSgOLeIMTHbzL1gpJXaUqrwUb7mXI3p_EbVnaVd9wK2XIWwHwrLMSQiG4oMgRhVyvHACiekuJCblwhe/s1600/11th-circuit.jpg" /></a></div>
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In mid-August, the 11<sup>th</sup> Circuit Court of Appeals
issued its ruling in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A.L. v. Walt Disney
Parks and Resorts US, Inc.</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A copy
of the decision can be found <a href="http://media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/201612647.pdf">here</a>
in case you are interested in reading it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wrote about this case before on a number of occasions (and I encourage
you to read at least <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2016/05/disneys-autism-policy-passes-ada-muster.html">this
piece</a> before you read the rest of this one as it contains a much more
fulsome explanation of the lower court ruling than I’m going to provide here),
and I’ve been waiting for quite some time for the Court of Appeals’
ruling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now, having read it, I
regret that I’m not sure its much help to the industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s
get into it.</div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>What is this case about?</u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTtAM1SvhZaUInshUxY55PpFaV_UXINb1kzoHkHNaE9Mnj2ir97SYzO6ruja1xjfTQELrhvJS3eLfMsU14jPkI9ImeaVPQr-tmo-KLK_u84pXWu3v48dKEqYurYfb5h4mzMWOW9Wquw_8/s1600/dyslexia-3014152_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGTtAM1SvhZaUInshUxY55PpFaV_UXINb1kzoHkHNaE9Mnj2ir97SYzO6ruja1xjfTQELrhvJS3eLfMsU14jPkI9ImeaVPQr-tmo-KLK_u84pXWu3v48dKEqYurYfb5h4mzMWOW9Wquw_8/s320/dyslexia-3014152_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The case presents the question:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does the Americans With Disabilities Act
require amusement parks to allow guests with cognitive disabilities, such as autism, to have unfettered,
on-demand access to rides and attractions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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The decision is actually the culmination of thirty separate
lawsuits against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, each alleging identical
facts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Plaintiffs are individuals
with severe autism who allege that they are incapable of waiting for Disney’s
attractions without experiencing a meltdown – a situation which can result in
uncomfortable, embarrassing, and potentially dangerous outcomes for the
autistic guest, family members or other guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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In an attempt to accommodate these plaintiffs, and others
similarly situated, Disney adopted the Disability Access Service program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The DAS program allows guests who cannot wait
in lines to make an appointment for a ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Appointment times mirror the length of the line (with no appointment
needed for rides with less than a 15-minute wait).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the appointed time arrives, the autistic
guest and his / her party can board the ride through the FastPass+ boarding
queue with a minimal wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the ride
is over, another appointment may be given – again based on the length of the
line at the next attraction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In between
appointments, DAS guests are welcome to visit any other ride, shop, eat, watch
a parade or show, or do anything else they would like in the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no limit to the number of
appointments that a guest may receive and these appointments are in addition to
the three FastPass+ reservations that all Disney guests receive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The Plaintiffs contended that the DAS policy did not satisfy
the ADA’s requirement for “reasonable” and “necessary” modification of policies
and procedures because it still required them to wait – just not in the
queue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They, instead, requested that the
park allow them immediate, unlimited, and on-demand access to all rides and attractions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Disney said no, they sued.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Disney Wins … At First</u></b></div>
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The first decision rendered in these cases issued from Federal
District Court in Florida in May 2016. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Disney prevailed in that case. In reaching its
decision, the Court correctly found that that the Plaintiffs could only prevail
if they proved two things first:</div>
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1).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That their requested accommodation (i.e. immediate, on-demand access to
all rides and attractions at all Disney parks) was “necessary” to afford them a
“like experience” in the park as compared to nondisabled guests; and</div>
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2).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That their requested accommodation was reasonable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even if the Plaintiffs were able to prove both of those things,
Disney could still prevail, however, if it could show that the requested
accommodation “fundamentally altered” the nature of the service Disney
provided.</div>
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<br /></div>
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With these three requirements in mind, the District Court
decided not to focus on the reasonableness of the requested accommodation or
whether it fundamentally altered Disney’s services, and instead focused
exclusively on whether on-demand ride access was necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court found it was not because the DAS
system, in combination with “readmission passes” (a pass that provided immediate
access to a limited number of rides), afforded the Plaintiffs an equal or
better experience compared to nondisabled guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court also credited evidence that the
Plaintiffs generally travelled long distances to get to Disney’s parks, either
by car or plane, and were capable of waiting in those environments without
having a meltdown – undercutting, in the District Court’s view, the claim that
they could not wait between ride appointments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the 29 other cases that followed, the District Court issued nearly
identical rulings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Plaintiffs
appealed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>A Reversal On Appeal</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The appeal was brought before the 11<sup>th</sup> Circuit
Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over federal courts in Florida, Alabama,
and Georgia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court’s opinion looked
primarily at two issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, whether
the DAS policy was an impermissible “blanket policy” implemented without regard
to the individual need of each Plaintiff (or other guests for that matter).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, whether the District Court was correct
in holding that the Plaintiffs’ requested accommodation – on-demand immediate
access to rides and attractions - was not necessary to give autistic guests a “like
experience” compared to nondisabled guests.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With regard to the first question, the Court upheld the
ruling of the District Court that this was not necessarily an unlawful blanket or
“one size fits all” policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court found
that, while blanket policies were not usually permissible because they may deny
accommodations to a group that should have them, they are fine if they are
geared to the most severe disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court credited Disney’s argument that it
has chosen to assume that all autistic guests are equally severely disabled
rather than try to individually assess each guest – which would be quite burdensome
given the tens of thousands of guests in each Disney park every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The logic goes that if Disney’s DAS program
is sufficient to accommodate the needs of the most severely disabled guests in
the park, it will necessarily be sufficient to accommodate those less severely
disabled guests as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question,
then, was not whether the DAS policy was an impermissible blanket policy, but
whether it actually accommodated the most severely disabled guests such that a
blanket policy was legally acceptable.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Court of Appeals parted ways with the District Court,
though, when it came to the question of whether immediate, on-demand ride
access was necessary to accommodate the needs of the Plaintiffs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, the Court found that the DAS policy might,
but might not, be an insufficient accommodation because it did not address the alleged
need of the Plaintiffs to avoid waiting at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Court found that the Plaintiffs had presented evidence that the issue
for the Plaintiffs was not the inability to wait in line, but the inability to
wait <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">anywhere</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“The
claimed disability is waiting at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Disney’s DAS program accommodates the need to avoid physical lines, but
not the need to avoid waits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
addresses the geographic burden but not the temporal one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plaintiffs must still wait.”</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Recognizing that there was conflicting evidence as to the
extent of the impairments at issue – i.e. whether the Plaintiffs “are able to
transition to other activities without meltdown or other behavioral challenges
when they cannot access rides in their already-fixed routine order or cannot access
the same ride repeatedly” – the Court held that this question had to be
resolved by the District Court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It thus
remanded the cases, all of them, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the
District Court for trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>So Where Does This Leave The Industry?</u></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7UcpHhH6oiZlT3rzgC-ALzPLfoim7BWMbEDsa5iCEi8O5oD3-UZMOXFzZZo0JvSBD_YkNfuVLrLXF_-lz3T76HLSetrJg3qPYhYYZJU5kxcIiPYj-lRhEljXCOsdkaAgNVOXb5MwDmTl/s1600/square+one.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="1024" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7UcpHhH6oiZlT3rzgC-ALzPLfoim7BWMbEDsa5iCEi8O5oD3-UZMOXFzZZo0JvSBD_YkNfuVLrLXF_-lz3T76HLSetrJg3qPYhYYZJU5kxcIiPYj-lRhEljXCOsdkaAgNVOXb5MwDmTl/s320/square+one.jpg" width="320" /></a>The Court’s ultimate decision, in my view, takes the
industry back to square one - right where we were two years ago before the
District Court issued its ruling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are
appointment-based policies lawful under the ADA?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A ruling affirming the District Court would have been a
virtual blessing for other policies adopted by other park operators using
similar appointment-based systems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such
a ruling would have strongly indicated that these policies complied with the
ADA and would have dissuaded future lawsuits challenging those policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But … that’s not what happened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Instead, the Court’s ruling puts all three questions –
necessity, reasonableness, and fundamental alteration – back on the table for
this case and future cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court,
not necessarily inappropriately, suggests that the lawfulness of the policy
must be decided on a case-by-case basis that considers the specific needs of
each disabled guest in the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is therefore
conceivable that some of the thirty plaintiffs will ultimately be found
entitled to immediate, on-demand ride access and others won’t be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while there is an academic appeal to this
kind of individualized application of the ADA, it does not lend itself well to
administering a policy in light of the huge volume of business that is
conducted at an amusement park every day.</div>
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Disney’s DAS policy, like similar policies all over the
industry, are designed to accommodate the needs of disabled guests while also
being administratively manageable given the number of guests and the relative
lack of expertise of the typical Guest Relations or Park Operations staff
member.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If, as the Court suggests, the
DAS policy may not pass muster as a blanket policy because it does not actually
address the needs of the most severely disabled guests, then the Court’s ruling
implicitly suggests that individualized assessment of every disabled guest
would, in fact, be necessary to satisfy the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, as a practical matter, that is
a very burdensome undertaking and one fraught with potential error given the
typical expertise of the park employee doing the assessment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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For that reason, I do not believe that this case will
ultimately be decided on either the necessity or the reasonableness prongs of
the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those are the prongs that turn
most on the individual assessment of the plaintiff – something that will, by
definition, change in every case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead,
I think the real battle ground for the DAS policy will be whether on-demand,
immediate boarding access “fundamentally alters” the services that Disney is
providing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the “fundamental
alteration” prong does not focus on the guest at issue, but on the requested
accommodation – something that does not necessarily change from case to case - a
ruling on “fundamental alteration” would provide much needed guidance to the
parties and the industry on how to move forward in a truly manageable fashion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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As for the merits of such an argument, I continue to believe
– <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/06/here-now-pt-3-isnt-standing-in-line.html">as
I’ve previously explained in some detail</a> – that there are good arguments
that avoiding all lines does, in fact, fundamentally alter the nature of the
services offered by a theme park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t
rehash my previous analysis of this point in great detail, but I think there
are strong arguments that a guest that never has to wait in line, can ride
anything he / she wants, anytime he / she wants, and as many times as he/she
wants is going to have a fundamentally different experience in the park as
compared to a guest who spends, conservatively, half the time in the park
standing in a line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also think that,
from an economic standpoint, this brand of access would force the business to
give away its product at a much lower price on a per-attraction basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether Disney proffers similar arguments, or
others, I think it is likely that this will be the place where this decision
will ultimately center.</div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Are There Any Alternatives That Might Avoid Challenge?</u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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So what if you, Mr. or Mrs. Park Operator, want to avoid the
fight and a lawsuit altogether, but don’t think it is fair to simply allow
unfettered access to rides and attractions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Are there any alternatives that might pass legal scrutiny in light of
this opinion?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we don’t know
definitively, I think there could be some lessons lurking in the opinion that
might be helpful.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The first is to focus on what the Plaintiffs allege here
(and what future plaintiffs will almost certainly allege as well). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are two basic components:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1) They cannot wait for the rides they want
to ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>2) They have to go in a very specific sequence from ride-to-ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is, in the Court’s apparent view, the worst-case
scenario that a blanket policy should be tailored toward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Presumably, then, finding a way to satisfy
these needs, and thus accommodating the most severely disabled autistic guests,
would lawfully accommodate all other guests in an administratively manageable
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So how could you do it?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think planning may well be the key. I’m not talking about
planning by the families of disabled guests before they arrive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m talking about giving disabled guests the
ability to schedule their necessary sequence of rides for immediate boarding at
the beginning of the day at the park, but with a limit on the number of rides for
which immediate access is granted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
what’s the limit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that (subject
to one caveat discussed below) is defined by the guest’s required
sequence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me put some more meat on
those bones. </div>
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<br /></div>
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If we accept that the most severely autistic guests have to
ride in a particular sequence, it follows that this sequence must have an
end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the last ride in the
sequence, the next step is to leave the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That too must logically be part of the sequence. If it’s not, it frankly
calls the entire need for sequencing into question, doesn’t it? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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So why not permit the guest to schedule, at the very
beginning of the day, his / her sequence in the park but nothing else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, couldn’t a park simply allow
immediate access to the rides in the sequence but, once the sequence is over, immediate
access is over too?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the problem that
parks have is that some unscrupulous guests abuse the policy to get unlimited
ride access and to take unfair advantage over other guests, doesn’t this take
care of that concern?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An autistic guest that
has to have immediate access to 10 rides in a specific order can get that
sequence – but nothing else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the
sequence is over, the guest is free to stay, but immediate, on-demand access is
over.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, I can already hear someone out there pointing out a
giant loophole in my suggestion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Erik,
you say, what’s to stop one of these unscrupulous people from simply creating a
sequence that takes the whole day to get through?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s to stop abuse by guests who claim that
their autistic child must visit 38 rides in a row, every time, without stopping?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think there is an answer to that as
well:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>limit the sequence to the number
of rides (maybe plus an additional two or three) a nondisabled guest is
expected to ride each day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Parks know
that number for any given level of attendance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Limiting the guest’s sequence to the lower of either the sequence itself
or the number of rides any other guest gets would seem to address the concerns
of all parties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Disabled guests would
get immediate access and would not have to go out of sequence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Parks could rest assured that abuse of the
policy would be limited since no one would get free run of the park all day and
all their guests would have a similar experience in the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone wins. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bottom line from the Eleventh Circuit’s decision is that
parks that have an appointment-based admission policy should no longer feel
comfortable that they comply with the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hopefully, round three of this case will bring some clarity, but in the
meantime, I recommend that parks give serious thought to whether their policies
truly address the “worst case” disability or whether they have sufficient flexibility
built into the policy to provide on-demand, immediate ride access for a particular
guest that might need it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think
we can, as an industry, argue any longer that on-demand, immediate ride access
simply is not necessary for any disabled guest.</div>
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</style>Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com121tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-77975334344416607662016-08-30T19:28:00.001-04:002016-08-31T08:54:44.758-04:00A Safer Ride? (Pt. 3) - Is State Amusement Regulation The Problem?<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.onlineatlas.us/map/united-states-map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.onlineatlas.us/map/united-states-map.gif" height="205" width="320" /></a> The
amusement season is quickly winding down as daily operation (for seasonal
parks) comes to a close and schools go back into session. Like schools, legislatures around the country
will also be heading into session shortly and, given the tragic and unfortunate
incidents in the amusement industry recently, it is likely that at least
some of these – maybe even at the federal level – will consider new regulation
of the industry. As I’ve detailed before
in my last two pieces, the siren song of federal regulation is almost
impossible to ignore in the wake of an amusement ride-related death or serious
injury. But the only real reason to look
seriously at replacing the current system with a new federal oversight program
is if the states' regulatory programs are not working. So, for my final piece in this series I
thought it would make sense to look at the evidence, or lack thereof, that
state regulation is failing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>There Is Nothing Inherently Wrong With A “Patchwork” of State
Regulations</u></b></h3>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> </b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b> </b>Read any media report after a
serious incident on an amusement ride and you will undoubtedly see a <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.axis.com/sites/default/files/heavy-traffic-highway-cars.jpg?chunk-nid-34452-chunk-vid-41192" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.axis.com/sites/default/files/heavy-traffic-highway-cars.jpg?chunk-nid-34452-chunk-vid-41192" height="236" width="400" /></a></div>
reference
to the so-called “<a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/amusement-park-risks-impossible-article-1.2653335">patchwork”
of state regulation</a>. <a href="https://skift.com/2013/07/27/the-patchwork-of-state-rules-that-regulate-u-s-theme-parks/">The
media loves this term, and they throw it around in the most pejorative sense
possible</a>. What the media ignores is
that <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2011/08/why-our-founding-fathers-would-have.html">our
country is actually built on a “patchwork” of state laws</a> and, indeed, many
issues, implicating safety concerns that far outweigh any in the amusement
industry, are similarly governed by a “patchwork” of state laws. For example, in parts of Texas, motor vehicles can legally
be <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_States">operated
at 85 mph</a>, while in most of the Northeast a driver can legally go no faster
than 65 mph. In South Dakota, some <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver%27s_license_in_the_United_States#Drivers_licensing_laws">fourteen
year olds can be legally licensed to drive a vehicle</a>, while in New Jersey
drivers must be seventeen years old to get a license. Some states require cars to undergo periodic
mechanical inspections while others have no inspection requirement at all. Yet, despite this “patchwork” and the
undeniable fact that more than <a href="http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/state-by-state-overview">32,000
people were killed in traffic accidents in</a> 2014, there is no general outcry
for federal motor vehicle or traffic regulation.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Similarly,
almost every consumer product on the market is subject to a “patchwork” of
state regulation in the form of state product liability law. While the CPSC and, depending on the product,
other federal agencies may regulate some aspects of product liability law on a
federal level, federal regulation is rarely the standard by which a product is
measured in terms of a safe design or a manufacturing defect or a failure to
warn of foreseeable risks. When a
product is defective, it is state law that generally governs the question, <a href="http://www.alfainternational.com/product-liability-law-compendium">and state
product liability law varies greatly depending on the jurisdiction</a>. The availability of punitive damages, strict
liability, and even the type of proof required to prove that a product is
defective are all questions that are heavily dependent upon which state’s law
governs. But, here again, outside of a
few very specialized contexts (pharmaceuticals and aviation primarily) there is
no real clamor for federal oversight to replace the “patchwork” of state
regulation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If having a "patchwork" approach to regulation were, itself, a bad way to regulate safety, I would expect to see a similar outcry for federal regulation of traffic laws and product liability that we do in the amusement industry. That there is no such outcry belies the notion that the "patchwork" itself is the real problem. Therefore, if the
claim is to be made that state regulation of the amusement industry is not
working, critics will have to point to more than the existence of the same “patchwork”
that is used to regulate a host of other issues in this country to make their case. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>One Incident (Even A Horrific One) Does Not Mean That State Regulation
Is Failing</u></b></h3>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b> </b>One of the most frequent means
of criticizing the effectiveness of state regulation is simply pointing to<b> </b>fatalities and serious injuries that
sometimes, albeit rarely, occur under the current system. Critics, particularly those with a news
camera pointed at them, will make the impassioned case that state regulation
must not work because someone died or was seriously injured on a ride. This is a false syllogism, however, that
actually says little, if anything, on its own about the effectiveness of any
particular regulatory regime. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The flaw in
this argument is that it assumes that the only measure of a successful
regulatory program is zero deaths and zero serious injuries. That is, of course, an impossible and
unrealistic standard. The goal of any
regulatory scheme is to reduce the number of injuries or deaths as much as
reasonably possible, not to eliminate them entirely. Even in the most heavily federally regulated
industries, such as aviation, people die and are injured. Indeed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration,
<a href="http://www.asias.faa.gov/pls/apex/f?p=100:96:::::P96_ENTRY_DATE,P96_FATAL_FLG:29-AUG-16,YES">five
people were killed in three separate aviation accidents on August 28, 2016 <i>alone</i></a><i>.</i> Does that fact mean that the FAA is failing as a regulator? Without knowing a lot more about those accidents, it does not. .<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I probably
won’t win many popularity points in the industry for saying this, but the truth is that it is
impossible for any industry, amusement or otherwise, to be 100% safe. The only way to prevent 100% of ride-related
injuries or deaths is to not operate amusement rides. Since that is obviously not realistic, the sad
fact is that as long as rides are operating people will, on extremely rare
occasions, die or be seriously injured on them.
The industry simply cannot be absolutely safe regardless of the level of
regulation or the identity of the regulators. And because of that, the fact that a death or
serious injury occurs, in isolation, says very little about whether regulation
is working or whether the industry is, as a whole, safe. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, it is,
of course, true that serious incidents can be indicators of problems. For example, if there were a significant
number of injuries or deaths on the same ride or in a single jurisdiction or if the cause of an injury or
death were to be attributable to a gap in the regulations, those events might
indicate a problem that demands attention.
But I am unaware of anything in recent events that would raise such
concerns now. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A last note
on this point. I am not arguing that we
should be content to allow tragedies to occur or that we should not undertake
every effort to investigate every accident.
I understand, perhaps better than most given my experience, that every incident
demands the highest level of attention and investigation. I expect that every incident leads to
self-evaluation and an effort to prevent it from re-occurring. I am only arguing that assuming that the
system must be broken because a death or serious injury occurred, without knowing
more about the cause of that accident, is simply misleading.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>The Numbers Do Not Support The Conclusion That State Regulation Is
Failing</u></b></h3>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If the
patchwork approach to state regulation is not indicative of a failing system,
and an isolated death or serious injury is not indicative either, perhaps the
data shows that state regulation is not working. Here again though, I struggle to find any evidence
that the states are failing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ophss/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson5/images/figure5.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.cdc.gov/ophss/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson5/images/figure5.11.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before I get into the numbers, it is necessary to explain where the data comes from and why I think it is useful in this circumstance. The
Consumer Products Safety Commission uses a system called “NEISS,” the <a href="http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Research--Statistics/NEISS-Injury-Data/">National
Electronic Injury Surveillance System</a>, to compile injury estimates on a
huge variety of products each year, including amusement rides. NEISS collects data from a sampling of approximately
one hundred hospital emergency rooms around the country and uses that data to
extrapolate a national estimate of injuries related to a particular activity or
product each year. Now, I am normally not a fan of
NEISS in the amusement context because I think it is unreliable. Not because it underestimates the number of injuries
caused by amusement rides, but because it almost certainly <u>overestimates</u>
them. Here’s why. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NEISS works
reasonably well when a product is somewhat equally distributed among
NEISS-reporting hospitals, but amusement rides are not distributed like other
products. Amusement rides tend to be
concentrated in certain areas of the country and are virtually absent in
others. Nonetheless, NEISS treats
amusement rides much like any other product – which practically ensures that its
estimates overstate the number of amusement ride related injuries each
year. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moreover,
and perhaps more importantly, NEISS data is not intended to imply a causal
connection between an injury and a particular product. The NEISS Coding Manual specifically instructs
reporting hospitals that “<a href="http://www.cpsc.gov/Global/Neiss_prod/2016NonTraumaNEISSCodingManual.pdf">it
is not necessary to determine that a product was at fault to report an
associated injury</a>.” Hospitals are
to report any injury “<a href="http://www.cpsc.gov/Global/Neiss_prod/2016NonTraumaNEISSCodingManual.pdf">where
a consumer product, sport, or recreational activity is associated with the
reason for the visit or related to a condition treated.</a>” Consequently, NEISS data for amusement ride
injuries necessarily includes injuries caused by amusement rides, but also
includes injuries “associated with” amusement rides such as injuries occurring in
queue lines or on midways near rides, injuries occurring during loading or
unloading when the ride is completely motionless, and injuries occurring on
rides but caused by guest conduct.
Because of these issues, it is a virtual certainty that NEISS data
overstates the number of injuries causally connected to amusement rides every
year. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So why use this obviously flawed data? Because it likely represents the “worst case scenario.” And if even the worst case scenario
does not suggest a safety problem in the industry, it is safe to assume that
more accurate data would not suggest one either. With that said ... </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The CPSC
estimates that, in 2015, there were approximately 30,000 NEISS-reportable
injuries associated with amusement rides in the United States. While that number sounds scary out of context,
keep in mind that IAAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks &
Attractions, estimates that U.S. amusement parks host approximately <a href="http://www.iaapa.org/resources/by-park-type/amusement-parks-and-attractions/industry-statistics%20CPSC%20/">375
million guests per year</a>. Setting
aside the fact that this estimate does not include the millions of guests who
visit mobile amusement attractions each year (even though the NEISS data does),
this means that <b><i>only .008%</i></b> of guests visiting amusement parks each year are
injured seriously enough to warrant a trip to an emergency room. And, remember,
in all likelihood that number is overstating the situation – potentially significantly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A .008%
chance of injury is a risk almost anyone would take. But drilling down a little deeper into the
data reduces that risk even more.
NEISS data differentiates injuries based on, among other things, the
treatment (or lack thereof) necessitated by the injury. The data indicates that of the .008% of
guests nationwide who are estimated to have visited the emergency room for an
amusement ride related injury in 2015, <b><u>98.3%</u></b> of them were treated and immediately released or left
the emergency room without being treated at all. The CPSC estimates that only <b><i>381</i></b> people, <b><u>nationwide</u>,
</b>had injuries associated with amusement rides that were serious enough to
warrant hospitalization in 2015. Put another
way, the <b><i>worst case data</i></b> available suggests that the chance of being seriously
injured on an amusement ride in the United States in 2015 about <b style="text-decoration: underline;">one thousandth of one percent</b><b> </b>(.0001%). Pretty
impressive considering that the CPSC estimates that over a thousand people were
hospitalized in 2015 for injuries associated with unpowered garden equipment
and more than twenty thousand were hospitalized with injuries associated with
exercise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But what about deaths?
