[nagdu] Legal action against Mcdonald's Corp. over service animal access

[Criminal Justice Major]

Sent: Friday, March 02, 2012 10:52 PM
Subject: Legal action against Mcdonald's Corp. over service animal access
McDonald's Corp. Sued For Discrimination Against Blind Customers Using Guide Dogs
A blind woman who uses a guide dog, and her fiancée, filed a federal civil rights complaint today in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, including class action