Well, the CPSC has no nationwide estimate for the number of deaths occurring
on amusement rides in 2015. Why? Because not a single hospital in the entire
NEISS system reported a death associated with amusements in 2015. Without a sample, an extrapolated estimate
cannot be made. This alone speaks to the
rarity of death in the amusement industry.
But I do not believe that we need CPSC data, flawed as it may be, to show
that deaths are rare. Deaths on
amusement rides do not escape public attention.
The media descends on the scene of a fatality almost immediately. There is, therefore, no mystery about the
number of deaths that occur in amusement parks each year. The fact that in any given year the number of
deaths in amusement parks can generally be tallied on one hand is ample
evidence that there is no pervasive safety or regulatory problem that is
killing parkgoers in the United States.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Amusement parks are supposed to be fun. They are supposed to
be thrilling. And they are supposed to
be safe. Because that is what amusement
parks are supposed to be, it is enticingly easy to presume that the system must
be broken whenever something tragic happens.
It is easy to claim that things would be better if there were not a “patchwork”
of regulations – even though the same patchwork oversees many other aspects of
our daily lives. It is easy to claim that a single tragic event is proof that
the system is broken – even before anyone knows how or why that tragedy occurred
or if it has any connection to the "system" in the first place. It is easy to point to thousands of injuries
occurring in amusement parks – even though those thousands of injuries are but
a minuscule percentage of the hundreds of millions of visitors to amusement
parks each year. Wanting to blame
someone or something for bad things is understandable. But, looking objectively at history and the
data, there is just no evidence that state regulation is the problem. <o:p></o:p></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-73824637852086946112016-08-22T17:09:00.002-04:002016-08-22T17:09:21.759-04:00A Safer Ride? (Pt. 2) - What Would Federal Amusement Ride Regulation Cost & Do Regulators Even Want It?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<b> </b>The question of federal
oversight of amusement ride safety is one that comes up every summer in the
wake of an unfortunate, sometimes tragic, incident in the industry. But while many in politics and the media are
quick to speak out in favor of federal ride safety oversight, this rhetoric is
typically devoid of any detail. What
would a federal ride safety program look like?
What would it cost? And does the
agency that would be charged with administering it share the view that it would
be a good idea? In my last post, I made
my case for why I just do not see the federal government being any better (and
perhaps it would be worse) than the states when it comes to ride safety
oversight. But even setting that aside,
it is important to think about the details here and consider whether this
program might be not enough bang and too much buck. </div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>How Much Oversight?<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before
getting into the costs and / or desire for federal ride safety oversight, we
need to know what exactly it is that we are talking about when we think about a
potential federal ride safety program. For
years, there has been talk of giving the Consumer Products Safety Commission
(“CPSC”) jurisdiction over fixed site rides, but simply saying that is saying
nothing. To intelligently discuss the
costs and benefits of a potential program, we need to know what exactly the
CPSC would do. Details on a proposed
program are hard to find, but I was able to find some, from now-Senator Ed
Markey of Massachusetts, the only real proponent on Capitol Hill for federal
ride safety oversight in recent years. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyAlTb0KSnk">Here’s what he had to say on
the matter in 2008</a>:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<o:p></o:p><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
“[T]he federal government is prevented from investigating
accidents at amusement parks, sharing accident information with operators of
the same ride in other states so that malfunctions are fixed before more riders
are hurt, requiring manufacturers to correct design flaws and make the ride
safer, and enforcing a full range of safety measures on amusement park rides.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Setting aside whether Senator Markey is correct about the
current state of ride regulation, this statement appears to outline the
contours of the federal program he would like to see enacted. Such a program would be impressive in its
scope, to be sure. While this program
would accomplish much of what is already encompassed in many states right now,
particularly in terms of enforcement of safety regulations and accident
investigation, it would also include, apparently, a system for reviewing and
assessing amusement ride design – presumably before an accident occurs – and a
publicly available comprehensive database of accident information. All of this sounds good to those who argue
vociferously for federal oversight. But
let’s look at what this program would likely cost American taxpayers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>The Likely Cost<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Spoiler
alert: This program would probably be very, very expensive. While, to the best of my knowledge, no one
has undertaken a study of what it would actually cost, we can certainly draw a
good faith estimate from looking to the one existing federal program
that looks a lot like what Senator Markey describes: aviation regulation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For those
not familiar with how federal aviation regulation works in the United States, a
quick primer is in order. Broadly
speaking there are two related, yet independent, agencies that regulate
aviation in the U.S.: the Federal
Aviation Administration (“FAA”) and the National Transportation Safety Board
(“NTSB”). Each of these agencies plays
an important role in aviation safety both from a regulatory and an investigatory
standpoint. The FAA is the agency in
charge of reviewing and certifying aircraft design, promulgating safety
regulations, enforcing those regulations, and working with the industry on
safety improvements designed to prevent accidents before they occur. The NTSB, on the other hand, is the agency
tasked with investigating aviation accidents after they occur to determine
their probable cause and make recommendations to the aviation industry and the
FAA for safety improvements designed to prevent accident re-occurrence. The NTSB also maintains a public database of
accident data concerning every accident occurring in the U.S. Putting these two agencies together, they
have responsibility for “investigating accidents,” “sharing accident
information with operators,” “requiring manufacturers to correct design flaws,”
and “enforcing a full range of safety measures” in the aviation industry. In short, this looks like a template for the
federal amusement ride safety program Senator Markey described above. So if the functions are similar, the costs
might be similar too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first
“bucket” of costs that I think we should consider is what I’ll call the
“regulatory” function of a federal amusement ride safety program. This is the part of the program that would be
in charge of assessing and certifying amusement ride design, promulgating
regulations, working with the industry to ensure compliance and design modifications
(where necessary), and enforcing safety regulations through periodic ride
inspections and / or more formal enforcement actions. In the aviation sector, this is the largely
the FAA’s job. And it is a big one. How big?
Well, <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/FY2016-BudgetEstimate-FAA.pdf">about
$15.83 billion big in fiscal year 2016</a>.
Now, to be clear, I don’t think that a federal amusement ride program
would necessarily cost $15.8 billion.
But I think we can borrow from the FAA’s budget estimate to get a more
realistic idea of what such a program would cost. More specifically, the FAA’s 2016 budget
request includes approximately $1.5 billion for the aviation safety office, the
branch of the FAA dedicated to aviation inspection, surveillance, and certification
services. The aviation safety office
essentially handles much of what would be within the regulatory function of a
federal amusement ride safety program. Even
assuming that, due to differences between the two industries, a third of the
FAA’s money would not be needed for amusement ride safety oversight, we are
still left with a regulatory program alone that would cost a billion dollars to
implement, maintain, and operate. A
billion dollars to review and certify amusement ride design (remember, there
are literally thousands of individual amusement ride designs out there – some dating
back decades), employ federal inspectors (who would now need to inspect in all
50 states), write regulations, enforce compliance, inspect every amusement ride
in the country annually or, for mobile rides, whenever set up in a new location
(and there are easily tens of thousands of rides, both fixed and mobile, operating
each year in the U.S.), and take whatever actions are deemed necessary to
enforce those regulations. That’s a
billion dollars. Per year. And we haven’t even gotten to the other component
we have to think about.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the
event that something bad happens on an amusement ride, a federal program would
be needed to investigate it and determine its probable cause. For that, something similar to the NTSB would
be necessary. So how much does the NTSB
spend on its aviation-related issues? <a href="http://www.ntsb.gov/about/Documents/FY2016_BudgetRequest.pdf">In FY 2016,
it requested $105 million in total funding</a>, approximately a third of which,
$33 million, is dedicated to aviation safety.
Assuming again that an amusement accident investigatory board (including
a publicly available amusement safety database) might only need 2/3 of this
money to operate, that still leaves about $22 million for post-accident
investigation. And, depending upon the
severity threshold necessary to trigger a federal investigation, that number
might actually be far greater. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bottom
line is that, to accomplish a federal ride safety oversight program that would
include design certification, regulatory implementation and enforcement, and
investigatory jurisdiction could conservatively cost U.S. taxpayers <b><i>more
than a billion dollars</i></b>. That is
basically the same amount that <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/11/house-begins-passing-package-bills-fight-epidemic-opioid-addiction/84203944/">President
Obama recently requested for a new federal program to combat prescription opioid
and heroin abuse</a> – <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/05/11/house-begins-passing-package-bills-fight-epidemic-opioid-addiction/84203944/">an
amount that Congressional republicans have, thus far, refused to fund</a>
(although they are expected to next year).
Does anyone seriously believe that a Congress that drags its feet to
combat heroin abuse will spend a billion dollars on roller coasters and
water slides? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Is There Any Desire For Federal Regulation By Federal Regulators?<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even
assuming that the price tag for such a comprehensive federal program was not so
cost prohibitive, does anyone at the federal level really want it? I’m not talking about legislators who sway
with the wind of public outrage, advocating for the issue-of-the-moment, but
who rarely have to deal with the actual realities created by their
legislation. I’m talking about the
regulators themselves – the people that would actually have to implement such a
program. In this case, I’m talking about
the CPSC. Is there any evidence that the
CPSC thinks federal ride safety oversight – whether carrying a billion dollar
price tag or not – is a good idea. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
When trying
to discern what the CPSC may think about amusement ride regulation, it is
important to remember something that is repeatedly ignored when the media is
reporting on this issue: the CPSC <i>already has regulatory jurisdiction over a
huge swath of the amusement rides operating in this country</i>. In 1981, Congress passed a bill that excluded
fixed site amusement rides from the definition of a “consumer product.” Mobile amusement rides, however, were left
within the definition and, thus, subject to CPSC oversight. For these rides, the CPSC, for decades now,
has had the authority to adopt safety standards, either voluntary or mandatory
whenever it deems them “reasonably necessary to prevent or reduce an unreasonable
risk of injury.” <u>See</u>15 U.S.C. §
2056(a). Nonetheless, it never has. Presumably because it does not believe mobile
amusement rides represent an “unreasonable risk of injury.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The CPSC
knows exactly how safe the industry is. Not
because the industry lobby tells it so.
But because it has been directly involved with the development of worldwide amusement industry ride safety standards for years through its participation on the ASTM
F24 committee – the committee that sets the operating, design, and maintenance standards
for the amusement industry – both mobile and fixed-site. The F24 committee is a body comprised of more
than <a href="https://www.astm.org/COMMIT/F24_AmusementRideSafetyFactSheet.html">900
ASTM members from 30 countries, including manufacturers, engineers, designers,
technicians, park owners and operators, regulators, inspectors, biodynamic
experts, industry association representatives, consumer advocates and others</a>. Its leadership is a veritable <a href="https://www.astm.org/COMMIT/OFFICERS/F24.htm">“who’s who” in the field of
amusement ride safety and includes representatives of some of the most
sophisticated operators and manufacturers in the world.</a> These people know safety. And these people include representatives from
the CPSC. <a href="http://www.cpsc.gov/Global/Regulations-Laws-and-Standards/Voluntary-Standards/Voluntary-Standards-Reports/VoluntaryStandardsActivitiesFY2014AnnualReport.pdf">According
to the CPSC’s own documents,</a> the CPSC has been actively involved on the F24
Committee, and took an active role in “monitor[ing] and provid[ing] technical
support to the development of new and revised standards developed and
maintained by the ASTM F24 Committee on Amusement Rides and Devices.” The CPSC worked with ASTM on the development
of “standard practices for amusement ride terminology, design, manufacture,
railways, water-related rides and devices, ownership and operation, and
hydraulic systems.” Indeed, the CPSC was
apparently comfortable enough with the industry’s own safety efforts that in
2015, the CPSC stepped back, reducing “its involvement [on the F23 Committee] from
active participation to monitoring.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The CPSC’s level
of industry participation is important for two reasons. First, it is evidence that the CPSC knows
exactly how the industry is operating, what standards the industry has in place,
and the regulatory framework enacted at the state level. There is no doubt that the CPSC knows exactly
how safe or unsafe the amusement industry is.
Second, knowing what it does, the fact that it has chosen never to adopt
even voluntary standards at the federal level is an implicit acknowledgment
that it perceives, to use the statutory language, no “unreasonable risk of injury”
associated with amusement rides. If it did,
the CPSC would have been statutorily required to do something about it. But it hasn’t. And if it doesn't even perceive the need to act under its jurisdiction now, there is no reason to believe that its position
would change with the addition of fixed-site rides.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Political
rhetoric and media scare tactics in favor of federal oversight are one
thing. They are effective in arousing
compassion and anger at the status quo.
But the solution to the current system (if one is needed) is not a
billion dollar federal program that the very regulators charged with
administering it do not appear to want.
So why do it? Well … the only
reason we should even have this discussion, notwithstanding all the downsides,
is if state regulation simply isn’t working.
But is that the reality? See you
next time.</div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-61316589104258041472016-08-15T16:41:00.000-04:002016-08-16T16:02:37.600-04:00A Safer Ride? (Pt. 1): Is The Federal Government A Better Regulator Than The States?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://sensiblethought.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Federal-vs-State.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://sensiblethought.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Federal-vs-State.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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To state the obvious (and to understate the matter
significantly), this has been an extremely bad week in the amusement industry. The
week began with news of the<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/07/us/kansas-schlitterbahn-water-park-child-death/">
death of 10-year old Caleb Schwab at Schlitterbahn waterpark in Kansas City,
Kansas</a>. Just days later, news broke of
an accident at a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/health/tennessee-ferris-wheel/">carnival in
Tennessee involving a Ferris wheel and resulting in injury and hospitalization
to three guests</a>. And the week ended
with news that <a href="http://fox8.com/2016/08/12/toddler-hospitalized-after-roller-coaster-accident-at-idlewild-amusement-park/">a
three-year old was thrown from a roller coaster at Idlewild amusement park in
Pennsylvania. </a> As the public has
learned more about these incidents, and especially <a href="http://m.gazette.com/source-boy-was-decapitated-on-waterslide-at-kansas-park/article/1582407">the
reportedly gruesome nature of Caleb’s death</a>, the outcry for answers has
been immediate and unmistakable. The
media, in particular, has repeatedly focused on the so-called “patchwork” of
state regulations in the amusement industry and, more specifically, the fact that
there is no federal regulatory body overseeing ride safety in the United
States. <o:p></o:p></div>
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None of these criticisms are particularly new – indeed they
arise whenever a tragedy strikes our industry.
But this time, faced with the unbearably tragic death of a young boy at
a family-friendly waterpark, these criticisms seem to have gained more traction
in the public consciousness. It is
simply impossible to look at a picture of Caleb Schwab and to not feel the
greatest empathy for his family and to not want to make changes to ensure that
no other family has to ever go through this again. It is easy to argue, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyAlTb0KSnk">as Jake Tapper recently did
on CNN, that the system failed Caleb, and that the answer is federal oversight</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But, even after this week, one of the worst I can remember
in the nearly 25 years I’ve been involved in the industry, I still maintain
that federal ride safety regulation is not the answer. And I think it’s time, after all these years
writing this blog, that I explain exactly why I feel that way. As I’ve done with other important issues in
the industry, I’m going to look at this in three parts: In this piece, I’m going to look at the
question of whether the federal government is somehow inherently “better” than
the states at regulating. The next piece
will look at what a potential federal ride safety program might actually look
like and, critically, how much it might cost U.S. taxpayers. The third will look at the question of
whether there is any actual evidence that state regulation is not working. The media has made their case. It’s time for me to make mine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now let me begin by saying that I don’t have any idea what
caused any of the events of this week, and I am not going to speculate or
comment on unproven possibilities. These
incidents are being investigated and answers will be forthcoming. I intend to let those investigations progress
before wading into commentary on the cause of these accidents (and, even then,
I may not). I don’t know whether any of
these incidents were the product of negligence on the manufacturer’s part, the
operator’s part, the guest’s part, or were caused by some other issue
entirely. My point in writing this is
not to suggest that we should not expend every available resource to
investigate and learn from these accidents so that they do not reoccur nor to suggest
that there is no room for improvement in any particular state’s regulatory
system. My point is only to address the
most frequent, reflexive reaction to such tragedies – the idea that these
accidents would not occur (or would occur less frequently) if there was federal
ride safety oversight. So let’s get to
it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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To begin, I think it is worth considering the most basic
assumption underlying the push for federal oversight: that Federal regulation is somehow inherently
superior to State regulation. But is
there any real support for that threshold assumption? If there is, I can’t find it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s start with whether the federal government is somehow “more
powerful” than the state when it comes to regulating. It isn’t.
States have the power to investigate potential violations of their laws,
just as the federal government does.
States have subpoena power to compel regulated parties to produce
evidence as part of an investigation, just as the federal government does. States have the power to impose civil and
criminal penalties for violation of its laws, just as the federal government does.
There is simply nothing inherently more
powerful about the federal government’s regulatory power as compared to the
states that might make it more effective in regulating. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_960w/Boston/2011-2020/2013/12/08/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/dc-big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_960w/Boston/2011-2020/2013/12/08/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/dc-big.jpg" width="320" /></a>So if the Federal government is not more powerful in
regulating, could it just be more effective.
I don’t think so. In fact, I believe
that the Federal government would likely be less effective when it comes to
amusement safety regulation than the states currently are. Generally speaking, state legislatures and
regulators are more capable of addressing, quickly and efficiently, particular issues
than is the Federal government. As both
presidential candidates have reminded us on any number of occasions, the Federal
government has been largely ineffective in legislating or regulating anything over
the last several years. The phrase “Washington
is broken” is not an exaggeration.
Congress has shown itself to be unwilling or unable to respond to even
the seemingly most uncontroversial and popular public demands for action. For example, <a href="http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2016/jan/05/laura-ingraham/laura-ingraham-say-claim-90-support-gun-background/">nearly
90% of the American people favor basic background checks for gun sales</a>, but
Congress has ignored this overwhelming public support in favor of doing,
essentially, nothing on the issue. To
imagine that amusement ride safety regulation will be the bridge that brings
Congress together and forces action, when a classroom of dead children in Sandy
Hook couldn’t, is naïve. <o:p></o:p></div>
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These political forces are far less pronounced at the state
level, in places like Albany, Sacramento, Topeka, Nashville, or Harrisburg, and thus more can get done more quickly. Given their limited size, scope, and direct
proximity to constituents, state governments are typically much more facile in
adapting to changing circumstances to meet the needs and demands of their
citizens than the federal government. If
Kansas residents and their lawmakers decide that Kansas’ ride safety laws need
to be changed, Kansas does not have to convince legislators from South Dakota
or Alabama to support the bill and vote for it.
Kansas lawmakers are singularly focused on the needs of Kansas residents
and can respond to those individual needs much more effectively than the
federal government. If Tennessee would
prefer to adopt a more stringent amusement safety regime or Montana would
prefer to expend its resources on other programs (given the paucity of
amusement rides in Montana), those states can act accordingly and, should
things not work as intended, retain the flexibility to modify the regulatory
regime on their own time frame and without involving other states who may not
want to make similar moves. The system
of state regulation, thus, allows a state to tailor its law to its needs. Something that would be impossible for the Federal
government to do. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, the legislature is only half the issue. The other half is the regulatory agencies
charged with administering ride safety laws.
Here again, the federal government has proven itself often times
ineffective – even as to programs with obvious national importance. The <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/apr/3/va-still-plagued-by-problems-two-years-after-scand/">Veterans
Administration is beset with serious problems</a> and, many say, is failing the
very men and women that defend our country.
A recent Senate report has found that the Department of Homeland
Security, formed to keep us safe from terrorist threats following 9/11, <a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/download/?id=B92B8382-DBCE-403C-A08A-727F89C2BC9B">is
“not successfully executing any of its five main missions.”</a> The
newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, formed in the wake of the
2008 economic crisis affecting millions of Americans, has been <a href="http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/CFPB+Ineffective+in+Obtaining+Financial+Relief+for+Victims+of+Debt+Collection+Violations/10477972.html">hugely
ineffective in actually benefitting debtors</a> and <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/department-of-homeland-security-oversight-report-dhs-is-a-terrifying-failure/">Congress
took two years to even confirm a director for the agency</a>. And a recent report from the U.S.
Transportation Department Office of Inspector General found that the Federal
Aviation Administration, the agency charged with overseeing flight safety over
American airspace, was <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-aviation-faa-idUSKBN0MD28K20150317">ineffective
in monitoring and ensuring compliance with regulations covering the transport
of hazardous materials by air carriers</a>.
These problems are national
imperatives. The safety of the American
people, both physically and financially, depend on these agencies doing their
jobs well. But even with so much on the line, the federal government fails. Is there any reason that we should believe
that the federal government would do better with something like amusement ride
safety – something with a considerably smaller national focus than terrorism,
aircraft safety, or financial regulation?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course, this is not to say that states are perfect or are
always effective in their regulatory efforts.
They aren’t. But, as to amusement
ride safety, in particular, it is rare to hear that the state did not regulate
as it was required under the law. Sure,
in the wake of an accident, it is an oft-sung chorus that the state regulations
<i>themselves</i> were somehow lacking, but
rarely is the argument made that the regulations are fine, but the regulators
just aren’t doing their jobs. And, in
those rare instances where the state is found to have not done its job, <a href="http://publicsource.org/investigations/pa-s-regulation-of-amusement-parks-falls-short-inspections-enforcement">as
happened a few years ago in Pennsylvania</a>, <a href="http://publicsource.org/investigations/pa-let-sunshine-amusement-ride-inspection-reports">states
have acted quickly to fix the problem</a>.
Far more quickly than would be possible under the best of circumstances
in the Federal government.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, no, I do not believe that the federal government is better
at effectively regulating in general or that it is even remotely well situated
to take over and effectively implement a national ride safety program. But, to indulge the idea further, let’s
assume that it could or should. What
would such a program need to look like to be effective and how much would it
cost? Is there even any appetite on
Capitol Hill (as opposed to in the media) for such a program? Questions for next time … see you then.<o:p></o:p></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-72213528659984838712016-05-24T12:05:00.000-04:002016-05-24T12:05:51.980-04:00Interaction Reaction: The Impact of Interactivity On An Amusement Operator's Liability Exposure<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.onlineuniversities.com/wp-content/uploads/interactivity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.onlineuniversities.com/wp-content/uploads/interactivity.jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a>A few days ago, I read an <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thrills-have-new-competitor-interactivity-adam-sandy?trk=pulse-det-nav_art" target="_blank">interesting article on LinkedIn
about the<o:p></o:p></a></div>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thrills-have-new-competitor-interactivity-adam-sandy?trk=pulse-det-nav_art" target="_blank"> rise of interactivity in the attractions industry</a> and something it said
got my lawyer-brain thinking. Here’s
what it was:<br />
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Interactivity doesn’t stop with great-looking, immersive
technology. There is a still a need for
pure physical interaction. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Pure physical interaction.”
As a fan of amusements, that phrase puts a grin on my face and starts
the adrenaline pumping. As a former
operator, that phrase equals “repeat business” and additional revenue -
something that the article emphasized.
But as a lawyer, that phrase made me pause for a minute and think about
whether the rising popularity of interactivity could change the liability
calculus for owners and operators of these attractions. I thought that question deserved a closer look.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is no doubt that interactivity is on the rise in the
attractions industry. Walking the show
floor at the IAAPA Expo over the last several years proves the point. New technologies that blend games with ether rides
or walk through attractions are as prevalent on the show floor today as they
were non-existent just five or ten years ago.
The lure of these attractions is obvious as they frequently are the one
with large groups of (hopefully) buyers standing around them and long lines
waiting to try them out. And while they
all offer something different insofar as the precise experience is concerned,
they all have one commonality: they
allow the guest, to a certain (sometimes large) degree, to shape his experience
and, often, to shape the experiences of other guests as well. And that is precisely what makes these
attractions unique from both an operational and a legal perspective. The guest is in control to a much larger
degree than on a traditional ride or attraction. So what does that mean in terms of liability?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I see two primary areas where the rise of interactivity
could change the liability landscape for operators. The first is that interactivity may broaden
the kinds of legal claims that will be asserted against operators of an
interactive attraction. This would
obviously be detrimental to operators.
But the second effect may, in some circumstances, counteract that
detriment. More specifically,
interactivity could give owners and operators additional defenses, focused on
the conduct of those other guests, and potentially bring more parties to the settlement
table. In this manner, interactivity
might actually <i>decrease</i> the potential
liability and settlement value of a case from the owner or operator’s
perspective. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We don’t have to look very hard to see evidence of both of
these with respect to interactive attractions.
Let’s remember that interactivity, while becoming more and more
predominant as it is utilized in a broader array of attractions, is nothing
particularly new to the industry. Guest
controlled, interactive rides and attractions have been around for decades –
the most popular of which, arguably, is the go-kart. And a relatively recent go-kart case out of a
New York federal court illustrates well the unique impact of interactivity in
an attraction related lawsuit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.orderstorm.com/wordpress-ecommerce-images/cartimages/m/120307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.orderstorm.com/wordpress-ecommerce-images/cartimages/m/120307.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>The case is <u>Corneli v. Adventure Racing Co.</u>, 2015 WL
3890373 (N.D.N.Y. June 24, 2015). <u>Corneli</u>
involved an spinal injury resulting in paraplegia from a rear end collision on
a go-kart track. Mr. Corneli alleged
that the stopped on the track waiting for operators to tend to another kart
when another driver, a seventeen year old with Down’s Syndrome, struck Mr.
Corneli’s kart from behind causing severe and permanent injuries. Now, in many ways, this case resembled a
garden variety (albeit very serious) personal injury claim. For example, Mr. Corneli sued the owners and
operator of the go kart track for negligent “ownership, operation, management,
maintenance, supervision, staff training and control of its go-kart ride.” These are the kinds of allegations frequently
raised in ride-related litigation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But the interactivity of the ride also caused Mr. Corneli to
raise additional claims and additional parties – both relatively atypical in most
amusement cases. In addition to the claims
arising from the operator’s control of the ride and its staff, Mr. Corneli also
alleged negligent “supervision and control of its customer” – the other driver
(known in the case as “C.S.”).
Additionally, Mr. Corneli sued C.S. <i>in
addition to</i> the owner of the attraction for “operating and driving a
go-kart in a dangerous manner.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Before trial, the owner of the track moved for summary
judgement asking the court to dismiss the claims against it because Mr. Corneli
assumed the inherent risks of injury involved in operating a go kart –
including being hit by another driver. The
plaintiff argued, however, that C.S. had made statements before the ride
indicating his intent to drive aggressively and that the operators should have
controlled C.S.’s conduct through use of the “Kartrol” device that shut down
the karts remotely. The Court agreed
with the plaintiff, finding that the jury was entitled to determine whether the
owner “knew or should have known that Defendant C.S.’s allegedly intentional
actions created an unreasonably increased risk to his co-participants, a risk
that imposed on [the owner] a duty to supervise him or prevent him from harming
his fellow racers by use of the Kartrol device.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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The plaintiff also asked that the court rule, without the
need for trial, that C.S. was liable for the plaintiff’s injuries under general
motor vehicle laws. Deciding not to
decide whether these laws applied equally to automobiles and go-karts, the
court allowed this issue to go to the jury anyway finding that the jury should
determine whether the collision even occurred in the first place (which was
apparently disputed). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlv5ApACnz0xXo2Cs3RFIowP5-aqaH9kJXCxIIVTxFMTlqXOrFXaSROmdMkgjLFCYEghQztPZRBjIgfv1JYSvT8fRti9jREDaHhRubWm3o1SgiIhY082Qr2dbD2ellXi8bWNzARZw-kUk/s1600/supervision.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlv5ApACnz0xXo2Cs3RFIowP5-aqaH9kJXCxIIVTxFMTlqXOrFXaSROmdMkgjLFCYEghQztPZRBjIgfv1JYSvT8fRti9jREDaHhRubWm3o1SgiIhY082Qr2dbD2ellXi8bWNzARZw-kUk/s1600/supervision.jpg" height="200" width="320" /></a><u>Corneli</u> gives, I think, some insight into the future of
lawsuits arising from the growing popularity of interactive attractions in the amusement
industry. Traditionally, owners and
operators of amusement attractions need only worry about reasonably operating
and maintaining the attraction and training the staff. These duties are all to be expected in connection
with any operation. However, the
increased popularity of interactivity carries with it, potentially, additional
duties to supervise and control the conduct of other guests. The practical import of this potential
expansion of duty is to add further ammunition to a plaintiff’s attorney’s arsenal
– another hook for liability. An
operator might demonstrate a top notch training, operational, and maintenance
program - one that would pass muster in any traditional ride-related lawsuit –
but still be found liable if it could not demonstrate similarly that it reasonably
supervised the conduct of other guests to prevent injuries. While the draw of interactivity is
undeniable, from both a business and guest experience perspective, interactivity
also means that, from a legal perspective, operators should give careful
consideration to the reasonably foreseeable conduct of other guests and what
steps can be taken proactively to prevent guest-on-guest injury arising from
the attraction’s interactivity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pennycapitalist.com/large%20table%20of%20negotiation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://pennycapitalist.com/large%20table%20of%20negotiation.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How many of these negotiating chairs will be filled?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<u>Corneli</u> also highlights another, more advantageous aspect of interactivity (at least from the owner's / operator's viewpoint). Rarely are
other guests brought in as defendants in a typical ride-related lawsuit. But interactivity means that those guests
may, in fact, be properly named as parties with more frequency. And this could have some benefit to owners
and operators. Depending on the laws of
a given state, the presence of a guest-defendant may allow the owner of the
attraction to assert a comparative negligence defense – essentially shifting
some of the liability from the owner to the injury-causing guest – where such a
defense would not be permitted without the guest present as a party. More importantly from a practical perspective,
the presence of another guest likely puts another party (likely a liability
insurer) at the table to contribute to the settlement. This, potentially, could reduce the
comparative share of the settlement the owner, or its insurer, will have to
contribute and could make settlement more palatable to everyone. Simply put, it’s generally easier to reach a
settlement when a few parties are contributing something than when one party is
contributing everything. The possibility
of another defendant in a lawsuit might, therefore (and somewhat
non-intuitively), actually <i>decrease</i>
the owner’s or operator’s risk exposure arising from an interactive attraction.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Interactivity in the amusement industry is undoubtedly here
to stay. Guests love it. And the more guests love our attractions, the
more money they spend in our facilities.
The business motive for these attractions is clear. But interactivity also carries with it legal
consequences that are easily overlooked, but that must be considered
carefully. Given the likely
profitability of interactivity, I don’t think the legal ramifications warrant
avoiding this technology. But they do
warrant a change in mindset when it comes to risk avoidance and litigation
strategy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-31533594018218865192016-05-03T14:13:00.000-04:002016-05-03T14:13:59.242-04:00Disney's Autism Policy Passes ADA Muster - But What Does That Mean For The Rest Of The Industry?<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.orlandovacation.com/disney-world/special-needs-guide/guests-with-autism/images/orlandovacation_disney-disability-access-service.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.orlandovacation.com/disney-world/special-needs-guide/guests-with-autism/images/orlandovacation_disney-disability-access-service.jpg" /></a>Does the ADA require immediate, on-demand boarding for
guests with cognitive disabilities such as autism? It is among the questions most frequently
asked of me and one for which there has been no judicial guidance … until
now. Late last week, the United States
District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a first-of-its-kind
ruling on the issue in a case called <i>A.L.
v. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc.</i>
In the decision, Judge Anne Conway ruled in Disney’s favor essentially
finding that immediate, on-demand boarding was not “necessary,” as that term is
used in the ADA, and thus that Disney was not obligated to provide it to
autistic guests. While there may be a
couple of small areas in the court’s analysis that some could quibble with, on
the whole the decision is well-reasoned, reasonable, and practical. But what does it mean in the broader
context? What affect, if any, will this
case have on future cases in the industry?
Those are the questions that I think warrant a little discussion – and thus
have drawn me back to blogging after an extended absence (which I hope you can
all forgive).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u>The Decision</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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To understand how I view this case’s future legacy, it is
important to understand the facts at issue, the court’s analysis, and, perhaps
most importantly, what it did not say. <i>A.L</i>. was a challenge to Disney’s
adoption of its “Disability Access Service” (“DAS”) policy in 2013. <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2013/10/the-one-thing-no-one-is-telling-you.html" target="_blank">As you may recall</a>, this policy ended Disney’s
long standing “Guest Assistance Card” (“GAC”) policy, which generally permitted
immediate, on-demand boarding at any ride or attraction for any disabled guest
and their party, and substituted a system whereby guests with cognitive
disabilities, such as autism, had to obtain a DAS card which allowed them to
obtain appointment times for rides and attractions. The appointment times corresponded to the
posted wait time for each attraction minus ten minutes. The DAS policy also provides flexibility for
Guest Relations personnel to tailor accommodations for a particular guest. In the <i>A.L.</i>
case, it appears (although it is not explicitly stated) that this is precisely
what happened as A.L. was not only given a DAS card and appointment times, but
also 24 “readmission passes” allowing his entire party of six immediate, on-demand
access to four rides (or, presumably, more depending on how the passes were
used) without an appointment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A.L. sued Disney seeking to compel a return to the GAC
system, essentially arguing that immediate, on-demand boarding was necessary
and reasonable because A.L.’s disability required a regimented and inflexible
schedule that, if interrupted, would result in a “meltdown.” The court, however, disagreed. While noting that the ADA only required
Disney to provide accommodations that were “<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">necessary</a>,” “<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-2-is-immediate-on-demand.html" target="_blank">reasonable</a>,” and which
did not “<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/06/here-now-pt-3-isnt-standing-in-line.html" target="_blank">fundamentally alter</a>” the nature of the park experience, the Court focused
on necessity without reaching the remaining two questions. The Court’s analysis found that reverting to
the GAC policy was not “necessary” for several independent reasons:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The DAS system afforded disabled guests “a like experience”
as nondisabled guests.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">As I have
previously noted, the necessity prong of the ADA inquiry asks whether a
requested accommodation affords a “like experience” to the guest.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Here, the court found that, in fact, the DAS
system provided not only a “like experience,” but a better experience than most
guests receive.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">As the court noted, “</span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">nondisabled guests visit the Magic Kingdom
for rides and attractions that most of them have to wait more than an hour to experience. Comparing this Plaintiff’s experience, DAS
and readmission passes allow him access to those same rides in a fraction of
the time … DAS and readmission passes afford Plaintiff a similar, or better,
experience as those not needing them.”</i></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The court rejected Plaintiff’s argument that the
ADA required Disney to accommodate A.L.’s preference for visiting attractions
in a particular order and, in any event, found that A.L’s claim that he had to
visit attractions on a regimented schedule was not credible as he had deviated
from his preferred schedule at least three times during his last visit to the
park.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">In terms of A.L.’s tolerance for waiting, the
GAC system would not have provided anything that the DAS policy, with
readmission passes, did not.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The facts
of the case showed that A.L. was capable of waiting for up to 10 minutes for an
attraction.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Given the crowd levels and
wait times in the park on the day of his last visit, he could have experienced
all of his preferred attractions using his DAS card and readmission passes
without waiting longer than 10 minutes.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The court questioned the necessity of on-demand
boarding for A.L. in the first place, noting that while A.L. alleged that he
was unable to wait more than 10 minutes, he was able to “defer gratification”
during long car rides and airplane trips lasting several hours.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Finally, the court noted that the reverting to
the GAC program was not necessary precisely because Disney had already adopted
an accommodation that addressed A.L.’s needs, namely the DAS policy. </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Good Decision, But
What Does It Mean For The Future?<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <i>A.L.</i> decision
is undoubtedly a good one for the industry and helps clarify, to some degree,
the obligations of amusement parks to accommodate guests with cognitive
disabilities such as autism. It cannot
be said, however, that the decision gives <i>carte
blanche</i> for an amusement park to adopt an appointment-based access policy without
fear of violating the ADA. Rather, the <i>A.L. </i>decision highlights the importance
of flexibility in disability access policies and, unfortunately, leaves a
number of questions unanswered – questions that could (and almost certainly
will) arise in future cases.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A key component of the court’s ruling that is easy to
overlook is the reliance it places on the so-called “readmission passes.” The court describes the appointment based system
under the DAS policy, and that is without doubt the policy that the industry is
watching most closely, but in every point of its legal analysis it also
mentions the readmission passes. It is
clear that these passes, which provided a limited amount of immediate,
on-demand boarding, were important to Judge Conway. For example, the court made a point of
stating that <i>between </i> the DAS appointment times and the readmission
passes, A.L. could have experienced all of the attractions that he wanted to
experience without having to wait more than 10 minutes. The court likewise noted that <i>between </i>the DAS card and the readmission
passes, A.L. got a like experience, indeed a better experience, than
nondisabled guests who frequently had to wait for an hour or longer for an
attraction.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what if there had been no readmission passes
offered? What if the case simply went
before the court <i>solely</i> on the basis
of the DAS appointment-based policy?
Would the case have come out the same way? There really is no way to tell from the court’s
analysis, but it is reasonably debatable.
The court’s consistent mention of the readmission passes suggests that
these were important components of the accommodation that Disney offered. The readmission passes allowed a mechanism
for guests to avoid the occasional long wait and gain immediate, on-demand
access – to in essence fill a few gaps created by the appointment based
system. Whether the decision would have
come out the same way in the absence of the readmission passes is not at all
clear. This is an element of the case to
which other parks should pay attention and which counsels in favor of similarly
flexible approaches to access for other parks in the future.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other important takeaway from the A.L. decision is not
in what it said, but in what it did not.
As noted above, because the court found that A.L. could not prove that
his requested accommodation was necessary, the court did not address the remaining
two elements of the case – whether the requested accommodation was reasonable
and whether it fundamentally altered the park experience. Thus, while the decision gives some
much-needed guidance on the first element, we continue to have little, if any,
guidance on the remaining elements.
This is important because the <i>A.L.</i>
decision turns largely (but not totally) on factual issues unique to the case
that may not exist in other cases. For
example, a significant portion of the court’s analysis focused on A.L.’s
ability to wait up to 10 minutes for a ride and his demonstrated ability to
wait in a car or on an airplane for long periods of time while travelling. These are facts that may not be present in a
future case. If they aren’t (or if a
future court simply disagrees with Judge Conway’s reasoning), it is conceivable
that a future court may find its way past the first element of the inquiry and
be forced to address the remaining two.
If and when that happens, <i>A.L.</i>
will be of no help and we will, once again, be writing on relatively blank
slate.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, yes, the <i>A.L.</i>
decision is undoubtedly a good decision and one that provides some important
guidance in an area that is simultaneously highly controversial in the industry
and virtually ignored in the case law.
But, it must be read for what it is and in light of the facts
involved. Reading it too broadly, as a
rubber stamp of approval for any and all appointment-based disability policies,
would be a mistake. One that the
industry should be careful not to make. <o:p></o:p></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-33678608808273537212015-06-09T18:00:00.001-04:002015-06-09T18:17:43.294-04:00Merlin Entertainment's Bold, And Extremely Smart, Move In The Aftermath Of The Smiler Accident<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/07/16/294D05EE00000578-3114347-image-m-125_1433690884617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/06/07/16/294D05EE00000578-3114347-image-m-125_1433690884617.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
News in the amusement industry for the last week has been
unfortunately dominated by the tragic events that occurred at Alton Towers on
the Smiler roller-coaster on June 2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
the days have progressed, it has become clear that the Smiler accident, in
which a loaded train collided with an empty train on the track, was extremely
serious, resulting in severe injuries to three guests, one of whom,<a href="http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/video-barnsley-teenager-leah-washington-has-leg-amputated-following-alton-towers-crash-1-7298527">
seventeen year old Leah Washington, had to have her left leg amputated above
the knee.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For several days now, I’ve read the media coverage of this
event and have purposefully decided not to write about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because anything I might say about the accident itself would be pure
speculation, something I strive to avoid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But today, something about this case caught my eye that I could not
ignore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, according to media
reports in the UK, the owner of Alton Towers, Merlin Entertainment, did
something that most American operators (and their lawyers) would scarcely
consider:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it took full responsibility
for the injuries to its guests and promised to compensate each one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think, given the circumstances, that this
was exactly the right move and one to which other operators should pay close
attention.</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few years ago, I spoke at an annual meeting of the <a href="http://www.neaapa.com/" target="_blank">New England Association of Amusement Parks</a><a href="http://www.neaapa.com/" target="_blank"> and Attractions </a>about the importance of
an apology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve since written an article
or two on the same topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The message I
have continually tried to communicate is that an apology – whether merely as an
acknowledgment of injury and an expression of sympathy, or, in more exceptional
cases, as an outright acknowledgement of liability, is often the right move
both from a public relations and a legal exposure perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put simply, people are more likely to be
reasonable if their injuries are acknowledged, sympathy expressed, and
liability admitted, than if liability is hotly contested and an operator is
viewed as trying to shirk responsibility for the injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, when the circumstances dictate,
conceding liability and promising to “make it right” can go a long way in the
eyes of the injured guest and in the eyes of the public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Merlin Entertainment’s recent statements, I
believe, provide a perfect illustration of this point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, its important to note that the media reports I have
seen <u>do not</u> indicate that that Merlin has outright apologized and
admitted fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, from what I
have seen, Merlin hasn’t done that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
it has come very close – so close, in fact, that it may make no difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to media reports, a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3115191/Girl-17-Alton-Towers-rollercoaster-crash-leg-amputated.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490">Merlin
spokesperson said that the company hand delivered letters to the injured
parties over the weekend, and further explained</a>:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
We absolutely recognise what a difficult time this is for
everyone, especially those who have been so seriously injured, and we have
tried to do this in a way that is both sensitive and appropriate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
Irrespective of the outcome of the current investigations
into the causes of the accident, in these letters we have accepted full
responsibility to those who had been injured in the accident and confirmed that
we will ensure that compensation will be provided to them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is, in a word, remarkable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my mind, Alton Towers did at least two big
things right here: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Hand Delivering These Letters</u></b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the content of the letters aside for a
second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think about the fact that an
Alton Towers representative <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hand-delivered</i>
letters from, presumably, the top brass to each person injured on the
Smiler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask yourself, would the very
same letter have had the same impact on the guest if it had been mailed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mailing the letter reinforces the guest’s
view of the park as a corporation – without feeling, without sympathy, without
compassion, and without concern for anything but the bottom line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hand delivery sends a very different
message.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hand delivery means a person,
not a corporation, is standing there, putting a living, breathing face on the owner
of the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hand delivery sends a
message to both the injured guest and the broader public that Merlin is its
people, and those people didn’t want this to happen and are going to do what it
takes to make it right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s an
important message to send, both to the injured guest and to the public, in the
wake of an incident like this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Acceptance of “Full Responsibility”</u></b>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now let’s talk about the content of those
letters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Merlin Entertainment has “accepted
full responsibility to those who had been injured in the accident.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the United
States, which has a legal system not altogether different from that in the UK,
that is the kind of statement most lawyers never want to hear their client say
out loud to anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, lawyers
are paid to ensure that their client’s liability is minimized to the extent
legal and ethical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In most cases,
lawyers would never advise a client to admit liability – or at least not admit
it a week after the accident occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But this is not most cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a true “no-win” scenario for Alton Towers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if it were to fight tooth and nail and
ultimately be legally exonerated in a court of law, it will have spent a tremendous amount of
money to obtain that result and will have been subjected to an avalanche of
negative press throughout.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Public
confidence in Merlin and, more specifically, Alton Towers, would be undoubtedly
shaken and could take years to recover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a case that has quickly been tried in the court of public opinion and the
media – and blame has been placed at the feet of the operator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, maybe the park already knows it is at
fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe not. It does not really matter. From the operator’s perspective,
this narrative – of the park that hurts people – is not helpful, and fighting
responsibility for these injuries is only going to make it worse – perhaps much
worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what to do? Change the narrative. By publicly taking full
responsibility now, <u>that</u> has become the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now Merlin is viewed as the company that is
doing the right thing, that is accepting responsibility “irrespective of the
outcome of the investigation,” that is putting people first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is a narrative that Merlin, and its
guests, can embrace as the park, its employees, and, most importantly, its injured guests try to recover. Its also a narrative that a judge or jury will likely appreciate when and if this case lands in court.</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m
not in favor of admitting liability every time someone gets injured.
There is frequently no reason to do so, and I don’t think any operator should
take that kind of action without a full and frank discussion with counsel and
the insurer. This is not a course to be undertaken lightly. But, in
an exceptional case like this one, it is an option that should be
considered. Operators, insurers, and their counsel should weigh the
public and private costs of litigation (both monetary and perception costs)
against the costs and potential benefits of accepting liability and moving
forward toward recovery. It may be that the costs and benefits of
accepting liability early in the case outweigh the cost of litigating toward a pyrrhic<span style="background: yellow;"></span> victory – one where, under the best
case scenario, the operator is legally exonerated but spent millions and lost
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nothing is going to change what
happened on the Smiler and nothing is going to make the injuries to those
guests go away. But Merlin has changed the narrative from one that looks
back and focuses on the accident to one that looks forward and focuses on recovery.
In the long run, I think this will undoubtedly prove a very smart choice.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/85/IAAPA_logo.svg/200px-IAAPA_logo.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/85/IAAPA_logo.svg/200px-IAAPA_logo.svg.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This week, IAAPA’s North American Government Relations
Subcomittee will be on Capitol Hill for its annual Advocacy Day (the name is
actually something of a misnomer, since it actually takes place over two days).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Tuesday and Wednesday, March 24-25,
twenty-three members of the committee (including me) as well as invited guests
from other IAAPA committees and members of the industry, will be meeting with
elected officials in the House and Senate, their staffs, the Commissioner of
the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and other government officials to
communicate the industry’s interests to those that shape federal policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In all, we have scheduled <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thirty-six</i></b>
legislative meetings, including meetings with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seventeen</i></b> members of
Congress, in only two days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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This year, IAAPA’s Government Relations Department, as well
as the North American Government Relations Subcommittee, is asking for your
help to make Advocacy Day 2015 an even bigger success than it usually is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to our physical presence on the
Hill this week, we are asking you to take part in the first-ever <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Virtual Advocacy Day</u></b>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s that, you ask?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, while we are meeting face-to-face with
members of Congress and other policy-makers in Washington, we want you to take
to social media with the hashtag <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“#IAAPAVAD”</b>
to amplify the messages that Advocacy Day attendees are bringing to DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tweet your Senators!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tweet your Representatives!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tweet the CPSC, the State Department, the
Transportation Department, the FAA!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Show
them that you care about the industry and the issues that affect it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what are the issues that we will be addressing over the
next few days and how can you help?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, keep reading to find out more about our priority issues and how you can contact your representatives and policy makers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Priority Issues</u></b> </h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Federal Ride Safety Oversight</u></b>: </div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amusementtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ASTM_f24-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.amusementtoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ASTM_f24-logo.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Safety is the number one priority for the industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And our track record is something we can all
be very proud of, with the most recent statistics showing that the chances of
being seriously injured on an amusement ride (requiring hospitalization) are
about 1 in 16 million and the chances of being fatally injured on an amusement
ride are about 1 in 750 million.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
other words, you are more than <a href="http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_pls/probability.html">fifty times
more likely to be struck by lightning than</a> to be seriously injured on an
amusement ride and more than <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/09/pf/powerball-jackpot-odds/index.html">four
times more likely to win the Powerball jackpot</a> than you are to be fatally
injured on an amusement ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nonetheless,
some critics of the industry claim that federal oversight of fixed-site rides
is necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, these
critics have a difficult time expressing exactly why or how federal oversight
will improve upon an already extremely impressive safety record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>IAAPA supports effective state and local
regulation and the adoption of ASTM F24 standards throughout the country, but
does not support federal legislation to bring fixed site rides under the canopy
of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>J-1 Visa Summer Work Travel Program</u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://blog.htp-usa.com/files/2011/09/J-1Visa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blog.htp-usa.com/files/2011/09/J-1Visa.jpg" height="164" width="320" /></a>The J-1 Visa program is an invaluable opportunity to enrich
the guest and employee experience in U.S. amusement parks and entertainment
facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It brings high quality employees
from all over the world to our facilities to provide them with exposure to the
cultural and social fabric of the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The program is sponsored by the U.S. State
Department and, for many years, has been an unqualified success in the
amusement industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, due
to some unfortunate incidents involving J-1 visa students outside the industry,
as well as efforts to make sweeping changes to the U.S. immigration system (of
which, the J-1 program is not a part), the J-1 program has been the subject of
legislative, regulatory, and public opinion review for the last several
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>IAAPA does not support new
regulation which would make it more difficult, if not impossible, for U.S.
facilities to participate in the J-1 program, including onerous employer
provisions and increased fees, nor does IAAPA support inclusion of the J-1
Summer Work and Travel program in broader immigration reform legislation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Transportation Infrastructure</u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/files/2011/09/highway_construction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/files/2011/09/highway_construction.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Did you know that current highway funding in the United
States expires May 31, 2015?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly,
the lack of continued funding for an effective system of interstate highways
directly impacts our industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The attractions
industry relies heavily on transportation infrastructure to get guests and
materials to facilities safely and efficiently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>IAAPA therefore supports the passage of a highway reauthorization bill
before funding ends on May 31.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>FLSA Overtime Rules</u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://kentuckywrongfultermination.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/overtime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://kentuckywrongfultermination.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/overtime.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last year, the President directed the Department of Labor to
“modernize” the FLSA overtime <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Among the potential changes that could be coming as a result of this
directive include significant increases to the salary level required for
overtime exemption to apply, adjustments to the formula used to determine
eligibility of the overtime exemptions, and eliminating the ability of mangers
to engage in management (i.e. exempt) and non-exempt work concurrently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A proposed rule on overtime is expected
soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If adopted, rules such as those
described above could force employers in the amusement industry to reclassify
certain employees as non-exempt (and, thus, subject to overtime wages) or raise
their salaries to meet a higher exemption baseline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This could well result in substantial burdens
on employers and, potentially, reductions in wages, hours, and employees at
U.S. facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>IAAPA therefore does
not support such changes to the overtime regulations.</div>
regulations.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Unmanned Aerial Systems</u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/78548000/jpg/_78548680_drone_pa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/78548000/jpg/_78548680_drone_pa.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A new issue for the attractions industry this year is
drones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For years, there were no specific
rules, and thus a great deal of uncertainty, governing the use of drones in
U.S. airspace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But recently, the Federal
Aviation Administration has issued proposed rules on the use of drones for
commercial purposes and, while some believed these rules would be more onerous
and restrictive than what were ultimately proposed, the existing rules
nonetheless contain some restrictions that will potentially make it difficult
for the attraction industry to use unmanned aerial vehicles for maintenance,
inspection, or entertainment purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The attractions industry obviously has an interest in using drones for
these purposes, and in limiting recreational use of drones by the general
public over amusement parks and recreational facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h2 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>What Can You Do To Support Virtual Advocacy Day?</u></b></h2>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.social-media-x.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/tweat-bird-twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.social-media-x.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/tweat-bird-twitter.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a>On Tuesday, March 24 and Wednesday, March 25, we want you to
contact your representatives in Congress as well as the Department of Labor,
the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Transportation Department, and /
or the Federal Aviation Administration using the hashtag <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“#IAAPAVAD”</b> to express your support for IAAPA’s positions on these
issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to help you out … </div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/lists/members-of-congress/members">Click here
for a list of Congressional Twitter handles.</a></b></li>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitter Handle for
the U.S. Department of Labor:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>@USDEPTOFLABOR</b></li>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitter Handle for
the Consumer Products Safety Commission:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>@USCPSC</b></li>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitter Handle for
the U.S. Department of Transportation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>@USDOT</b></li>
<li><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Twitter Handle for
the Federal Aviation Administration:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>@FAANews</b></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Participate in Virtual Advocacy Day and help us help the attractions industry in Washington this week!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-31869124230593001892015-02-22T13:29:00.000-05:002015-02-23T12:19:56.479-05:00Do Height Requirements On Rides Violate The ADA?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://singlechicksblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/1-height-requirment-sign-in-front-of-amusement-park-ride-bryan-mullennix.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://singlechicksblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/1-height-requirment-sign-in-front-of-amusement-park-ride-bryan-mullennix.jpg?w=290&h=290&crop=1" /></a>A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of spending a
couple days with a highly talented group of amusement professionals at the iROC
Safety School in Las Vegas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the
second year that I have been invited to speak at the event, and it is quickly
becoming a highlight of the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
topic of both this year’s and last year’s presentations was the Americans With
Disabilities Act which, as faithful readers of this blog know, is a particular
passion of mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a 90 minute
seminar on ride access last year, much of the Q&A session revolved around
the issue of autism which, coupled with the filing of the lawsuit against
Disney, prompted me to take a closer look at the issue in the “<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/search/label/autism" target="_blank">Here & Now</a>”
series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year, I came to iROC ready
to go on the issue of autism, but interestingly a new issue reared its head
that I hadn’t thought a whole lot about before: The question of height
requirements and, specifically, whether enforcing a height requirement against
a guest with a disability violates the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, as with the autism issue last year, I thought this deserved a little
more thought and some attention here. </div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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Imagine a roller coaster at Happy Funland Amusement Park
with a 48 inch height requirement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coaster
is a relatively standard woodie with ratcheting lap bars and seat belts for
restraint devices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A guest approaches
without legs and would like to ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
does not have prosthetics, and, because he lacks lower extremities, he does not
measure 48 inches tall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Setting aside
the question of whether the ride has legitimate safety requirements that
preclude this guest from riding due to his disability, can the operator deny
this guest entrance based solely on the height requirement for the ride – a generally
applicable safety rule that applies to every guest in the park regardless of
disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Well, for starters, I feel compelled to note that I’m not
aware of any case to have ever raised this issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, we are operating in a bit of a vacuum
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, the issue of height
requirements is not completely foreign to the Americans With Disabilities
Act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, the regulations
specifically mention height requirements as an enforceable policy that can be lawfully
enforced with respect to a disabled guest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Department of Justice’s commentary on the ADA regulations makes
clear:</div>
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<a href="http://www.justice.gov/images/seal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.justice.gov/images/seal.jpg" /></a> </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
A public accommodation may … impose neutral rules and
criteria that screen out, or tend to screen out, individuals with disabilities,
if the criteria are necessary for the safe operation of the public
accommodation. Examples of safety qualifications that would be justifiable in
appropriate circumstances would include height requirements for certain
amusement park rides[.]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, that’s it, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Height requirements do not violate the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Easy, huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The key phrase in this
comment is “in appropriate circumstances.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what are the appropriate circumstances?</div>
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Well, a good starting point for figuring that out, in my
opinion, is to go back to first principles under the ADA and, specifically, to
consider two brands of prohibited discrimination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ADA prohibits unnecessary eligibility
requirements <u>and</u> failure to make reasonable modifications to policies
and procedures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As to the question of
whether a generally applicable height requirement violates the ADA, I think it
best (and most interesting) to focus primarily on the latter of these two,
particularly since the commentary quoted above seems to acknowledge the
likelihood that a height requirement is the kind of “neutral rule” that could
be a legitimate safety requirement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
let’s assume it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question is
whether this is a policy that must be reasonably modified to accommodate a
guest with a disability.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<u><b>Height Requirements Based on Physical Dimensions</b></u> </div>
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<br /></div>
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This is where things can get a little sticky, and some
knowledge of the operation of the ride’s safety features is necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is no secret in the industry that not all
height requirements are created equal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Generally, height requirements fall into two categories:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>those that are truly based on physical
dimensions and those that operate as a proxy for the age and expected maturity
of the rider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://intmstat.com/numbers/beautyMath/body_sm_ratios.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://intmstat.com/numbers/beautyMath/body_sm_ratios.jpg" /></a></div>
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Looking at the first of these categories, these height
requirements are likely not modifiable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Height requirements of this sort exist because the safety devices on the
ride are designed to reasonably restrain individuals with certain minimum (and sometimes
maximum) physical dimensions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A guest
that does not meet those dimensions will not be restrained properly within the
ride and therefore no reasonable modification of this policy is possible
without fundamentally altering the ride experience (i.e. the guest would be in
danger of falling out).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, in these
circumstances, the height requirement is simply a generally applicable, and not
reasonably modifiable, policy that likely does not violate the ADA, even when
applied with respect to a disabled guest such as our friend visiting Happy
Funland’s coaster above. </div>
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But this is not an absolute rule, of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, even some height requirements
based on physical dimensions might be reasonably modifiable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, a ride with an over-the-shoulder
harness might have a height requirement based on the expected physical
dimensions of the upper torso.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Realizing
that there is no reasonably easy way to measure every guest’s upper torso, the
height requirement may be set according to average body proportions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under those circumstances, a guest that has a
fully developed torso that falls within the range that can be safely accommodated
on the ride might still be able to ride safely even without legs and, thus, without
reaching the height requirement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<u><b>Height Requirements Based On Expected Maturity</b></u></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/image/hpae199201/f5069001.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/image/hpae199201/f5069001.gif" /></a></div>
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The question of modification becomes more pronounced with
respect to the second kind of height requirements – those based on age and
maturity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certain rides, frequently
those without active restraint devices, have height requirements based on the
expected maturity of a guest of that height.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These height requirements are intended to ensure that riders are mature
enough to understand the safety instructions given by operators and to
understand the risk inherent with certain behaviors on the ride, such as
standing up or trying to exit the ride vehicle while in motion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Realizing the impossibility of enforcing an
age requirement (since there is no way to reasonably check someone’s age), some
manufacturers impose height requirements designed to correspond to a guest’s
age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, for example, a manufacturer may
believe that riders should be at least 12 years old to safely ride without
endangering himself or others and, thus, after consulting human growth data
indicating that the average 12 year old is at least 48 inches tall (and, to be
clear, I’m making these numbers up for illustrative purposes), imposes a 48
inch height requirement as a stand-in for the expected maturity level of the
rider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As to this kind of height
requirement, there may be room for modification since the issue is not the
operation and function of safety restraint devices, but rather the maturity and
expected behavior of the guest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those
situations, an adult guest that does not reach the height requirement due to a
disability may, in fact, be able to safely ride – i.e. the policy can be
reasonably modified - due to his maturity level.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The real trick, therefore, becomes knowing what height
requirements can be reasonably modified and which cannot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And to know that requires an understanding of
the ride and the basis for the manufacturer’s height requirements far greater
than the average front-line ride operator has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thus, to be clear, I do not believe it is a good idea to empower ride
operators with the authority to bend the height requirement themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Discussions about whether the height policy
should be modified should be undertaken by someone in supervision or management
at the park with a much higher level of knowledge about the ride than the ride
operator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also is probably not best
practice to consider this question for the first time when confronted with an
upset guest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, the question of
modification of height requirements should be thoughtfully considered as part
of a park’s overall disability access plan so that management is ready to deal
with the question consistently when it arises.</div>
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So, there you have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do height requirements violate the ADA?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the words of every lawyer I know: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Maybe.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But hopefully, I’ve helped put a little meat on that answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks to the inquisitive minds at iROC for
putting this question in my brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anyone care to take bets on what next year’s topic will be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-71421290115815899662015-01-12T09:30:00.000-05:002015-01-12T09:30:04.772-05:00Six Flags Just Earned A Win In An ADA Case - And No One Seems To Have Noticed<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.jaygarvens.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/The-Jay-Garvens-Show-Cant-See-The-Forest-Through-the-Trees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5243/5324932127_71fc00a552_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5243/5324932127_71fc00a552_z.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forest or Trees?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/parenting/2009/05/06/optimism260x195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Last week, as I was toiling away on a big case I’m working
on, my email inbox blew up with news of an ADA case out of a federal court in
New Jersey involving Six Flags Great Adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As many of you know, I usually pay close attention to such things, and
the news I was hearing was uniformly bad:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Six Flags lost another ADA decision,” some told me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The judge in New Jersey got it dead wrong,
just like the judge in Texas,” said others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“These judges are starting a war between parks and manufacturers,” someone
else suggested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The newspaper headlines
seemed to uniformly focus on the “victory” for the disabled plaintiff. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, it took me a few days to get around
to actually reading the decision, and guess what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much to my surprise, I disagree with much of
the reaction I had encountered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact,
while it is not a home run for Six Flags, there is much in the decision that is
extremely good for the industry in terms of ADA compliance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, at the end of the day Six Flags lost
this particular ruling, but focusing on that is a mistake as it overlooks two very
positive aspects of this ruling for the industry, and the strong chance I
believe Six Flags will have to win this case should it go to trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
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The facts of the case, called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci v. Six Flags Theme Park, Inc.,</i> are similar to both the <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/01/gamechanger-california-court-holds.html" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i></a> and <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/09/why-six-flags-loss-in-recent-ada.html" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench</i></a> decisions I’ve written about before (and I suggest you read
those pieces before reading this one if you are not familiar with the ADA), and
therefore do not require much explanation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The plaintiff, a fourteen year old boy at the time of the events
described in the Complaint, visited Six Flags Great Adventure in 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While there apparently is some dispute about the
extent of the Plaintiff’s disability, it seems pretty clear from the opinion
that he is missing part of both legs, his right arm above the elbow and has a
shortened left forearm with four “digits” and a thumb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He uses prosthetics on his legs and his
arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He alleges that he was turned away
from most of the rides at Six Flags because he did not meet enhanced ride
safety criteria Six Flags implemented after the Darien Lake tragedy in
2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Plaintiff claims that Six
Flags violated the ADA and its New Jersey state analog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Six Flags essentially asserted three
defenses:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1) that it was required to
follow manufacturers recommendations under state law and therefore was not in
violation of the ADA, 2) that its ridership criteria were permissible “legitimate
safety requirements” under the ADA, and 3) that allowing the Plaintiff to ride
with his prosthetics would cause a “direct threat” to the safety of others
should they become detached while the ride was in motion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both parties moved for summary judgment – arguing
that a trial was unnecessary because, each claimed, it was entitled to judgment
as a matter of law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ultimately, the
court disagreed with both parties, and ordered the case to proceed to
trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while that is not an ideal
result for Six Flags – after all, who wouldn’t want to avoid the burden and
expense of trial – the court’s opinion is generally quite good for both Six
Flags and the industry as a whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Castelan Revisited (And Adopted)</u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.ada.gov/images/ada2010revisedreq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ada.gov/images/ada2010revisedreq.jpg" /></a>Lost in the headlines proclaiming Six Flags’ loss in this
motion, is the fact that it actually won part of the case and, in so doing, the
Court endorsed the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> decision
decided last year in California.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> decision was remarkable in
holding, for the first time, that an amusement park that is required by state
law to follow manufacturers’ accessibility recommendations does not violate the
ADA by complying with this obligation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether
this holding would be adopted by other courts was thrown into doubt when a
Texas court, in another case against Six Flags, summarily rejected it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, before the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i> case, the score was 1-1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>one court says it is acceptable to rely on manufacturer’s
recommendations, and one court says it is not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i>
changes that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: yellow;">The Court … does believe that … proof of ridership requirements
mandated by the manufacturer … can be relied upon by Six Flags as proof of a
legitimate safety requirement under the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As discussed, an entity is allowed to “impose legitimate safety requirements
that are necessary for safe operation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>28 C.F.R. § 36.301(b).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
Plaintiffs attempt to create a factual issue by arguing that Defendant has
failed to show that the ridership requirements are indeed necessary, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
Court believes that Six Flags can reasonably rely upon the ridership
restrictions created by the ride experts – the manufacturers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is only logical that the ride manufacturers,
as the manufacturer of the ride, are in the best position to determine what
ridership requirements are warranted and necessary to make the ride safe for
all guests.</i></b></span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><br />
</span></i></b><span style="color: yellow;">[T]he Court does not believe that the ADA places additional
requirements on Six Flags to reevaluate the ridership requirements to find out
if they are, in fact, necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather,
the ridership requirements of the manufacturer establish certain safety requirements
that have been found necessary for the safe operation of the rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New Jersey law requires Six Flags to follow and
implement the ridership safety requirements of the manufacturer, an indication
of its belief that the manufacturer should be responsible for determining what
constitutes a necessary safety measure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If these requirements work to exclude [the plaintiff] from certain rides
due to his disability, Six Flags has satisfied their burden in demonstrating
that such exclusion from the rides it has provide the service bulletins for
does not violate the ADA.</span><br />
</div>
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Say what you want about the rest of this ruling, this is a
big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i>, with the score 1-1, there was little predictability for
amusement operators and no majority view for a future court to consider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The score is now 2-1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this latest win came after the court
fully considered both <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Weighing both, it went with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s a good win.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Now, what does this mean for the industry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, it might be easier to say what it <u>doesn’t</u>
mean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t mean that no case will
ever decide to go with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench</i>
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it doesn’t mean that a future
court won’t try to chart out some other position not encapsulated in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan, Bench, </i>or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it doesn’t mean
that this holding might not, eventually, get reversed on appeal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it does establish, at least for the time
being, a majority view on the question of reliance on a manufacturer’s
recommendation for purposes of ADA compliance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>True, its only two cases out of three, but that’s still a much stronger
position to be in than when it was 1 to 1 or, worse, had <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i> sided with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench</i> to
make it 1-2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now some of you may be asking, “If this is so good, why did
Six Flags lose this motion?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not all of its rides have
manufacture’s recommendations and, as to those rides, the Court found this line
of reasoning inapplicable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for those
rides that did, which encompassed numerous large coasters, Six Flags won not
only this part of the case, but also scored a victory for the industry as a
whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But wait, didn’t Six Flags lose
the rest of this ruling?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t that
bad?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well … yes, but …</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>A Judicial Vote Of Confidence?</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.three-sides-to-every-story.org/Benefits/images/thumbsup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.three-sides-to-every-story.org/Benefits/images/thumbsup.jpg" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have serious doubt that Six Flags will lose at trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I think the judge agrees with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mentioned above that, faced with a conflict
between <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> on the issue of manufacturers’
recommendations, the court rejected <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But interestingly, it did not completely
reject it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With respect to those rides
that <u>did not</u> have manufacturer’s recommendations on accessibility, the
Court found that Six Flags had not proven that its ridership criteria were
based on “actual risks” as opposed to “speculation, generalizations, or
stereotypes” about disabled guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And,
to that extent, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci </i>is consistent
with the earlier <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench </i>decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this judge departed from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench</i> in one critical respect that, I
believe, signals a likely positive outcome for Six Flags if this case goes to
trial.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reading the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench</i>
decision, it is clear that Six Flags didn’t just lose that motion, the judge
was very antagonistic to its position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Underlying
the opinion is virtual dismissiveness of Six Flags’ arguments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The judge appeared to be predisposed against
Six Flags and effectively conveyed the message that Six Flags was going to have
a rough time winning its case at trial in that judge’s courtroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i> decision
is different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Judge Pisano finds
that, for purposes of this particular motion, Six Flags had not submitted
sufficient evidence to satisfy the standards under the ADA, the judge appears
to be impressed with the work that went into the eligibility requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gone from this opinion are the flip
characterizations of Six Flags’ arguments that were impossible to miss in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bench</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead, the Court appears to have taken the process Six Flags employed
and the expertise of its witnesses quite seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing lacking in Six Flags’ evidence
was an answer to the question “why?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
does the work Six Flags undertook lead to the conclusion that allowing the
plaintiff to ride would cause an “actual risk” of harm?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, while that question is not answered in
this ruling, the Court recognized that, at trial, “Six Flags may very well be
able to prove that such ridership requirements are necessary.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Often times lawyers advise clients to file motions for
summary judgment even if the chances of winning are remote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To educate the judge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To get the
judge thinking about your client’s position and to understand the sometimes
complex issues that are going to be presented at trial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if you don’t win the motion now, the
logic goes, educating the judge about your position may ultimately lead to a
win down the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that, I think, is
what the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i> decision signals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, the court didn’t rule in favor of the
park on this particular motion, but it is obvious that Six Flags has the judge
thinking positively about its arguments and their merit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is a very good sign for the next
iteration, if there is one, of this case. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Yes, You Can Talk To Disabled Guests About Their Disabilities</u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/25/article-1390571-0C3F059900000578-69_634x657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/25/article-1390571-0C3F059900000578-69_634x657.jpg" height="200" width="192" /></a></div>
The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci </i>decision
also contained another positive, and largely overlooked, aspect:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>guidance on the extent to which ride
operators may discuss a guest’s disability without violating the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a general matter, the ADA prohibits owners
or operators of public accommodations from proactively discussing the details
of a particular disability with a disabled guest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From this, many have concluded, and sometimes
advised their employees, that it is unlawful to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ever</i> discuss the particulars of a disability – regardless of the
circumstances. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say, this
gives rise to a bit of a quandary when it comes to the “legitimate safety
requirements” exception to access – how do you know if a guest meets a ride’s legitimate
safety requirements without discussing the guest’s disability with him or
her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i> answers that
question for the first time in the amusement context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: yellow;">Six Flags should have an employee on hand (assumedly the
ride operator) who can determine or otherwise assess if a guest meets the
ridership requirements for the ride in question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">implicit in that right to create eligibility
criteria is the right to ask if an individual meets the criteria.</i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Indeed, not only is such communication permissible, but according
to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i>,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>it is actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">necessary </i>to
avoid potential liability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the
difference between unlawfully discriminating on the basis of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">appearance</i> of a disability and of permissibly
enforcing legitimate safety requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This should give the industry some degree of comfort when it
comes to assessing compliance with a ride’s legitimate safety
requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While employees should be
trained to ask only enough to ascertain compliance with the eligibility requirements,
and no more, employees may engage in that conversation without undue fear of
violating the law.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Additionally, this necessary “testing” (to use the court’s
word) may have the side-effect of providing additional ammo for a defense in
the event of an injury to a disabled guest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If a guest misrepresents the extent of his abilities to the individual
charged with making the access decision and is subsequently injured on that
ride, that misrepresentation will be difficult to overcome.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So yes, Six Flags technically lost this particular ruling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that really should not be the takeaway
from the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Masci</i> decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This decision represents a strong step
forward for the industry as it struggles to reconcile the interplay between
state ride safety law and federal accessibility law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The judge appears educated, thoughtful, and
impressed with Six Flags position, which bodes well for trial (and, likely, for
settlement too).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the decision gives
much needed guidance on the level of communication about a disability that a
ride operator may have when tasked with enforcing ride safety requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s a lot of good stuff. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not too shabby for a case no one seems happy
about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-50201046052257151132014-12-02T16:33:00.000-05:002014-12-02T16:33:15.314-05:00IAAPA Is Over, So What's Next? How Does A Couple Of Days In New Orleans In February Sound?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlITrZXBjZtupWM93Sp2rCPZnKrz7vpayw1H4CnMhGXr6m0qsLem7RlihcJIRA_XQojSgwaWSFdTCZFnPlI16ZKblxq86Jl4oiEyZANfMAEjm6D_B8B4uzBnR6hGXdU6M7tEcpTHtBrVZ/s1600/742L15_header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlITrZXBjZtupWM93Sp2rCPZnKrz7vpayw1H4CnMhGXr6m0qsLem7RlihcJIRA_XQojSgwaWSFdTCZFnPlI16ZKblxq86Jl4oiEyZANfMAEjm6D_B8B4uzBnR6hGXdU6M7tEcpTHtBrVZ/s1600/742L15_header.jpg" /></a>IAAPA 2014 in Orlando was a huge success! From talking to my clients and peers that were there, I think all agree that the quality of the educational sessions and networking opportunities was, as usual, consistently fantastic. But what now? Well I have a suggestion. How about a trip to New Orleans in the dead of winter? Sound good?<br />
<br />
Recently, the American Conference Institute reached out to me about being a media partner for an upcoming, and first of its kind, conference on Recreation, Leisure, and Amusement Park Compliance and Litigation. Now, over the years, I've had a few whispers from various people about setting something like this up, but nothing that has either been backed by someone like ACI, who has A LOT of experience with quality business conferences on a variety of topics, or that I thought would be of interest to a broad swath of the industry. Well, that's all about to change.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
So what is this all about, exactly? Well you can find out all the detailed information by clicking <a href="http://www.americanconference.com/index.php?shortcut=recreationlitigation&p=overview&utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=742L15%20-%20Amusement%20Employment%20E2%20(1)&utm_content=&spMailingID=7328806&spUserID=NTcyMTAxMjgyNzgS1&spJobID=580211532&spReportId=NTgwMjExNTMyS0" target="_blank">here</a>. But in a nutshell, the conference is scheduled for February 26-27 at the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel in Naw'lins (that is how the locals say it, yes?). The faculty includes speakers from some of the most notable companies in the industry today - companies like Palace Entertainment, Intrawest, T.H.E. Insurance, PARC Management, Herschend Family Entertainment, Cedar Fair Entertainment, The Morey Organization, and Vail Resorts Management. It also includes some of the leading attorneys in the industry including, of course, yours truly.<br />
<br />
And what are we going to be talking about? Well, you name it and it's probably covered. It will surprise no one that I will be speaking on a panel discussing compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Other panels will address employment issues in the industry; best practices for safety, training, and education; the use of technology in litigation; state and federal safety regulation; preparing for catastrophic accident cases; insurance issues; waiver enforceability; and a panel discussion with state ride regulators. Frankly, the scope of issues that will be covered in this two day conference is unparalleled in the industry regardless of whether you are an insurer, an attorney, or an operator. <br />
<br />
I should make clear that, although I am a media partner with ACI for this conference, I am not being paid to endorse this event. If I didn't think this was a great opportunity, I wouldn't have anything to do with it. The fact that I've put my name on this conference means I believe in what they are doing. But, that said, as a reader of this fine blog, my media partnership gives YOU some benefit. ACI has generously offered readers of The Legal Roller Coaster a $200 discount on the registration fee. To obtain this discount, enter the code <b>LRC200 </b>upon registration <b>(<a href="https://transactions.c5groupinc.com/event_reg.php?conf=3912&site=2&lang=en&gap=4" target="_blank">you can click here to be taken directly to the registration page</a>).</b><br />
<br />
So, I ask you ... who wouldn't want to head to New Orleans at the end of
February for a couple of days of in-depth discussion on a variety of
industry issues, networking with some of the industry's top
professionals, and, maybe ... just maybe, taking in a little of the Mardi
Gras atmosphere down there at the same time? I'll be there. I hope to see some of you there too.<br /><br />
<br />
<br />Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-15621976180313355392014-11-14T18:12:00.002-05:002014-11-16T08:28:33.862-05:00On a Roll: Cedar Fair Wins A Major Victory For The Industry In The Missouri Supreme Court<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://www.gktw.org/images/news/press/cedar-fair.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gktw.org/images/news/press/cedar-fair.png" /></a>Cedar Fair has done it again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2011, Cedar Fair came out on the losing
end of a surprising California Court of Appeals decision, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nalwa v. Cedar Fair, L.P., </i><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2011/06/controversial-california-ruling-on.html">a
case that stunningly held that guests riding a bumper car ride do not assume
the risk of injury caused when the cars bump</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2013, <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2013/01/happy-new-year-from-california-supreme.html">the
California Supreme Court reversed that decision in a decision that represented
a major victory for the entire industry</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In November 2013, Cedar Fair again suffered defeat in a case called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez v. Cedar Fair, L.P. </i>(“Chavez I”),
this time in the Missouri Court of Appeals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That case broadly expanded the standard of care applied in negligence cases
against amusement parks, likening their operation of amusement rides to the
operation of airplanes, explosives or firearms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2013/07/planes-trains-waterslides-missouri.html">I
strongly criticized the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez I</i>
decision as not only bad in result, but bad in the flawed reasoning required to
reach that result.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, the
Missouri Supreme Court seems to have agreed (although I won’t go so far as to
surmise that any of the justices read this blog necessarily).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a decision issued on November 12 called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez v. Cedar Fair, L.P. </i>(“Chavez II”),
the highest court in Missouri not only overruled the Court of Appeals ruling in
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez I</i>, but also took the
remarkable step of undoing more than <u>sixty years</u> of case law defining
the negligence standards applied to amusement parks in Missouri.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whereas, before <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez II</i>, it could safely be said that some, not all, amusement
operators would be held to a heightened degree of “utmost care” in preventing
injuries to their guests, after <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez II</i>,
the law in Missouri is the more appropriate “ordinary care” standard in every
amusement case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a big win for
the industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And once again, we have
Cedar Fair to thank for it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.worldsoffun.org/oof/hurricanefalls/hurricanefallslogo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.worldsoffun.org/oof/hurricanefalls/hurricanefallslogo.gif" height="273" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, let’s dig in a little because this really was a
remarkable decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being said, the
facts of the case are pretty unremarkable as far as facts go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The plaintiff, Jessica Chavez, was injured
while riding Hurricane Falls, a Whitewater family raft ride, at Oceans of Fun
in Kansas City in 2000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sued Cedar
Fair claiming that the ride was improperly designed and constructed to be
safely operated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At trial, the court
instructed the jury, over Cedar Fair’s objection, that Cedar Fair must be held
to the “highest degree of care,” meaning “that degree of care that a very
careful person would use under the same or similar circumstance.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, the standard of care is a big deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can, quite literally, be the difference
between winning and losing, or between an exorbitant settlement and a
reasonable one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In effect, the trial
court told the jury that Cedar Fair had to act “more than reasonably” to
protect Ms. Chavez from injury.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had
to act with “utmost care.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
instruction stands in sharp contrast to the standard generally applied in
negligence cases, which only requires that the defendant act “reasonably” or “as
a reasonably prudent person would under the circumstances.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That standard is much easier for a defendant
to satisfy, whereas the heightened standard is much more difficult and thus more
frequently results in liability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which
is exactly what happened in this case:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
jury returned a verdict in favor of Ms. Chavez in the amount of $225,000, and
Cedar Fair appealed.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the Court of Appeals, Cedar Fair once again lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2013/07/planes-trains-waterslides-missouri.html">As
I’ve discussed in far more detail in another piece</a>, that court drew a
rather arbitrary legal distinction between claims relating to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">construction and maintenance</i> of an
amusement ride and claims relating to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">operation</i>
of an amusement ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to the
Missouri Court of Appeals, which based its decision on three earlier Court of
Appeals cases dating back to the 1950’s and 1930’s, cases arising from
negligent construction and maintenance were to be gauged by the “ordinary care”
standard generally applicable in negligent actions, while cases arising from
the operation of a ride, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">any</i> ride,
would be subject to the heightened standard of care applied to hazardous
activities such as operating firearms, public transportation, or using
explosives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was clearly not a good
decision for anyone but plaintiffs and their attorneys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cedar Fair appealed again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
And then the case got to the Supreme Court and something
really remarkable happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See, assuming that the Supreme Court disagreed
with the Court of Appeals and wanted to rule in Cedar Fair’s favor, it had
several options.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could have ruled,
for example, that the “construction / maintenance vs. operation” distinction recognized
by the Court of Appeals was, in fact, valid, but that this plaintiff’s claim
actually arose from the construction and maintenance of Hurricane Falls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the Court noted in its opinion, “Ms.
Chavez herself claimed that the rafts on Hurricane Falls were negligently
constructed due to their lack of ‘friction devices’.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would have been enough to warrant
reversal without effecting any real change in the Court of Appeals’ analysis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that’s not what the Court did.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Similarly, the Court could have held (as some other states
have) that the operation of some amusement rides, such as roller coasters for
example, carry with it a higher standard of care because, like a so-called “common
carrier” (a term used generally to describe operators of mass transportation),
guests on those rides surrender nearly all control over their safety to the
operator once they are strapped in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Following
this line of reasoning, the Court could have held narrowly that the facts of
this case did not support the heightened standard of care because Hurricane
Falls is fundamentally different than a roller coaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, the Court seems to have implicitly noticed
this distinction when it noted that “there are no mechanical aspects to the
ride other than the conveyor that takes the empty rafts from the splash pool at
the bottom of the slide back to the loading platform,” and that “with the
exception of the initial launch from the loading platform, ride attendants do
not control the raft’s descent.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
that’s not what the Court did either.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Court could also have held that the law relied upon by
the Court of Appeals accurately stated the applicable standard of care
historically, but that in light of modern understanding of amusement rides, a
change was needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court could have
found that, whereas amusement rides were once considered “so inherently or
extremely dangerous, with such a risk of widespread injury,” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and thus subject to a heightened degree of
care in their operation, today there is no such concern about amusement rides that
warrants more than ordinary care in a negligence case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here again, the Court gets rather close to such
a holding when it recognized that “unlike the danger posed by an electric
utility during the early stages of its entry into American homes and
businesses, the obvious threat posed by the operation of an automobile,
amusement rides are not such new, dangerous, or essential technology that they
justify the highest degree of care.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But, you guessed it, that’s not what the Court did here either.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4B4EDI5HK5ohd8haBkXWWXxaTf734M8lMGxdDMWjy5Ww5s73c0BYXsUdMeruOp3kTvNleHnVo9E-NlhDZ045VIVpxkXjS6S2rsiaRuhWkUmgw30ApoBOczDulE3dM124MdGvlNtxuMK6W/s320/rejected-stamp-thumb8591041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4B4EDI5HK5ohd8haBkXWWXxaTf734M8lMGxdDMWjy5Ww5s73c0BYXsUdMeruOp3kTvNleHnVo9E-NlhDZ045VIVpxkXjS6S2rsiaRuhWkUmgw30ApoBOczDulE3dM124MdGvlNtxuMK6W/s320/rejected-stamp-thumb8591041.jpg" height="269" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead, the Missouri Supreme Court took the rather
remarkable step of essentially rebuking the Court of Appeals for <u>ignoring</u>
two Supreme Court cases, one issued in 1933 called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">McCollum v. Winnwood Amusement Co.</i>, 59 S.W.2d 693 (Mo. 1933)
involving a similar injury on a water slide, and another issued in 1928 called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Berberet v. Electric Park Amusement Co.</i>,
3 S.W.2d 1025 (Mo. 1928), that specifically held that operators of amusement
rides are to be held to an ordinary standard of care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Supreme Court took the Court of Appeals
to task, not just for its erroneous holding in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez</i>, but for its erroneous decisions with respect to amusement
rides in general over the last sixty-plus years, and in three cases in
particular called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gromowsky v. Ingersol</i>,
241 S.W.2d 60 (Mo. App. 1951), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cooper v.
Winnwood Amusement Co.</i>, 55 S.W. 2d 737 (Mo. App. 1932), and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brown v. Winnwood Amusement Co.</i>, 34
S.W.2d 149 (Mo. App. 1931).</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
Not only is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">McCollum </i>most
similar to the case at hand – collectively in terms of the injurious event, the
negligence claims asserted, and the issues raised on the appeal – it is a
decision of this Court and as such is controlling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the duty of all inferior courts to follow
the decision of the Supreme Court en banc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In addition, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">McCollum</i>, decided
by this Court after <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brown </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cooper</i>, effectively overruled those
cases when it held that the duty of ordinary care is the proper duty owed by
owners and operators of amusement parks to their patrons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consequently, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gromowsky</i>, when the court of appeals affirmed its prior ruling in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Brown</i> without recognizing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">McCollum</i>, it improperly ruled contrary
to this Court’s established precedent regarding the duty of care owed by
operators of amusement rides.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why is this so remarkable?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Because unlike those other alternatives I outlined above, which would
have allowed the Court of Appeals to “save face” for its decisions over the
last sixty years, the Supreme Court effectively told the Court of Appeals that
they have gotten it dead wrong for the better part of a century (assuming you
go all the way back to those 1930’s cases).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
It is not unusual for a state Supreme Court to overrule an intermediate appellate court. But it is quite unusual for a state Supreme Court to overrule an intermediate appellate court in this fashion - by ruling that an entire body of appellate case law was wrongly decided decades ago. While, of course, it would have probably been better for everyone if the Court had reversed this case law back in the 1930's or 1950's, in an appeal from those particular cases, I guess this is a situation of "better late than never." </span>The Supreme Court’s decision undid decades of bad law holding some amusement
park operators (but apparently not all) to a much higher standard in some cases
(but apparently not all).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under the
Supreme Court’s decision in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez</i>,
those days are gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the words of the
Court, “while there are, of course, dangers associated with riding amusement
rides, the ordinary degree of care is sufficiently flexible to adequately
protect amusement park patrons.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
distinctions for different rides, no distinctions for different legal claims,
no distinctions for different plaintiffs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One rule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s it.</div>
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So, Cedar Fair deserves a big pat on the back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once again, it has succeeded in convincing a
high court to see reason and good sense – and in relatively dramatic fashion no
less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Supreme Court’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chavez II</i> decision took what was a
disaster for the industry in Missouri (and perhaps beyond), and turned it into
a big win that unambiguously sets good law in that state moving forward and
should provide a model for the rest of the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nicely done, Cedar Fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nicely done.</div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-33413522525317229932014-09-09T15:26:00.000-04:002014-09-12T17:22:37.082-04:00Why Six Flags' Loss In A Recent ADA Decision Might Ultimately Be Good For The Amusement Industry As A Whole<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://www.iconid.com/filebin/images/ADA.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.iconid.com/filebin/images/ADA.png" /></a>Over the last couple of years, I have told you about a very
important case in our industry called <u><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2012/07/most-important-amusement-industry.html">Castelan
v. Universal Studios</a></u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Castelan</u>
was the first decision of its kind to shed some light on the standards
applicable to amusement rides under the Americans With Disabilities Act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t re-hash what I said about the <u>Castelan</u>
case again (you can click <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/01/gamechanger-california-court-holds.html">here</a>
and <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/01/gamechanger-part-2-can-ride-owners-rely.html">here</a>
to read my coverage of that case), but suffice it to say that a big takeaway
from <u>Castelan</u> was its holding that, in states that required operators to
follow ride manufacturer recommendations, the Americans With Disabilities Act
allowed amusement ride owners and operators to use a ride manufacturer’s
accessibility restrictions as, in effect, a proxy for proof that allowing
disabled guests to ride created an “actual risk” of injury to that guest that satisfied
the “legitimate safety requirements” exception to the ADA. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(If you didn’t understand that sentence, I
highly recommend reading <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/01/gamechanger-part-2-can-ride-owners-rely.html">this
for some clarification</a>.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, a
federal court in Texas has recently weighed in on the issue and has reached a
very different result – ruling against Six Flags Over Texas in a nearly
identical case to <u>Castelan</u> and, in fact, rejecting much of the <u>Castelan</u>
decision in the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The decision is
certainly a bad result for Six Flags in that case, but is it a bad decision for
the industry as a whole?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many will
undoubtedly say it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
necessarily agree. </div>
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<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Bench v. Six Flags Over Texas</u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Before we get into why this may not actually be a bad
decision for our industry, give me just a minute or two to summarize the
decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The case is called <u>Clint
Bench v. Six Flags Over Texas, Inc.</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>According to the facts summarized in the case, Mr. Bench has a physical
condition that prevented him from developing fully formed hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After visiting Six Flags Over Texas on
previous occasions without issue with regard to ride access, he returned to the
park in May 2012 and was told, after boarding, that he could not ride the
Aquaman Splashdown attraction (an O.D. Hopkins manufactured shoot-the-chutes
ride) because he did not have fully formed hands for grasping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Six Flags provided him with a brochure
explaining the ride access policy, which apparently did not list the Aquaman
Splashdown attraction as being restricted based on this disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sued under the Americans With Disabilities
Act and Texas’s state law analog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
relevant to this article, the crux of his complaint was that Six Flags excluded
him based on unlawful eligibility criteria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Six Flags moved for summary judgment, essentially asking the court to
rule in its favor without a trial because it’s access criteria fell within the
ADA’s “legitimate safety requirements” exception, which allows operators to
lawfully discriminate on the basis of a disability where there is an “actual
risk” of harm to the disabled guest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
court disagreed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Importantly, the court did agree with Six Flags that the ADA
allows operators to exclude disabled guests for legitimate safety reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no question that the ADA allowed
such an exception – the problem was in the proof needed to fall within it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Six Flags argued that its eligibility
criteria arose from two primary sources:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>1) the ride manufacturer, assuming the manufacturer exists and provides
access recommendations, and 2) for those rides where no manufacturer guidance
was available, on the recommendations of a corporate committee that “looked to
manufacturer requirements for similar rides, … and / or industry standards to
determine what enhanced ridership requirements were warranted, if any.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The committee “also used engineering reports
from Six Flags’ engineering team [and] standards developed by the ASTM F24
Committee on Amusement Rides and Devices.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the court zeroed in on the regulatory
language explaining this exception and found that Six Flags had not proven that
its eligibility criteria, resulting from either source, were based on “actual
risks” as opposed to “mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations about
individuals with disabilities.” </div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Can You REALLY Just Rely On Manufacturer Recommendations?</u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for following the ride manufacturer’s recommendations,
Six Flags relied largely on <u>Castelan</u>, and argued that, like California,
Texas state law requires operators of amusement rides to follow manufacturer
recommendations, and thus they could not modify those recommendations to
accommodate disabled guests that were excluded because of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the court, while sympathetic to the
park’s position, disagreed that the manufacturer’s recommendations could, on
their own, satisfy Six Flags’ burden of proving that its access rules were
based on an “actual risk.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.stainlesssteelrat.net/TheyMadeMeDoIt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.stainlesssteelrat.net/TheyMadeMeDoIt.jpg" height="110" width="400" /></a>Characterizing this defense as “The State Made Me Do It,”
the court ruled that the state law obligation to comply with manufacturers’
recommendations could not be relied upon for two reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, and perhaps most importantly under the facts of the
case, the Court found that only one of the rides at Six Flags Over Texas,
Batman – The Ride, had manufacturer’s access restrictions at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of the rides, including Aquaman’s
Splashdown, had no guidance and thus state law did not even come into play for
those rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second, the Court found that, even if manufacturer’s
guidance existed, to the extent that the manufacturer’s recommendations did not
satisfy the standards of the ADA, the ADA, as federal law, would preempt the
state law ride safety regulations and access would be required.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, the manufacturer’s
recommendations are only as good to an ADA defense as the reasons behind them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the manufacturer based its access
restrictions on something other than “actual risks,” that would not suffice to
satisfy the legitimate safety requirements exception in the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the words of the Court, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“defendants
to these suits still bear the burden of proving their defense on the merits,
not by simply stating they are required to do it under state law.”</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is a significant departure from <u>Castelan</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just a few months ago, the court in that case
said it was the <u>plaintiff’s</u> job to challenge the manufacturer’s
requirements because it was not the “Defendants’ responsibility to challenge
the manufacturer’s operating manual and ensure these requirements are in fact
necessary for the safe operation of the ride.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The judge in that case believed that “if Plaintiffs believe the
restrictions are overprotective, they are free to initiate an action against
the manufacturer.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the Court in <u>Bench</u>
disagreed:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
States are passing the buck to ASTM and ASTM is passing the
buck to manufacturers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> court suggested they, the
manufacturers are the ones who should be held accountable, … but this Court is
not so sure that is possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
prohibition on discrimination applies to “any person who owns, leases (or leases
to), or operates a place of public accommodation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the institutions setting criteria about
who can ride a roller coaster – amusement parks, manufacturers, ASTM, and the
state – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">amusement parks are the only ones who “operate a place of public
accommodation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>That means
ultimately they are the ones who must answer for discriminatory criteria that
they impose on their rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are
concerned about their compliance with state law, the appropriate method is to
file a suit to be released from their state law obligations – not discriminate
now, deflect later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is powerful stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And, although many in the industry probably won’t like it, it is, in my
opinion, a reasonable legal interpretation of the statutory and regulatory
language in the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> told parks that they could
accept the manufacturer’s requirements at face value, and that any challenge
to those requirements would need to be brought by affected plaintiffs against the manufacturers directly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the ADA does not apply to manufacturers –
it doesn’t require a manufacturer to do anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So any ADA lawsuit brought against the
manufacturer stands a pretty good chance of being dismissed almost
immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the operators of
public accommodations, like amusement parks, that have statutory obligations
and thus, according to the <u>Bench</u> court, it is up to them to be able to
back up the manufacturer’s recommendations with proof of an “actual risk.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>If Not The Manufacturer, Then Who?</u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what about the second source of ride access policy – the
corporate committee I mentioned earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To put it rather bluntly, the Court was unimpressed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/212/f/7/keep_calm___doctor_who_trust_me_by_htf_lover12-d5990kg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/212/f/7/keep_calm___doctor_who_trust_me_by_htf_lover12-d5990kg.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
Six Flags Over Texas cites various items of evidence which
mostly say the same thing:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the committee
charged with auditing the rider qualifications considered manufacturer
guidelines and service bulletins, the ASTM standards (which, by the way, point
back to the manufacturer guidelines and bulletins), reports from the Six Flags
engineering team, and the collective knowledge of the committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The evidence could be summarized in two
sentences:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Trust us on this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somebody said we needed to do it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of it shows what “actual risk” the
criteria was based on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>… At best, it
shows they bluntly compared a wide class of rides and imposed uniform
requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That broad approach is
commendable in terms of cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it
also leaves Bench without an answer as to why his disability prevents him from
safely riding roller coasters, and it does not satisfy the ADA’s requirements.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, the Court’s view of this committee – a
committee undoubtedly composed of people with decades of experience in the
operation and maintenance of Six Flags’ rides – is not entirely unexpected, at
least to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The analysis that seems to
be demanded under the “legitimate safety requirements” standard is one that
begs for data and empirical proof over conclusions based on practical experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor does it matter if, at the end of the day,
Six Flags’ committee’s conclusions were entirely correct (and they probably
were, at least with respect to a large number of rides).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the ADA, how those conclusions are reached
are more important than what those conclusions are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, in the court’s view, a committee’s conclusions,
without backup data to support them, are insufficient to prove the existence of
an “actual risk.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It also does not matter to the court if the analysis
demanded under the ADA is expensive to undertake – and there can be no doubt
that providing the data the <u>Bench</u> court is looking for will be
expensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no “cost” exception
to the ADA in this regard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The law
simply does not allow a court to waive the applicable legal standards because
it costs too much for a defendant to satisfy them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even in barrier removal situations where cost
can enter into the calculus, it is the rare case where the cost of providing
access will trump the intent of the ADA to provide the broadest access
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congress has correctly
recognized that there may be safety reasons to deny access to a disabled guest,
but, to avoid abuse, it has purposefully made it difficult for owners and
operators of public accommodations to fall within this exception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>So Is This A Bad Decision For The Amusement Industry?</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, getting back to my initial question – is this a bad
decision for the industry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
going to be a lot of people who think it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There will be those in the industry that will say that this judge didn’t
respect the collective knowledge of the people who know these rides best or the
expertise and careful consideration that went into the ASTM standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are going to people who think that the
decision makes it virtually impossible for a small operator, who may not have
the resources necessary to do an exacting analysis of every ride to determine
ridership criteria, to successfully defend an ADA lawsuit (and, by the way,
that is a real concern to be drawn from this ruling).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://i1.cpcache.com/product_zoom/562967195/knowledge_is_power_mug.jpg?side=Back&height=250&width=250&padToSquare=true" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1.cpcache.com/product_zoom/562967195/knowledge_is_power_mug.jpg?side=Back&height=250&width=250&padToSquare=true" /></a>But here’s why I actually don’t think this is a bad decision
for the industry:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think the court’s legal analysis of the “legitimate safety requirements” exception is probably correct insofar as it requires submission of proof of an "actual risk" rather than reliance on manufacturer's recommendations as a stand-in for such proof (although I do disagree with another issue or two in the ruling, but that’s a
topic for another day).
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, much more
importantly, I think other courts will likely agree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so, to that extent, this decision gives
us <u>information</u> and <u>knowledge</u> – which is exceptionally valuable given the scarcity of
cases on this issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowledge is vital when it comes to the
crafting a legal defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Bench</u><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>should give the industry some warning
about what may be looming in our future so that the next policy, the next case,
and the policies and cases after those, are tailored to standards that the
courts may well apply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Of course, there remains a significant, and unanswered question, as to what proof will suffice to satisfy the court under <u>Bench</u>'s analysis. Is in-house engineering data enough? Does a park have to undertake a complete independent biomechanical engineering analysis to satisfy its burden of proving "actual risks"? Or is there some reasonable middle ground between the committee / blanket rule approach rejected in <u>Bench</u> and an expensive analysis that is financially infeasible for many operators? I think there probably is, but that's something to be addressed some other day, and it certainly isn't addressed in this case. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, largely due to this uncertainty, none of this should be read to suggest that Six
Flags did a single thing wrong here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Six
Flags did what anyone would do – it relied on the legal authority available at
the time and presented a defense that fit well within it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some may have thought that <u>Castelan</u>’s
analysis was imperfect, heck – even I thought it had some problems, but it was
the only case on point and thus was the best authority for Six Flags to rely
upon at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> And, at the end of the day, it is certainly possible that future courts will agree with its practicality even if not its reasoning. </span>But, <u>Castelan</u> was only the first case in an area of the law that is still
being developed and, in those circumstances, it can be difficult to predict how
persuasive it will be to another court in the the second case. Six Flags did the best it could do with the only legal authority available at the time. This Court simply disagreed with that authority. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And that is why, while the result is not good for Six Flags,
the <u>Bench</u> case, in the long run, likely is good for the industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The worst thing to happen in any lawsuit is
to get blindsided by either the facts or the law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least as to the law, this case helps
prevent that from happening to the next operator in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is why I think <u>Bench</u> is a
very important case and a “good” decision for the industry.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-4636941776428809092014-06-10T12:23:00.000-04:002015-02-22T13:26:02.675-05:00Here & Now (Pt. 3): Isn't Standing In Line An Essential Rule Of The Park .. Even For Autistic Guests?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-prologue-question-of-autism-in.html" target="_blank">Click here to read Here & Now (Prologue): The Question of Autism In Amusement Parks Under the ADA</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 1): Is Immediate Ride Boarding For Autistic Guests Really Necessary?</a> </b> <br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-2-is-immediate-on-demand.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 2): Is Immediate, On-Demand Ride Access For Autistic Guests Reasonable?</a></b><br />
<b><br /> </b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Golfcart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Golfcart.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What does this ... </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/storymaker-excellent-roller-coasters-12061011-514x268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/storymaker-excellent-roller-coasters-12061011-514x268.jpg" height="205" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">have to do with this?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A recent lawsuit brought against the Walt Disney Company has
brought into the public spotlight an issue that the amusement industry has
struggled with for years:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>what accommodations
are legally required for autistic guests and other guests with cognitive
disabilities that cannot wait in line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Last year, Disney’s parks (along with several others, including the
Cedar Fair parks) instituted a policy that dramatically changed
the procedure for these guests. Rather than being granted on-demand, immediate
boarding privileges upon arrival at a ride (as had been the practice for years), guests at these parks must now
check-in, either at the ride or at a guest relations location (depending on the
park), and make an appointment to return, at which time the guest and his party
will be immediately boarded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
appointment time corresponds to the length of the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So is this procedure acceptable under the
Americans With Disabilities Act?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
plaintiffs in the recent Disney lawsuit say it is not – that immediate,
on-demand boarding is a required accommodation under the law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But is it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span> </div>
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The first two pieces of this series have looked at the questions of
whether immediate, on-demand boarding on amusement rides is <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">necessary (giventhat front-of-the-line access does not seem to be requested in any other publicaccommodation)</a> and / or <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-2-is-immediate-on-demand.html" target="_blank">reasonable (given prior case law in the cruise shipcontext finding it is not)</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m ending
this series by considering the third element of an ADA claim of this sort:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does allowing on-demand, immediate boarding “fundamentally
alter the nature of” the amusement park experience?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe it does – in dramatic fashion.</div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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The question of “fundamental alteration” is a critical
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ADA requires operators of
public accommodations, such as amusement parks, to make “reasonable
modifications in polices, practices, or procedures, when such modifications are
necessary to afford … goods [and / or] services to individuals with disabilities,
unless the [park] can demonstrate that making such modifications would <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>fundamentally alter</u></b> the nature
of such goods [and / or] services.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>42
U.S.C.A. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(i).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even
assuming that the conclusions of my last two pieces are dead wrong, that on-demand
immediate boarding is both necessary and reasonable, does such an accomodation “fundamentally
alter” the goods and services that an amusement park offers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it does, then the accommodation is not
required under the law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what does it
mean to “fundamentally alter” the goods and services offered by an amusement
park?</div>
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The most well-known case to discuss the issue is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin</i>, 532 U.S. 661 –
the case that held that use of a golf cart by professional golfer, Casey
Martin, who has a disability that makes walking significantly painful, did not “fundamentally
alter” PGA tournaments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In assessing Mr. Martin’s claim under the ADA,
the Supreme Court stated:</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images.quickblogcast.com/9/6/3/2/7/182938-172369/feb3_caseymartin_299x374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.quickblogcast.com/9/6/3/2/7/182938-172369/feb3_caseymartin_299x374.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a><a href="http://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/getattachment/2d69c065-3e3a-4516-8564-f782d5a27ba6/2-FOR-1-DEALS.aspx" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i>In theory, a modification of petitioner’s golf tournaments
might constitute a fundamental alteration in two different ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might alter such an essential aspect of the
game of golf that it would be unacceptable even if it affected all competitors
equally; changing the diameter of the hole from three to six inches might be
such a modification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alternatively, a
less significant change that has only a peripheral impact on the game itself
might nevertheless give a disabled player, in addition to access to the
competition as required by Title III [of the ADA], an advantage over others
and, for that reason, fundamentally alter the character of the competition.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
532 U.S. at 682-83.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Expanding
on the second of these two, the Court differentiated between “essential” and “peripheral”
rules noting that the waiver of an essential rule of competition for anyone
would fundamentally alter the nature of petitioner’s tournaments,” but that a “modification
that provides an exception to a peripheral tournament rule without impairing
its purpose cannot be said to ‘fundamentally alter’ the tournament.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Id.</u> at 689.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
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So what do golf carts have to do with on-demand, immediate access
to amusement park rides for autistic guests?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>According to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Martin</i> case,
the question that must be asked is whether immediate boarding privileges alters
an “essential rule” of an amusement park or alters <u>and</u> impairs
the purpose of a “peripheral rule” of the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If either of these is the case, no
modification is legally required under the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For purposes of this article, I don’t think we even need to discuss whether
waiting in line is a “peripheral rule”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>because there really can be no reasonable argument that waiting in line
for an amusement ride is anything other than an “essential rule” of every park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is apparent from a variety of perspectives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.guidetosfot.com/parkinfo/changelog/images/linejumpers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.guidetosfot.com/parkinfo/changelog/images/linejumpers.jpg" height="295" width="320" /></a>1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>From a park policy perspective, every
park I have ever worked for, worked with, or visited (and that is a lot of
parks, I assure you), has a written line jumping policy included in their guest
brochures and on signage at the ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These policies typically advise guests that line jumping is cause for
removal from the park without a refund, that saving a spot in line for someone else is
prohibited, and that guests cannot leave their place in line and return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
not nefarious as line-jumping is typically thought-of, the effect of
immediate, on-demand ride access is really no different – in either case one
guest has a significantly shorter wait for an attraction than other guests in
line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These rules are fundamental and universal
to every amusement park I know of and exist to provide a fair experience to all
park guests and to allow the park to operate efficiently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust me when I tell you that parks hear about it when someone gets to ride without waiting in line - even when that someone has a disability. Allowing guests to skip the
line all together would thus seem to be a “waiver of an essential rule” in
place at virtually every amusement park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dreadcentral.com/img/news/apr14/Jurassic-Park-Yelp-Wide.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dreadcentral.com/img/news/apr14/Jurassic-Park-Yelp-Wide.png" height="320" width="221" /></a></div>
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2.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>From a guest
experience perspective, while it is certainly not the best part of visiting any amusement park,
no one could seriously contend that it was not an integral part of the
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> To illustrate this, </span>I have attempted to quantify
the “essential-ness” of waiting in line to an amusement park guest's experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To that end, I searched Yelp reviews (I would
have searched TripAdvisor, but it does not have a search feature for reviews) for
23 different amusement parks, small and large, throughout the country, to see
how often reviews mentioned various aspects of a typical amusement park
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specifically, I looked for
mentions of “Rides,” “Lines,” “Food,” “and “Games.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While obviously an unscientific survey, I
think it is reasonable to presume that, when guests review an amusement park,
they tend to focus on those things that are most important – most essential -
to their experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s what I
found:</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cache.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/298889_S/how-to-work-with-bad-yelp-reviews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Total number
of reviews searched:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>10,141</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Percentage
of total reviews mentioning “Rides”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>67.28%
(6823 total reviews)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Percentage
of total reviews mentioning “Lines:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>34.09%
(3457 total reviews)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Percentage
of total reviews mentioning “Food”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>26.12%
(2649 total reviews)</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Percentage
of total reviews mentioning “Games”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>3.72%
(377 total reviews)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Based on this informal and admittedly unscientific survey,
guests clearly view waiting in line as an essential part of their day at an
amusement park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, mentions of “lines”
was second only to “rides” – the obvious draw at any amusement park – in online
reviews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If guests did not view waiting
in line as an essential (albeit not always a positive) component of the amusement
park experience, it is difficult to imagine why it would be the topic of such
significant discussion when reviewing their day in the park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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3.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> Finally, and this is the most compelling of all to me, f</span>rom an
economics perspective there can be little doubt that waiting in line is an “essential
rule” of the park because it directly impacts the price of the goods and services the park offers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/getattachment/2d69c065-3e3a-4516-8564-f782d5a27ba6/2-FOR-1-DEALS.aspx" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/getattachment/2d69c065-3e3a-4516-8564-f782d5a27ba6/2-FOR-1-DEALS.aspx" height="197" width="320" /></a>Consider a more
familiar context – a movie theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Imagine a guest that has a disability that makes it impractical to visit
the theater frequently (I don’t know what disability that would be, but go with
me here).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guest thus requests that
he be permitted to see two movies back-to-back during a single visit, and that the
theater only charge him a single ticket to do so. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the $10 admission price paid by this
hypothetical customer, he would get two films whereas all the other customers
would get one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would anyone argue that such a modification
to the theater’s admission policies would be anything but a waiver of the
essential rule requiring a ticket to see each film?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would anyone seriously
contend that this is not a fundamental alteration of the services the movie
theater provides?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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But that is exactly what the plaintiffs in the Walt Disney
suit are asking the Court to require.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
guest pays an admission fee to enter most amusement parks and thereafter they
have access to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the rides and attractions
the park offers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because guests spend a
good portion of their day waiting in line, it is generally impossible for a
guest to experience every attraction in the park or to ride a ride as often as
desired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wait in line simply takes
too much time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is that in a
mid-size amusement park on a moderately busy day, a guest may have time to
experience a dozen rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assuming a $50
admission ticket, that means that a typical guest pays about $4.17 per
ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Removing lines from the equation changes the economics of
this transaction dramatically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A guest
that can avoid lines may have access to twice the number of rides (perhaps more) as the
typical guest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assuming the same
admission price, these guests are only paying about $2.08 per ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are, in effect, getting to see two
movies for the price of one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are
asking Disney and other amusement parks to offer the same rides and attractions
as offered to other park guests, but at a much reduced cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that is not a “fundamental alteration” of
the services a park, or any business for that matter, offers, I don’t know what
would be.</div>
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The Disney lawsuit is certainly one worth watching as it
will undoubtedly have an impact on the policies and procedures adopted at parks
all over the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should a park
offer immediate boarding access to disabled guests?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps – but that should be a decision made
in the interest of guest service, not as a legal mandate under the ADA.<br />
<br />
<b><b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-prologue-question-of-autism-in.html" target="_blank">Click here to read Here & Now (Prologue): The Question of Autism In Amusement Parks Under the ADA</a></b></b><br />
<b><b><b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 1): Is Immediate Ride Boarding For Autistic Guests Really Necessary?</a></b> </b> </b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-2-is-immediate-on-demand.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 2): Is Immediate, On-Demand Ride Access For Autistic Guests Reasonable?</a></b><br />
<b><br /> </b></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-75494894036458043472014-05-28T17:57:00.000-04:002014-06-10T12:32:18.540-04:00Here & Now (Pt. 2): Is Immediate, On-Demand Ride Access For Autistic Guests Reasonable?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><br /><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-prologue-question-of-autism-in.html">Click here for Here & Now (Prologue): The Question Of Autism In Amusement Parks Under The ADA</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 1): Is Immediate Ride Boarding For Autistic Guests Really Necessary?</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/06/here-now-pt-3-isnt-standing-in-line.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 3): Isn't Standing In Line An Essential Rule Of The Park ... Even For Autistic Guests?</a> </b><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
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<a href="http://dirtinyourskirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/on-demand.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://dirtinyourskirt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/on-demand.gif" height="320" width="309" /></a>A recent
lawsuit filed against the Walt Disney Company has put before a Federal Court
in California the question of whether amusement parks have a legal obligation
under the ADA to allow autistic guests to skip the line and board rides
immediately upon arrival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a question that the
industry has struggled with for years without much guidance in the legal
literature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This series is taking a
closer look at that question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last time,
<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">I looked at the question of whether it was “necessary,” in ADA parlance, for anautistic guest to have immediate boarding privileges.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, I’m tackling what I believe to be the
central question raised in the Walt Disney lawsuit:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">reasonable</i>
to allow guests with disabilities to have on-demand, immediate boarding on amusement
rides? Put another way, is it <i>reasonable </i>to provide guests with disabilities with an appointment time at which immediate boarding will be granted?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>As I mentioned in the first piece in this
series, public accommodations, like amusement parks, are only required to make
“reasonable modifications” under the Americans With<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Disabilities Act. </span>But what does "reasonable" mean in the context of an amusement park?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No court has yet weighed in on this
question in the amusement industry (thus the import of the Walt Disney
litigation), but a recent decision involving cruise ships from a federal court
in Florida may provide some guidance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Last December, the Southern District of Florida rendered a decision in a
case called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alumni Cruises LLC v.
Carnival Corporation</i>, 2013WL 3511737 that addressed an issue very similar
to that confronting the amusement industry today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alumni
Cruises</i> was an ADA lawsuit brought by a group going by the trade name
“Autism on the Seas” or “AOTS,” a group that “works with multiple cruise lines
in order to provide vacation opportunities for developmentally disabled adults
and families of children living with autism, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy,
Asperger’s Syndrome, and other cognitive, intellectual and developmental
disabilities.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AOTS, which, on average,
organizes trips for groups of ten special-needs children per cruise, sued
Carnival Cruise Lines claiming violations of the ADA arising from Carnival’s
alleged unwillingness to make certain accommodations for its clients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the eleven accommodations sought in the
complaint, which ranged from increasing staffing at Carnival’s “Camp Carnival”
children’s program to free private use of the on-board disco to better
publicity of services available to developmentally disabled passengers, were a
couple that caught my eye immediately, including this one:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Port
check-in:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Families of developmentally
disabled individuals should be permitted to either check-in via an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>expedited
check-in counter</u></i></b> or by an <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>expedited process</u></i></b> designed
for families with a developmentally disabled guest[.]</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Looks familiar, doesn’t it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Assuming (but not deciding) that this modification was
“necessary,” the Court focused its inquiry on whether it was “reasonable” under
the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It found it was not.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As in the amusement context, the two
sides essentially disagreed over whether Carnival could set boarding
appointments for disabled guests or whether it had to allow expedited boarding
whenever the guest wanted to board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carnival
argued that it had already made a reasonable accommodation for autistic guests
that could not wait in the regular embarkation line.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Carnival
has responded to this request by providing AOTS with the name of a Carnival
employee to contact when the AOTS group arrives at the ship, so individuals
with autism and other developmental disabilities, who lack the ability to
remain focused and engage in generally accepted conduct while in a crowd or a line
for extended periods of time, may receive expedited check-in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Carnival explains, it can expedite check
in of groups with special needs when they arrive at one time, but it is unable
to do so when they board at scattered times throughout the day. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AOTS, however, found this modification
unacceptable.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">AOTS
complains that this accommodation is not sufficient since its clients do not
all arrive at the port at the same time because the nature of their
disabilities causes outbursts and other circumstances that may draw families
with children with developmental disabilities off schedule and may prevent them
from being able to ensure arrival at a specific time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faced with these two choices, the Court found not only that Carnival’s appointment-based system was reasonable, but that immediate boarding was <i>unreasonable </i>as a matter of law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Carnival’s
proposed modification is reasonable and accommodates the behavioral issues that
families with children with developmental disabilities such as autism may experience
when required to stay in one place without outlets for their children for
extended periods</span></u></i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.
… While the Court is not unsympathetic to the sometimes-challenging
circumstances that families with children with developmental disabilities may
face, particularly when traveling, in order to participate in a Carnival
cruise, AOTS has provided no evidence that its clients are unable to arrive at
a designated time for check in other than [the] bald assertion to that
effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Particularly in light of the
fact that, to participate in a Carnival Cruise, AOTS’s clients must find a way
to get to the port on time to board the ship before it departs, and further,
that AOTS is able to gather its clients all at the same time for dining,
photograph opportunities, and tender departures, [AOTS’s] naked claim that the
proposed modification is not sufficient does not suffice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not unreasonable for Carnival to expect
AOTS clients to find a way to arrive on time to enjoy expedited check in if
that is important to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not
only has AOTS failed to demonstrate that Carnival’s proposed modification is
insufficient, but <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>a reasonable jury could not find that AOTS’s counterproposal is
reasonable</u></i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carnival
conducts its embarkation process over several hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>AOTS’s proposed modification would require
Carnival either to have designated staff for that entire period who check in
only those relatively few passengers traveling with guests with developmental
disabilities or to have its general check-in staff drop everything – including
their accommodation of other guests – to check in passengers traveling with
guests with developmental disabilities whenever they happen to arrive
throughout the multiple hour period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Quite simply, that is not reasonable when Carnival is willing to provide
guests with developmental disabilities with an expedited check-in process that
requires only that such patrons arrive at a designated time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theintelligentcruiser.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/embarkation-lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://theintelligentcruiser.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/embarkation-lines.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hope the cruise is worth this wait.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, while the analogy to the theme
park context is admittedly imperfect, it is nonetheless informative with respect
to ride access.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A cruise ship
embarkation line is, as anyone who has ever cruised before can
attest, one of the few lines that can rival the most popular theme park
attractions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like a new attraction, cruise ship lines can
entail more than an hour of waiting in close quarters with other guests with
little to no distraction or freedom of movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short, both environments are undoubtedly
less than ideal for many autistic guests and their families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In my opinion, the Carnival Cruise case
supports the reasonableness of Disney’s appointment-based access policy under
the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as in the cruise ship
context, to participate in a Disney-park experience (or any amusement park
experience for that matter), guests must adhere to certain schedules:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>they must arrive at a certain times to enter
the park, they must arrive at certain times for shows, they may make dining
reservations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems reasonable,
therefore, for guests who cannot wait in attraction lines to be given an
appointment for expedited boarding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps it is even unreasonable to expect parks to “drop everything<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- including their accommodation of other
guests” to board guests “traveling with guests with developmental disabilities
whenever they happen to arrive.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course, the Carnival case only
brings the question so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Importantly, it does
not seem to address a central argument in the Disney case:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the impossibility of explaining to a
developmentally disabled guest that, although they have arrived at the ride
location, the guest cannot immediately board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But isn’t that something that the Disney policy has already reasonably addressed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/disney-parks-disability-access-service-card-fact-sheet/"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">According to its policy</span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, boarding appointments are not given
at the rides themselves but at Guest Relations kiosks located throughout the
park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guests with disabilities do not
need to be present at the kiosk to get the boarding time either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under Disney’s policy, therefore, there is no
need for an autistic guest to go to a specific ride until the boarding appointment arrives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, assuming proper planning, from
the perspective of an autistic guest, not much has changed – boarding is still
immediate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Appointment times are given
somewhere besides the ride itself and, assuming a parent keeps their autistic
child away from the attraction until the boarding time arrives, the child will
have waited without even knowing that he / she did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While there can be no doubt that Disney’s
policy, and other similar policies, puts additional responsibility on parents
and guardians to plan the day to minimize the possibility of meltdowns, as
noted in the Carnival case, planning and appointments are part of life for
everyone – including families with autistic children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps because amusement parks are an escape
from everyday life, families of autistic guests would obviously prefer the
convenience of immediate boarding on amusement rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, for some operators, that may be reason enough to offer immediate boarding in the interest of providing a guest
service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, as a purely legal matter,
the fact that immediate boarding is preferred or more convenient does not make
an appointment-based boarding system like Disney’s or Cedar Fair’s unreasonable
under the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Next time, I'll wrap this discussion up by looking at the question of whether not waiting in line fundamentally alters the theme park experience. Until then... </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-prologue-question-of-autism-in.html">Click here for Here & Now (Prologue): The Question Of Autism In Amusement Parks Under The ADA</a></b></span></span></div>
<br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 1): Is Immediate Ride Boarding For Autistic Guests Really Necessary?</a></b><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/06/here-now-pt-3-isnt-standing-in-line.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 3): Isn't Standing In Line An Essential Rule Of The Park ... Even For Autistic Guests?</a> </b><br />
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
</div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-68144608554868849322014-05-21T10:00:00.000-04:002014-06-10T12:32:08.931-04:00Here & Now (Pt. 1): Is Immediate Ride Boarding For Autistic Guests Really Necessary?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-prologue-question-of-autism-in.html" target="_blank">Click here to read Here & Now (Prologue): The Question of Autism In Amusement Parks Under the ADA</a></b><br />
<b></b>
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-2-is-immediate-on-demand.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 2): Is Immediate, On-Demand Ride Access For Autistic Guests Reasonable?</a></b><br />
<b></b>
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/06/here-now-pt-3-isnt-standing-in-line.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 3): Isn't Standing In Line An Essential Rule Of The Park ... Even For Autistic Guests?</a> </b><br />
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://netdna.orlandoinformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/disney-world-guest-assistance-pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://netdna.orlandoinformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/disney-world-guest-assistance-pass.jpg" height="226" width="320" /></a>Is it really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">necessary</i>
for autistic guests to have immediate access to rides?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a question that really has two meanings depending upon your point of view. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From a lay-person’s perspective, the question of necessity is a loaded
one, potentially involving overtones of insensitivity or intolerance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To even question necessity is itself socially taboo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, who are we,
as guests without disabilities and their consequent life challenges, to
question whether an autistic person or his family really “needs” something that
will, regardless of literal necessity, make lives easier and a day in the park
more pleasant?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the challenges
inherent in being the parent of an autistic child, who would be so callous as
to deny, or even question, an additional convenience during a day in the park?</div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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But from a legal perspective, the question of necessity is
neither insensitive nor intolerant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Indeed, not only is it a legitimate inquiry, it is an essential one with
respect to the Americans With Disabilities Act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As relevant to this discussion, the ADA requires amusement parks to make</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 12pt;">
reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or
procedures, when such modifications are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>necessary</u></i>
to afford such goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or
accommodations to individuals with disabilities, unless the [park] can
demonstrate that making such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature
of such goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
42 U.S.C.A. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(i).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the perspective of ADA compliance, the question of necessity is one
that simply must be addressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A park
has no legal obligation to make any modification to its policies or procedures,
including allowing immediate ride boarding to autistic guests, when that
modification is not necessary, in the legal sense, to the service the park
offers. But what does that mean?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img2.imagesbn.com/p/9780618196043_p0_v1_s260x420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img2.imagesbn.com/p/9780618196043_p0_v1_s260x420.jpg" height="200" width="147" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Under the ADA, “necessity” does not have its ordinary
meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The American Heritage College
Dictionary defines “necessary” as “absolutely essential” or “needed to achieve
a certain result or effect; requisite.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But the ADA does not use the term the same way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, in a case involving Segway usage
at Disneyland (<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2012/07/disney-probably-wont-have-to-allow.html" target="_blank">a case I’ve written about before</a>), the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals found that under a dictionary definition of “necessary”</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 12pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the ADA would require
very few accommodations indeed. After all, a paraplegic <i>can</i> enter a
courthouse by dragging himself up the front steps, so lifts and ramps would not
be “necessary” under [this] reading of the term. And no facility would be
required to provide wheelchair-accessible doors or bathrooms, because disabled
individuals could be carried in litters or on the backs of their friends. That's
not the world we live in[.] … The ADA guarantees the disabled more than mere
access to public facilities; it guarantees them “full and equal enjoyment. …
Public accommodations must start by considering how their facilities are used
by non-disabled guests and then take reasonable steps to provide disabled
guests with a like experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baughman v. Walt Disney World Co.</span></u><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, 685 F.3d 1131, 1134-35 (9th Cir.
2012).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Those accommodations that are
required to provide a “like experience” are, in the view of the Ninth Circuit,
“necessary” under the law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, the
question here is not whether it is literally “absolutely essential” for an
autistic guest to have immediate boarding on amusements rides – it is most
assuredly not since an autistic guest generally has the attributes
needed to physically traverse the queue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
question is whether an autistic guest can have a “like experience” as other
guests on a ride if required to wait to board (regardless of where the guest
waits).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unfortunately, given the wide variation
in levels of autism found on the spectrum, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think there is a definitive answer to
this question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I think there are
legitimate questions to consider, not the least of which is this one that I
have been struggling with for several months now:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 1in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why is it necessary for autistic guests
to skip the line at an amusement park, but almost nowhere else?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The argument in favor of the necessity
of immediate boarding typically goes something like this (from the Complaint
filed in the recent Walt Disney litigation): </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.75in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
disabled Plaintiffs, like other persons with cognitive impairments, are mentally
and physically incapable of traveling across a park to the site of an
attraction only to be told to come back later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Explaining the disruption would be as impracticable as re-programming a
computer in the middle of its computation, or placing food in front of someone
with no sense of present versus future tense and telling them not to eat it now
but to wait until later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Invariably,
this experience will induce meltdowns in the large majority of persons with cognitive
impairment, including the disabled Plaintiffs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/art11/35987dc2484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/art11/35987dc2484.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.953freshfm.com/files/2014/01/nyc-people-waiting-outside-restaurant-table-20995159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.953freshfm.com/files/2014/01/nyc-people-waiting-outside-restaurant-table-20995159.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a><a href="http://stories-project.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/airport-lines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://stories-project.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/airport-lines.jpg" height="195" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Assuming that everything in this
argument is accurate, why don’t we routinely hear complaints from autistic
families about waiting in line in other places like restaurants, retail stores,
or the airport?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked a group of
fellow ADA lawyers and consultants whether they had ever heard of autistic
individuals requesting to skip the line to get the next available table at a
busy restaurant, or to jump the line during holiday shopping season at the mall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one ever had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve searched online for any lawsuits or
media reports of claims of unlawful discrimination, similar to those raised in
the amusement park context, arising from long security lines at airports or in
any other context.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Except in one circumstance
involving a cruise ship (which I will discuss more in my next piece), I haven’t
found anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This issue seems
peculiarly reserved to amusement parks almost exclusively. So, why is it that an autistic guest can have a "like experience" at the airport, a restaurant, or in a retail store despite waiting in line, but cannot have a "like experience" at an amusement park unless on-demand immediate access is allowed? </span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Perhaps it is because
the anticipated ride experience itself creates an excitement in the autistic guest
that is not there with respect to waiting to get through security at an airport
or standing in line for stamps at the post office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it is because parents of autistic
children simply avoid taking them to other places with long lines, knowing that
their children cannot handle the wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
it is because the sheer length of lines at amusement parks dwarfs those in most
other contexts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it is because of
some other reason entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Whatever the reason, </span></span>I think this question presents a potentially
serious problem for the plaintiffs in the Walt Disney litigation as it could
undermine their argument that immediate access is necessary in the legal sense of
the word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> R</span>egardless of how loaded the question may be in the colloquial
sense, as a legal matter I think it is a question that deserves thoughtful consideration
now that this issue has come before the court.</span></div>
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<br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-prologue-question-of-autism-in.html" target="_blank">Click here to read Here & Now (Prologue): The Question of Autism In Amusement Parks Under the ADA</a></b><b><br /></b>
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-2-is-immediate-on-demand.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 2): Is Immediate, On-Demand Ride Access For Autistic Guests Reasonable?</a></b><br />
<b></b>
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/06/here-now-pt-3-isnt-standing-in-line.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 3): Isn't Standing In Line An Essential Rule Of The Park ... Even For Autistic Guests?</a> </b><br />
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></span></b></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-47314454227628649952014-05-19T11:50:00.001-04:002014-06-10T12:31:17.925-04:00Here & Now (Prologue): The Question Of Autism In Amusement Parks Under The ADA<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">Click here to read Here & Now (Pt. 1): Is Immediate Ride Boarding For Autistic Guests Really Necessary?</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-2-is-immediate-on-demand.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 2): Is Immediate, On-Demand Ride Access For Autistic Guests Reasonable?</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/06/here-now-pt-3-isnt-standing-in-line.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 3): Isn't Standing In Line An Essential Rule Of The Park ... Even For Autistic Guests?</a> </b></div>
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I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the issue of
autistic guests and, more specifically, what services must be extended to
autistic guests under the Americans With Disability Act, is one of the hottest
topics in the amusement industry today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To illustrate, I spoke about the Americans With Disabilities Act at an
amusement industry event in Las Vegas in February and, while my comments were not directed
at the legal requirements surrounding autism specifically, virtually all the
questions from the attendees were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent
a good portion of two days talking, in one way or another, about one repeated question:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does an amusement park have a legal
obligation to allow autistic guests (and, by extension, their families)
immediate boarding on rides?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a
question with very little answer in the existing law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Well, that may be changing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As many of you undoubtedly know, a recent lawsuit against Disney called <a href="http://www.dogalilaw.com/files/86572403.pdf" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A.L. v. Walt Disney Parks & Resorts US,Inc.</i></a>, has put this question directly to a federal court in California.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against an
amusement park operator with the know-how and resources to litigate this issue
to a ruling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a case the entire amusement
industry needs to watch, and an issue that is very worthy of some discussion –
particularly as we approach summer and the height of the amusement industry’s
operating season.</div>
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<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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Now, before I go further and before I am accused of
insensitivity to the autistic community, there is a critically important point
to make.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a difference between
legal requirements on the one hand and guest service on the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am concerned only with the former.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is to say, whether a park <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">may</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">choose
</i>to extend immediate boarding privileges to disabled guests, and more
specifically autistic guests, in the interest of providing a service is not the
question at hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is obviously no
legal impediment to such an offering. But that’s an entirely different question
from whether the ADA <i>legally requires </i>amusement operators to allow autistic guests to skip lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is the only question that concerns
me for the time being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor is this piece
going to pick apart the specifics of the access policy at issue in the Walt
Disney case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2013/10/the-one-thing-no-one-is-telling-you.html" target="_blank">I’ve already done that in a prior piece</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For now, it’s enough to
know the following:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 12pt;">
1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before October
2013, Disney had a system at its theme parks that allowed guests with disabilities
to bypass the line and board rides immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For obvious reasons, this was a very popular program.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 12pt;">
2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Starting in
October 2013, Disney changed its policy to, as relevant here, require guests
who, due to a disability, cannot wait in line to obtain an “appointment” for a
ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The appointment time corresponded
to the length of the line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The upshot
here being that, even if a guest cannot wait <u>in</u> the line, that guest
must nonetheless <u>wait</u> before being allowed to ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guests cannot “stack” ride appointments
either, so it is generally not possible to set up back-to-back appointments
such that a disabled guest waits for the first ride of the day, but none
thereafter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.75in 12pt;">
3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guests who do not
believe that Disney’s policy adequately addresses their particular needs may
discuss the matter with Guest Relations to determine if another reasonable
accommodation can be made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <a href="http://www.dogalilaw.com/files/86572403.pdf" target="_blank">Complaint filed in the Disney action, all 176 pages of it</a>, alleges a litany of issues with the new program, including inconsistent
enforcement and service issues at Guest Relations, insensitive employee
communication with disabled guests, and claims that the policy inflicts
emotional distress on parents faced with a “meltdown” (the exact word used in
the complaint, repeatedly) by their autistic children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It even goes so far as to allege that the
policy is the result of an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">intentional</i>
effort to keep autistic children <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">out</i>
of Disney parks so as not to impair the “Disney Magic” for other guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While, uhhhh, interesting, I’m not going to
get into these issues too much here because, at bottom, what the plaintiffs in
the Disney case want is immediate boarding on rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the million dollar issue.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
So let’s get into it:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does the ADA <u>require</u> parks to give immediate boarding access to
autistic guests?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a complicated
issue that raises, to my mind, three questions:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is immediate boarding necessary,
in the legal sense, for autistic guests at amusement parks? </i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While what little case law exists seems to
largely gloss over this question, probably due to a concern about appearing
insensitive, I think it is a legitimate question to ask in light of the unique
place the amusement industry appears to have with respect to autistic guests
and waiting?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is an appointment system, as
opposed to immediate boarding, unreasonable with respect to autistic
guests?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>This is the central
focus of the Disney complaint and the one that the Court will have to struggle
with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, in the cruise ship
context, one court already has.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doesn’t eliminating lines
fundamentally alter the services an amusement park provides to its guests?</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put another way, isn’t waiting in line an
integral part of the amusement park experience (albeit not one that most people
enjoy) such that eliminating it results in a wholly different guest
experience?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because each of these questions raises interesting and
important issues in their own right, I’m going to take a page from my recent <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/search/label/Blackfish" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blackfish / White Lies</i></a> series and
proceed in multiple parts – one devoted to each of these questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So…for now, I leave you with a (hopefully)
whetted appetite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-1-is-immediate-ride.html" target="_blank">Click here to read Here & Now (Pt. 1): Is Immediate Ride Boarding For Autistic Guests Really Necessary?</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/05/here-now-pt-2-is-immediate-on-demand.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 2): Is Immediate, On-Demand Ride Access For Autistic Guests Reasonable?</a></b><br />
<b><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/06/here-now-pt-3-isnt-standing-in-line.html" target="_blank">Click here for Here & Now (Pt. 3): Isn't Standing In Line An Essential Rule Of The Park ... Even For Autistic Guests?</a> </b></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-6661552237326141052014-04-13T13:19:00.000-04:002014-04-14T10:32:47.005-04:00The SeaWorld / OSHA Ruling: How It Happened & What It Means (UPDATED 4/14/14)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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SeaWorld’s killer whale trainers are out of the water, at least for
performance purposes, seemingly for good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So says the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SeaWorld of Florida, LLC </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(see update below) </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">v. Perez</i> – the
SeaWorld OSHA appeal that I have <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2012/06/seaworld-osha-decision-and-dangers-of.html">written
about previously</a> and that <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2013/11/blackfish-white-lies-prologue.html">featured
prominently in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Blackfish</i></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you may recall, following the death of
trainer Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld Orlando, the Occupational Health &
Safety Administration (“OSHA”) investigated and issued citations requiring, as
relevant to this case, that SeaWorld immediately stop allowing its trainers into
the water with orcas during performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pursuant to OSHA’s ruling, SeaWorld’s trainers could only interact with
the whales during performances if separated by a physical barrier that would,
in effect, prevent a whale from dragging a trainer into the pool as had
occurred with Ms. Brancheau.<br />
<br />
(more after the jump) <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
SeaWorld asked the D.C. Circuit to review OSHA’s ruling, and the case hinged on the
interpretation of the so-called “General Duty Clause” of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act which requires, in broad terms, that employers remove “recognized
hazards” that are “causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm”
to its employees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
SeaWorld essentially argued that it did not violate the General Duty Clause
because there was not enough evidence to find that "waterwork" constituted a
“recognized hazard” because “its training and safety program adequately
controlled the risk.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SeaWorld also
argued that there was a certain inherent risk in being a killer whale trainer
that was accepted by those employees and that could not be removed without
altering an integral part of SeaWorld’s business, and that OSHA’s decision was
“arbitrary and capricious” since it allowed waterwork during so-called
“husbandry” activities, but did not allow it during performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
The Court, however, was unconvinced and ruled against SeaWorld.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This case could (and no doubt will) be
interpreted by those that vehemently oppose SeaWorld’s business (or, indeed,
its very existence) as an affirmation of their beliefs about SeaWorld.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No doubt, some will use this ruling to
bolster their argument that SeaWorld is nothing more than a huge corporate
behemoth that cares little for the safety of its trainers – after all, if
SeaWorld wasn’t everything critics claim it to be, surely the D.C. Circuit
wouldn’t have upheld the sanctions imposed after trial, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
Not exactly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading the opinion this
way ignores its context and, more specifically, the power the court had when
deciding the case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Properly understood,
the outcome of this case is not all that surprising given that the court’s review
was, by design, heavily weighted in favor of upholding the lower court’s
ruling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Absent some exceptional
circumstances, which this court did not find here, affirmation of the lower
court’s ruling was virtually required.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
So what does this case mean for the future?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well,
the obvious answer is that it puts SeaWorld’s orca trainers permanently in dry-dock
during performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I think this case also gives other facets of the amusement, entertainment, and zoological industry some important guidance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that may be the ultimate legacy this case
leaves behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>The
Legal Deck Was Stacked Heavily Against SeaWorld</u></b></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u></u></b></div>
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As I mentioned above, to really understand this decision, it is important to understand the stage of the litigation in which this decision was made and what powers the
court has and, more importantly, doesn’t have at that stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
This was an appeal, and different rules
apply to appeals than to the initial proceedings – in this case the evidentiary
hearing before the OSHA administrative law judge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because this was an appeal, the Court could
not, except in very narrow circumstances, second guess the factual rulings made
below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To use the “legalese,” this
Court could only reverse factual findings if it found that they were
unsupported by “substantial evidence.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is a tough bar to get over, and basically means that this Court
would have to allow the prior findings that, for example, working with orcas
presented a “recognized hazard” or that taking trainers out of the water was a “feasible means to … reduce the hazard,” unless it found that there was <u><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so
little</i></u> evidence supporting them that it would be unreasonable to reach such
conclusions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The law does this in
recognition of the fact that the original judge was the one that heard all the
evidence and made credibility determinations about the witnesses and was
therefore in the best position to determine the facts in a given case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, SeaWorld effectively had the
deck stacked against it from the inception of the appeal because the system put its
thumb on the scales of justice in OSHA’s favor right from the beginning. By and large, SeaWorld was stuck with the lower court's findings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
But OSHA did not only have an advantage with respect to the facts, it had an
advantage with respect to the prior judge’s legal rulings as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because this case arose from an
administrative agency, OSHA, the Appellate Court must defer to the judge’s legal
rulings unless it finds them to be “arbitrary and capricious.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a very different standard than would
apply to legal rulings in an ordinary civil action – rulings that the Court
would generally review without regard to the conclusion reached by the trial
judge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, because this was an OSHA administrative
matter brought under OSHA regulations, the scales were tipped in OSHA’s favor
on the legal determinations made below just as they were tipped in OSHA’s favor
on the factual findings in the case.<br />
<br />
And that’s why this case can’t really be read as independent confirmation of
the merit of the OSHA sanctions or as an independent condemnation of of SeaWorld by the Court of Appeals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before the Court read a single word of the
parties’ briefs or heard a single syllable of oral argument, SeaWorld was
fighting an uphill battle to prove that the lower court’s decision was “not supported
by substantial evidence” and / or was “arbitrary and capricious.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if, in a vacuum, the Court of Appeals thought the
lower court interpreted the evidence wrong or would have ruled differently on
the evidence, it was required to accept its decision unless SeaWorld could
overcome either of these formidable barriers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This case, thus, represents not so much a ringing endorsement of OSHA’s sanctions
as it does a stamp of acceptance that OSHA proved its case to the minimal
standard required and that the judge below did not act arbitrarily in its legal
rulings.<br />
<br />
Finally, it is important to understand that this is not a rule favoring
OSHA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a rule favoring the trial
judge’s original rulings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had SeaWorld
prevailed below, on the basis of the same evidence, my guess is that OSHA would
have lost an appeal before these same judges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The same standard favoring the trial judge’s original rulings would have
applied and it would have been up to OSHA to convince the court that the original judge acted arbitrarily or reached unsupported factual findings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I seriously doubt that OSHA would have been
able to overcome this barrier any better than SeaWorld did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>What
Will The Legacy Of This Case Be?</u></b></div>
<div align="center" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01564/circus-lion_1564143i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01564/circus-lion_1564143i.jpg" height="206" width="320" /></a>Now, none of this is to suggest that this decision is not an important
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anytime a federal appeals court
issues a ruling, it is important and people listen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A decision like this gives future judges in
OSHA cases guidance in making future decisions appeal-proof and, provides a roadmap of sorts to future employers trying to steer clear of similar sanctions. So what should the industry as a whole take
away from this case? Three things
are at the top of my list.<br />
<br />
First, the argument that employees can accept the risk of working with
animals is not likely to get very far on its own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court’s opinion directly rejected this
idea, focusing instead on the employer’s obligation to provide a safe
environment regardless of the risks an employee is willing to accept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
SeaWorld’s suggestion that because trainers “formally accepted and
controlled their own exposure to … risks,” the hazard of close contact with
killer whales cannot be recognized … contravenes Congress’s decision to place
the duty to ensure a safe and healthy workplace on the employer, not the
employee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This court has long held this
duty is not qualified by such common law doctrines as assumption of risk, contributory
negligence, or comparative negligence. … The potential harm to SeaWorld’s
trainers exists in their workplace and involves conditions over which SeaWorld
has control.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
While it may be true that those who work with animals in zoos, circuses,
shows, or amusement parks may well be aware of and accept the risks they are
undertaking, the Court made clear that this awareness and acceptance does not
absolve their employers from instituting policies and practices that
effectively minimize this risk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So does
this mean that Ringling Brothers violates the General Duty clause every time a
lion tamer gets in the ring with lions, that a magician in a Las Vegas show
violates the General Duty clause by incorporating dangerous animals into an
illusion, or that a petting zoo violates the General Duty clause by not
limiting contact between its employees and the animals?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe, but not necessarily.<br />
<br />
Which leads me to the second and third takeaways from this case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the case clearly requires the employer
to decide what is best for its employees, the determination of “what is best” is
tempered by two considerations:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whether there
is a “recognized hazard” and whether the interaction is integral to the business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.greatamericanpettingzoo.com/images/petting-zoo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.greatamericanpettingzoo.com/images/petting-zoo2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>As for whether there is a “recognized hazard” the court’s decision makes
clear that employers will have a hard time arguing that an animal, or class of
animals, that has a documented history of serious injury or death to humans is
not a “recognized hazard.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both this
court and the lower court took note of SeaWorld’s documentation of aggressive
behavior by the whales and injuries to its trainers as proof that SeaWorld knew
that its whales could be hazardous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Circuses
and zoos will likely face similar issues in the wake of an animal attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Absent a history of potential serious injury
or death though, as may be the case with animals in a petting zoo for example, perhaps OSHA would not require
similar separation of human and animal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But what about where there is a known potential for serious injury or
death?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SeaWorld</i> decision mean that there will be no more lion acts in
circuses or that Las Vegas performers can no longer use tigers or elephants in
its shows?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not necessarily, because …<br />
<br />
Courts will also consider the extent to which direct human / animal interaction
is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>integral to the business</u></b>
when deciding what must be done to address recognized hazards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, the court specifically mentioned that
pulling SeaWorld's trainers out of the water during performances “did not change the
essential nature of its business.”<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
There will still be human interactions and performances with killer
whales; the remedy will simply require that they continue with increased safety
measures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SeaWorld has itself limited
human interactions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After Ms. Brancheau’s
death in 2010, SeaWorld ceased “waterwork” with all of its killer whales. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also imposed distance between trainers and
Tillikum during drywork and, to a lesser degree, between other killer whales
and trainers during drywork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
self-imposed limitations are relevant to the assessment of which aspects of
SeaWorld’s businesses are essential and indicate that the Secretary’s remedy
will not eliminate any essential element.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>SeaWorld does not assert (and at oral argument disavowed) that a public perception
of danger to its trainers is essential to its business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor has SeaWorld ever argued that limiting
interactions in the way that the remedy requires would have a detrimental
impact in its profits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
<br /></div>
The question of what is or is not essential to the business is where other
facets of the amusement or zoological industry may find some breathing room in
this decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whereas the trial court
here found that pulling trainers out of the water during killer whale shows did
not affect an integral part of SeaWorld's business, perhaps the same could not be said
of lion tamers at the circus or Las Vegas performers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may well be that, unlike SeaWorld, the
perception of danger in a lion taming act or an illusion during a magic show
is essential to those businesses such that removing the human element would go
too far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Likewise, i</span>t may be that removing the
human element from such activities would indeed have such a “detrimental impact on … profits” that total human / animal separation would not be required. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
And, while not stated by this court, this may also explain the seeming
inconsistency of allowing trainers to be in the water with whales for “husbandry”
purposes (i.e. cleaning and caring for the whales) but not during
performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There may be an implicit
recognition that contact with the whales during these activities is integral to
these activities, as it may also be in zoos, but is not integral to other
aspects of the business, such as public performances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, the Court doesn’t say this in its
opinion, but it is certainly consistent with its analysis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
The bottom line here, barring the Supreme Court agreeing to take this case,
is that we have seen the last of SeaWorld’s trainers in the water with
orcas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not everyone will like that (me
included), but it is the reality from here on out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more important question for the future is
whether this will have a ripple effect that could limit human interaction with
animals in other contexts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t see
this case mandating such limitations, but it does provide some insight into the
kinds of cases where OSHA may deem such limitations necessary and
appropriate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><u><b>UPDATE 4/14/14</b></u>: To clarify, by its terms the OSHA citations and penalties and the Court of Appeals' decision ONLY applies to <u>SeaWorld of Florida, LLC</u>, the entity that owns and operates SeaWorld's Orlando park. As a technical matter, therefore, the ban on waterwork with orcas does not extend to SeaWorld's San Antonio or San Diego locations. That said, the trial judge in this case considered evidence relating to the San Antonio and San Diego parks and specifically commented on the policy of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the parent company of all SeaWorld parks, to create consistency in the animal operations between all the parks. Thus, while not strictly applicable to these other SeaWorld locations, the Court of Appeals' decision could be be viewed as a warning of sorts about OSHA's position vis-a-vis SeaWorld's other locations should waterwork continue. That said, there may be additional safety measures that could be implemented in San Antonio or San Diego that SeaWorld believes sufficiently distinguish these parks from Orlando so as to allow waterwork to resume notwithstanding the Court of Appeals' ruling. Whether SeaWorld wishes to test these waters (no pun intended) is, of course, an internal business decision that I have no knowledge of and therefore cannot comment on. Thanks to one of my readers for raising this question with me as it is a good point of clarification.</span><br />
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<![endif]-->Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-29562180560325523862014-04-09T13:32:00.000-04:002014-04-09T13:32:26.214-04:003 Things We Learned From Yesterday's Hearing On AB2140, The So-Called "Blackfish Bill"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://uk.whales.org/sites/default/files/styles/content_full/public/ab_2140_hearing_bloom_capture.jpg?itok=xE-BBMe5" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://uk.whales.org/sites/default/files/styles/content_full/public/ab_2140_hearing_bloom_capture.jpg?itok=xE-BBMe5" width="400" /></a></div>
Yesterday, April 8, 2014, the California State Assembly's Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlilfe held its public hearing on <a href="http://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2140/2013" target="_blank">AB2140, also known as the "Blackfish Bill."</a> The proposed bill would, prohibit the possession or use of killer whales for entertainment purposes in the State of California, would generally prohibit breeding of killer whales in California, and would require owners of killer whales to return them to the wild "where possible" - more on that in a minute - and where not possible to move them to sea pens. Yesterday's hearing, which lasted about ninety minutes, featured prepared testimony from the bill's sponsor, Assembly Member Richard Bloom, three witnesses in support of the bill, and five witnesses in opposition to the bill.<br />
<br />
As a purely practical matter, the end result of the hearing was not a clear victory for either the bill's supporters or its detractors. The Committee decided to refer the bill for "interim study," which requires preparation of a comprehensive report on the proposed bill. Once that study is complete, which is expected to take more than a year, another hearing will be convened to consider the bill again. Thus, the bill is not dead, but it was not passed out of committee either. <br />
<br />
Aside from the bottom line result to defer a vote, the hearing offered some valuable insight into both side's positions, the legal merit of the bill, and the considerations that are likely to resonate with the Committee members when the next hearing occurs. Although I could spend hours writing about any number of issues that were raised, I've decided to narrow it down to the three that resonated most with me from a legal perspective. <br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>1. <u>No One Has Thought This Bill Through</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
To the credit of some of the committee members,
the shortcomings and lack of thought that went into AB2140 were
abundantly apparent during the hearing. While supporters of the bill
continued to make, at bottom, a moral case against captivity using much
of the same rhetoric as in <i>Blackfish</i>, none of them had answers to
the practical, real-world questions and obstacles this bill would
raise. I don't think that was lost on the committee, even some of its members
that are inclined to support the bill. More specifically:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://esatire.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/no_thought_zone.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://esatire.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/no_thought_zone.png" height="176" width="400" /></a></div>
<ul>
<li>The
bill's sponsor was forced to admit during the hearing that sea pens of
the magnitude called for in AB2140 have never been constructed before
and there is no known timeline for when such pens could be constructed
in the future. Given the importance of sea pens to this bill, isn't the
technical and economic feasibility of these pens an important issue to
nail down <u>before</u> setting down a legal mandate for their construction and operation? <br /> </li>
<li>While
the bill requires release of orcas to the wild, "where possible," the
bill contains no guidance on who makes that decision and what standards
are to be applied in making it. The bill does provide that the decision
is to be based on "the best available science," but that merely begs
the question as to what exactly is the "best available science." The
Committee heard from respected scientists on both sides of the issue
yesterday, so which side is the "best available"? My suscipicion is that it would depend on whether you favor or oppose the bill - a consideration which should simply not factor into this calculation. <br /> </li>
<li>Who is responsible for paying
for the construction and ongoing operation of these as-yet unestablished sea pens? The bill
certainly doesn't say, although at one point Assembly Member Bloom seemed to indicate that SeaWorld would have to figure it out for themselves. Moreover, where are these sea pens going to be located?
As SeaWorld pointed out to the Committee, it does not own property that
is suitable for such sea pens now. Does this bill purport to require
SeaWorld to buy ocean property and foot the bill for sea pens? Or is the
State of California prepared to spend this money or donate valuable seaside property to SeaWorld (yeah, right)?<br /> </li>
<li>Supporters
of the bill argue that the law would not prohibit SeaWorld from
displaying killer whales, it only prohibits their display for
"entertainment purposes," defined as "any routinely scheduled public
exhibition that is characterized by music or other sound effects,
choreographed display or training for that display, or unprotected
contact between humans and orcas." Well that's all fine and good, but
does that really ensure SeaWorld's ability to publicly
display orcas in sea pens as proponent's of the bill claim? I'm not so
sure. The display can't be "routinely scheduled." What does that mean? Does it mean that SeaWorld could not schedule display of the whales during set operating hours? Is that schedule too "routine" to fit within the law? Would SeaWorld be compelled to grant public access to the whales 24-7? There also can't be music involved apparently, but how far does that go?
Would ambient music on the walkways around the sea pen violate the law?
I don't think so, but I'm not the one making the rules or enforcing
them.<br /> </li>
<li>Speaking of which, who does enforce this bill? Can
PETA or some other animal-rights organization sue SeaWorld for violating
it? Is there some state agency that is going to oversee it? Where's
the budget for that oversight coming from? Again - no one knows.</li>
</ul>
Some
members of the Committee were clearly bothered by the lack of
specificity and practicality in the bill, and cited these concerns as
justification for interim study. Even Committee members that seemed
inclined to support the subject matter of the bill voiced concern that
there were too many holes to vote in favor of it now. These practical
considerations, which force deeper and more realistic thought than the
reflexive moral / ethical arguments routinely raised by anti-captivity
supporters, may well end up being the downfall of this bill in the long
run.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>2: <u>Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Has Somehow Become The Important To This Debate - But It Shouldn't Be</u></b></div>
<br />
This one initially caught me by surprise as I had never heard it before. Two witnesses speaking in support of AB2140, Assembly Member Bloom and Dr. Naomi Rose, mentioned Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, located in Vallejo, California, as an example of why a ban on killer whales would not be detrimental to SeaWorld's business. In essence, both witnesses pointed to the fact that Discovery Kingdom had voluntarily stopped killer whale performances and that, nonetheless, the park was doing just fine. The message was that SeaWorld would weather this storm equally well and thus that this bill was not a death-knell to SeaWorld's business. While there is some surface appeal to this analogy, upon closer inspection it is not convincing.<br />
<br />
The reason this comparison falls apart is that Discovery Kingdom and SeaWorld are, and have been for a long time, two very different kinds of parks. While both parks feature marine animals and do significant wildlife rescue and rehabilitation work, that's about where the similarities end. Particularly since being branded as a Six Flags park, Discovery Kingdom has really been a hard-ride amusement park with some animal elements, rather than a zoological park with some rides like SeaWorld of San Diego. This is an important thing to understand if trying to assess how the loss of orcas would impact SeaWorld in the future. <br />
<br />
To illustrate, <a href="https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom" target="_blank">according to its website</a>, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom currently boasts 45 rides & non-animal attractions and 19 animal attractions, only 7 of which feature marine animals. By comparison,<a href="http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-sandiego/" target="_blank"> SeaWorld of San Diego</a> currently offers 14 rides and non-animal attractions and 19 animal shows and exhibits, 18 of which feature marine animals. In other worlds, marine animals make up only 10% of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's attractions, but they make up 55% of SeaWorld of San Diego's offerings. Put another way, rides and non-animal attractions account for 70% of Discovery Kingdom's attractions, but less than half (42%) of SeaWorld's.<br />
<br />
Given these numbers, therefore, it is not surprising that Six Flags Discovery Kingdom continues to be successful after orca performances stopped in 2012 - marine animals simply were not its primary attraction base and thus the loss of killer whales could be more easily absorbed by other attractions in the park. SeaWorld, which focuses far more heavily on marine animals generally, and orcas in particular, is simply not comparable. SeaWorld lacks the predominant focus on other amusement attractions that would allow it to absorb the loss of these animals without seriously damaging its ongoing viability. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's post-killer whale experience thus says little (if anything) about the effect AB2140 would have on SeaWorld. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>3. <u>Some Legislators Don't Care If This Entire Law Arises From Falsehoods </u></b></div>
<br />
For me, the most disturbing and disappointing park of the hearing came at the end from the Committee's chairman, Assembly Member Anthony Rendon. By way of brief background, both the bill's sponsor, Richard Bloom, and Dr. Naomi Rose, referenced <i>Blackfish </i>in their testimony and response to questioning. Opposition witnesses from SeaWorld also referenced the movie and attempted to discredit its factual basis. Some Committee members indicated they viewed the film, one of which even indicated she used it as a valuable research source in learning about the issue. <i>Blackfish </i>is clearly an important component of the AB2140 story. Given that, wouldn't the veracity of allegations raised in <i>Blackfish </i>be relevant to the passage of AB2140? After all, if there are factual inaccuracies in <i>Blackfish</i>, wouldn't that undermine the perceived need for legislation to "improve" the lives of killer whales in SeaWorld's care? <br />
<br />
Not to Chairman Rendon it wouldn't. Chairman Rendon stated, on the record, that it didn't matter to him whether <i>Blackfish </i>was full of inaccuracies because he is simply fundamentally opposed to captivity as a moral and ethical issue. This, of course, was greeted with raucous applause from the bill's supporters in the room. But Chairman Rendon's position, which may well be shared by others on the committee, raises a point that should not be overlooked by the bill's opponents: This bill may eventually pass on nothing more than moral grounds. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.happylawyersblog.com/files/2014/02/moralcompass.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.happylawyersblog.com/files/2014/02/moralcompass.jpeg" height="320" width="313" /></a>While, admittedly, it was also Chairman Rendon that proposed referring this bill to interim study, I heard nothing in his final statements that led me to believe that the outcome of that study was going to matter much to his support of the bill. Whether premised on falsehoods or truth, Chairman Rendon will almost certainly support this bill because he just believes that whales should not be held in a zoological setting. For him, it's that simple. And that is the most powerful arrow AB2140's supporters have in their quiver. <br />
<br />
Legislators are tasked with setting public policy based on thoughtful debate about the facts impacting their communities. They are not supposed to make law based solely on their personal morality - or to be willfully blind to the truth when it is convenient to their moral and ethical beliefs. Would it be acceptable to increase taxes based on fabricated economic figures if that additional money went to a good cause? Would it be acceptable to put a known drug-dealer in jail on the basis of fabricated evidence? My guess (and hope) is that Chairman Rendon, and others that share his moral convictions, would say that neither of these were acceptable. So why should it be acceptable to base AB2140 on factual inaccuracies about killer whales and their treatment by SeaWorld? (Remember, according to Chairman Rendon, his position wouldn't change even if everything in <i>Blackfish</i> were proven to be false). It shouldn't be, but the emotional and moral power of the anti-captivity movement have made this issue somehow "different," and it is this difference that the opposition to AB2140 must not overlook in the coming months.<br />
<br />
So what's the future of this bill? No one really knows. It will be more than a year before the interim study will be completed, and then we will go through this process all over again. Think of yesterday's hearing as a dress rehearsal where both sides got to try out their best arguments to see what resonated. I think both sides heard things that will strengthen their positions next time. That hearing ought to be a doozy. Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-4954007337550745742014-03-20T11:11:00.000-04:002014-03-20T11:11:23.531-04:00Why have I been so quiet lately?Hi everyone! As some of you have noticed, my blog posts came to an abrupt halt recently, as did most of my activity on The Legal Roller Coaster's Facebook page. I thought I should take a moment to explain why (to those who don't already know), and to assure you that this is only a temporary setback.<br />
<br />
On February 19, I was driving my 6 and 7 year old kids to school. On the way there, an eighteen year old driver of an SUV, who was travelling in the opposite direction, lost control of her vehicle on the icy roads in West Hartford, Connecticut (my hometown) and spun into oncoming traffic. More specifically, she spun out and ended up right in front of our car. The accident was serious: the other car flipped, my car was damaged badly enough that emergency responders had to cut the door off to get my son out. <br />
<br />
The extremely good news is that my kids escaped with relatively minor injuries - back pain, minor lacerations, some bruising. Within a couple of weeks, they were basically back to normal. Moreover, despite flipping, the driver of the other car (I believe) is OK as well. Yours truly, on the other hand, wasn't quite as lucky. I broke my C-2 vertebra in the accident and suffered some bruising on my chest, as well as some lacerations on my legs when they hit the dashboard in the collision. The injury to my neck, while serious and extremely painful, could have been worse as C-2 fractures can (and sometimes do) cause total paralysis and / or death. I have spent the last month recovering both in the hospital and at home, on very strong painkillers, getting used to my new rigid cervical collar that I will be wearing until May. <br />
<br />
So that's why I've been strangely silent these last few weeks. I started back to work part time this week - mostly working from home when I can, but I have also been into the office for a few hours. Work makes me extremely tired right now, but I'm getting more strength daily and I hope to resume my life relatively normally in the next couple of months. There have been plenty of interesting topics to write about on this blog, but unfortunately, they will have to wait for the time being. <br />
<br />
For those of you that already knew all of this, I appreciate the support you've given me and my family very very much. For those of you that are just learning about this, please bear with me and let me know if you have any ideas for future pieces or feel like guest-writing something on the blog. This would be a great time if there is any interest. <br />
<br />
Thanks. And I'll talk to you again soon... <br />
<br />
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-56394237810662269932014-01-19T15:57:00.002-05:002014-01-20T14:31:23.190-05:00GameChanger? (Part 2) - Can Ride Owners Rely On Manufacturer's Recommendations To Satisfy The ADA?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://juliesmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/because_i_said_so_thats_why_post_cards-p239452208012560831baanr_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://juliesmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/because_i_said_so_thats_why_post_cards-p239452208012560831baanr_400.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>In my last
piece, I told you about a recent ruling from the District Court for the Central
District of California in a case called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan
v. Universal Studios </i>which granted judgment in Universal’s favor in a case
alleging violation of the ADA brought by two disabled guests that were not
permitted to ride The Mummy because they did not meet the minimum ride
requirements of one functioning arm / hand and one functioning leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The court premised its ruling on two
independent grounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/01/gamechanger-california-court-holds.html">The
first, which was the subject of my last piece, was that the ADA did not require
amusement ride access to guests with disabilities.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That part of the ruling is, in my opinion, as
questionable as it potentially game-changing and should be taken with the
proverbial grain of salt for the time being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But the second basis for the court’s judgment was both exactly what I
would have argued in Universal’s place <u>and</u> finally gives us some long
awaited guidance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, let’s talk about
that one and what it could mean for the industry moving forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little preview – This holding might not be
perfect, but I think it has a lot more legs than the first one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Basis No. 2</b></span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Even If The ADA Applied,<u> </u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Exclusion of Disabled Guests Is
Permitted For Safety Reasons</u></b></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The court’s second basis for finding in Universal’s favor arose
directly from the ADA regulations, specifically 28 C.F.R. §36.301 which allows
a public accommodation to discriminate on access if there are “legitimate
safety requirements that are necessary for safe operation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, Universal argued that the manufacturer
of The Mummy sets the criteria necessary to ride the attraction and that
California’s amusement safety law requires Universal to follow these
recommendations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Universal argued that
the ADA should not require access when state law prohibited it – in effect,
that it should not be in the position of violating either the ADA or California
state law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The plaintiffs did not dispute the requirements of
California state law, but they argued that Universal should have to prove that
the manufacturer’s rider requirements were legitimate. The Court disagreed,
stating that, at least as far as parks in California are concerned, a park need
not show any more than the manufacturer’s recommendation to fall within the
“legitimate safety requirement exception.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Court is unwilling to require Defendants to second-guess the
manufacturer’s safety requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>California law requires enforcement of the manufacturer’s safety
requirements, and the manufacturer has directed that riders must have at least
one functioning arm and hand, and at least one leg and foot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not Defendants’ responsibility to
challenge the manufacturer’s operating manual, and ensure these requirements
are in fact necessary for the safe operation of The Mummy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Plaintiffs believe the restrictions are
overprotective, they are free to initiate an action against the manufacturer.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, that’s more in line with expectations and seems to
answer a question I’ve been asked repeatedly:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Can an amusement operator simply rely on a manufacturer’s recommendations
as justification for its ride admission policy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This case seems to say that you can do exactly that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, any issues here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well…maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>What About Outside of California?</u></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The good news is that this part of the case arises directly
from the ADA regulations themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
that respect alone I think it is on far more solid footing than the Court’s
first basis for judgment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is
imperative to keep in mind that the Court’s holding arises not just from the
ADA, but, more precisely, from the intersection of California state law and the
ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, because California state law
required adoption of manufacturer’s recommendations, the court was willing to
deem the “legitimate safety requirements” exception satisfied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, importantly, the case does not address
whether the same result would have (or should have) been reached <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">absent</i> this requirement under state
law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is certainly possible (perhaps
likely) that the court would have required a greater level of proof of the
necessity of the manufacturer’s recommendations if California law had not
required their adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So for operators in states where there is no statutory or
regulatory requirement to abide by manufacturer’s recommendations, this case
does <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not really answer the question of
what must be proven to establish the applicability of the “legitimate safety
requirements” exception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Does This Holding Really Comport With ADA Regulations?</u></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even in those states that have a statutory / regulatory
requirement similar to California’s, I would not be surprised if a court paused
at the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> court’s
analysis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the ADA undeniably
contains the “legitimate safety requirements” exception cited by the court, it
also makes clear that “safety requirements must be based on <u>actual risks and
not on mere speculation, stereotypes, or generalizations</u> about individuals
with disabilities.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Castelan
decision never mentions this requirement at all despite the fact that is
contained in the very regulatory section <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan
</i>relied upon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is something of a
glaring omission in the court’s reasoning and could well cause a future court
to consider whether <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> really
got it right or whether it did so for the right reasons.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, I think the judge in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan </i>would clarify, if she were asked to do so, that it implicitly
found that the ride manufacturer’s recommendations sufficiently proved the
existence of an “actual risk.” The court would probably say that if the California
state legislature thought the manufacturer’s recommendations set the standard
for safety, that is sufficient proof of “actual risks” to pass muster under the
ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, I think that is a reasonable
position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But … unfortunately, the court
did not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">actually</i> say any of this, but
ignored the issue entirely.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>What About Rides Without Manufacturer Safety Recommendations?</u></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
California’s ride safety regulations only require adoption
of manufacturer’s ride recommendations “to the extent such recommendations exist
and are reasonably available.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there
are any number of rides still operating where such recommendations don’t exist
because the manufacturer no longer exists and either didn’t issue them when the
ride was manufactured or, if they did, documentation of those recommendations
has been lost over the passage of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> offers no
guidance on what kind of proof is sufficient to satisfy the “legitimate safety
requirements” exception under these circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a completely understandable omission
given the facts of the case, but nonetheless it is an omission that continues
to leave a sizeable category of rides in ADA-limbo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Did Castelan Just Shift ADA
Compliance Duties To Manufacturers?</u></i></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, I think it is well worth considering whether <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> just painted a target on the
back of ride manufacturers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan </i>court was unwilling to require
amusement parks to “second guess” manufacturers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, so long as an operator can demonstrate
compliance with manufacturer’s recommendations, it is, by and large, immune
from ADA liability as it relates to the ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The remedy for a plaintiff that believes the manufacturer’s
recommendations are not legitimate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Well, according to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan
</i>court, the plaintiff “is free to initiate an action against the
manufacturer.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, instead of the
manufacturer being on the sidelines (as it was here) as a non-party to the
lawsuit, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i> ruling <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">requires</i> manufacturers to be named if
ride access is at issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only does
this raise a number of legal questions without easy answers (Is a ride
manufacturer even a proper defendant in a Title III ADA lawsuit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does a disabled person have standing to
challenge a manufacturer’s recommendations under California’s ride safety
regulations?), it also increases the costs and potential exposure to ride
manufacturers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I’m a ride
manufacturer, this is not a development I would be excited about.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, can an operator rely on the manufacturer’s
recommendations to satisfy its ADA obligations? Well, if the operator is in
California, then <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan </i>suggests
that it can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the case is certainly
not the be-all and end-all with respect to the discussion of the ADA’s
applicability to amusement rides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We now
have guidance, and because of that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan</i>
is a very important case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we need to
see what happens in the next case, and the one after that, to get a better feel
for where this area of the law is really going.</div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1724814998338928097.post-33611711624666599032014-01-16T16:44:00.000-05:002014-01-20T08:39:27.405-05:00GameChanger? California Court Holds Disabled Access To Amusement Rides Not Required By The Americans With Disabilities Act<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzY_SvFn81Xqqb8ovWxudLo-tKCK79ZdbTVJ6Dk-8LNYBKxhVYypr3tToAzP1faPkbgRiILrVRLVmzprjuMhyphenhyphenZqoT-GkFqVqHkNS8cib2UkF4FbSt9wLj05y8F2qRH7CYYLpXrwGJDEbc/s1600/No-disability.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzY_SvFn81Xqqb8ovWxudLo-tKCK79ZdbTVJ6Dk-8LNYBKxhVYypr3tToAzP1faPkbgRiILrVRLVmzprjuMhyphenhyphenZqoT-GkFqVqHkNS8cib2UkF4FbSt9wLj05y8F2qRH7CYYLpXrwGJDEbc/s1600/No-disability.jpg" /></a></div>
In July 2012, I told you about a lawsuit filed against
Universal Studios Hollywood that I described at the time as “<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2012/07/most-important-amusement-industry.html">the
most important industry lawsuit in years” and “one of the rare legal decisions
that could equally impact the day-to-day operations of a small FEC and a huge
multi-park resort</a>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The case was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Castelan v. Universal Studios</i>, filed in
the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why was it such a big deal?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it was poised to be the first case to
squarely put at issue the extent to which the Americans With Disabilities Act
requires amusement facilities to allow ride access to disabled guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ADA has been around for more than two
decades, but surprisingly there are no cases that have spoken to this
particular issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On January 10, the
court issued a ruling granting judgment in favor of Universal Studios finding,
essentially, that an operator of an amusement ride may exclude disabled guests
for virtually any reason without violating the ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The decision is remarkable in that it flies
in the face of long standing consensus belief <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– even in the amusement industry – about the
ADA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it a game changer for the
amusement industry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But don’t everyone get too excited just
yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just to refresh your memories, the Castelan case
revolved around The Mummy attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The case was brought by two plaintiffs
neither of whom had the requisite "one functioning arm / hand and one
functioning leg" necessary to ride per the manufacturer’s requirements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the plaintiffs’ claims apparently
morphed a bit over time, ultimately they argued that Universal violated the ADA
by not designing a ride that could accommodate disabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Court ruled in Universal’s favor on two independent
bases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What that means is that the court
identified two reasons why Universal was entitled to prevail and, in the court’s view, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">either
one</i> – standing completely alone and independent of the other – was
sufficient to warrant judgment in Universal’s favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Now, </span>since the court considered them
independently, I will as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So today,
I’ll look at the first (and most noteworthy) basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my next piece, I’ll tackle the second
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: yellow;">Basis No. 1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Simply Put, The
ADA Does Not Apply To Amusement Rides<u> </u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>(But It Does Apply
To Their Stations)</u></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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The Court’s first basis for ruling in favor of Universal is
a doozy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Relying on some Ninth Circuit
precedent of questionable applicability to these facts, the Court analogized
amusement parks containing rides to bookstores containing books, and found that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>just as the ADA does not require bookstores
to “assure that the books are available in Braille,” but only requires "access to the store,” Universal
was only required to ensure that its “goods, services, and rollercoasters are
physically accessible to persons with disabilities, in accordance with the
regulations under the ADA – even if those persons are otherwise precluded from
the ride due to its extreme design and consequent safety requirements.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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The court basically ruled that a ride is “inventory” to an
amusement park just like a book is to a bookstore, and the ADA cannot dictate
what inventory a public accommodation offers to customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So long as disabled guests can get into the
park and, apparently, physically access the ride itself, the park has no
obligation under the ADA to allow disabled guest access to actually participate
in the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Notably, the court identified
no statutory or regulatory standards that an amusement park is required to comply
with to justify exclusion of guests with disabilities from a ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Court simply said:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: .75in; margin-right: .75in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Defendants may offer and provide to the public – and therefore design
as well – “whatever goods and services” they desire – including rollercoasters
that have so many twists, turns, jolts, drops, loops, and excessive speeds that
a manufacturer … might limit the ride to only persons with one hand and leg.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In its simplest and most realistic terms, therefore, the Court held
that the ADA just does not apply to amusement rides themselves, even as it
requires access to the physical structures surrounding them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a park chooses to have a rollercoaster (or
any other ride) that does not accommodate disabled guests, that is its choice,
and it is not required to make any showing that its ride admission criteria are
warranted or necessary if it is sued under the ADA.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .75in;">
Like I said. A doozy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .75in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-align: center; text-indent: -.5in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Does This Ruling REALLY Mean That The ADA Does Not Apply To
Amusement Rides?</u></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think that is the most reasonable interpretation of the
court’s opinion, but there is a narrower way to see it too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the opinion, the court goes out of its way to say that it
is only addressing the question of whether it violates the ADA to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">design</i> a ride that cannot accommodate
disabilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Technically, therefore,
the court’s ruling does not address <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">operational</i>
policies – it only addresses potential ADA violations that arise from the
park’s “ride design, alteration and procurement process.” Viewed in that light,
the case actually answers a very narrow question and one that, frankly, does
not make much sense in the real world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No one seriously contends that all public accommodations
must be 100% accessible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that were
the case, the ADA would not contain <a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2013/02/he-said-she-said-conversation-about.html">exceptions,
such as for safety requirements</a>, would require barrier removal even where
not “readily achievable,” and would not contain a “structural impractability” exception
for new construction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the question of
whether a ride must be designed to be 100% accessible seems to be a question
easily answered in the negative without much effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that really is the only question the court
intended to answer, it took a rather odd route to get there. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The problem, though, with reading the case this narrowly is
two-fold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, the facts of the case
do not really arise from a “design-only” issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is obvious that the Plaintiffs sued because they believed they were
discriminated against in Universal’s operation of the ride – indeed, a significant component of their complaint was that Universal changed its access policies so that the plaintiffs could not ride even though they had been allowed in previous years. Moreover, the
plaintiffs never sued the ride’s manufacturer – a party that undoubtedly played a large role in the ride's design This just isn’t a
design case or, at least, it’s not strictly a design case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps more importantly, there’s this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
“Defendants’ may <u>offer and provide to the
public</u> – and therefore <u>design as well</u> – </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
whatever goods and services
they desire[.]”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The court’s ruling <i>on its face </i>reaches beyond just design, it reaches the goods and services an
amusement park may “offer and provide to the public” and holds that whatever it
chooses to “offer and provide to the public” can exclude individuals with disabilities
without any requisite showing of necessity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To those that know anything about the ADA, even those on the defense
side like myself, that is a pretty tough pill to swallow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, could the opinion be read to only speak to a very narrow
design issue?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will it be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Probably not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: yellow;">
</span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .75in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>How
Much Should An Amusement Facility Rely On This Case Moving Forward?</u></i></b></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .75in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This part of the court’s ruling is pretty remarkable
(remember, there’s another independent holding I’ll get to in my next piece).
But I think amusement operators should be very cautious about how much weight
they give it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Depending on some procedural issues that I won’t bore you
with, this case could be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals anytime
from a few weeks from now to several months from now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Ninth Circuit is nationally known as a
very liberal court and has shown a willingness to give ADA plaintiffs a good
degree of latitude in pleading and proving their cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the same court, after all, that
allowed a<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2012/07/the-outrageous-reason-disneyland-segway.html">
plaintiff who won prior cases by alleging that she was confined to a wheelchair
to bring a claim against Disneyland alleging that she could only use a Segway</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is also the court that, in that same ruling,
had no qualms about stating that some of Disney’s ADA arguments “border on the
absurd” notwithstanding the fact that these same arguments were convincing to a Florida District Court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is probably not the ideal
court to decide an appeal in Universal’s favor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moreover, and wholly apart from the proclivities of the Ninth Circuit or even whether the case is appealed at all, the notion that the ADA just doesn’t apply to a
physical structure designed to hold passengers and provide a recreational
experience and, therefore, that an operator can discriminate on the basis of a
disability without any bounds is certainly not within the common "gut-check" conception of
the ADA. I do think the court got it right that there is no legal obligation
for an amusement ride to be <i>designed </i>to be all-inclusive for every disability, but,
again, that only matters if a subsequent court reads the case very narrowly and
academically.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally, there is the issue of geography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember that this is a single decision from
a district court in California.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
not binding on anyone other than the parties to the lawsuit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>True, it will be persuasive to varying
degrees (particularly as it is the only case of its kind out there), but the
further away from California one gets the less persuasive the case ultimately may
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Courts in Oregon, Nevada, Arizona,
Idaho, Montana, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, and, especially, California – which are all
located in the Ninth Circuit – are likely to give a ruling from one of their sister-courts
more credence than courts in Florida, New York, Ohio, or elsewhere in the country.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, is this “the most important industry lawsuit in years?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still think it could be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The court's ruling seems to open the door to a
huge heretofore unknown and industry-specific exemption to ADA liability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is for precisely that reason that this
case warrants careful further observation and should be relied upon with caution in the
coming months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s just too soon to
know whether this is a game-changer, an outlier, or simply a wrongly decided
case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The good news, though, is that the </span>second of the court’s
two independent basis for judgment is, in my opinion, stronger, less controversial, and (while not perfect) does likely provide some useful guidance to amusement operators moving forward. More on that in the next piece.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.legalrollercoaster.com/2014/01/gamechanger-part-2-can-ride-owners-rely.html" target="_blank">Click here to read GameChanger? (Part 2) Can Ride Owners Rely On Manufacturer's Recommendations To Satisfy The ADA? </a></div>
Erik H. Beard, Esq.http://www.blogger.com/profile/12021548329555288575noreply@blogger.com8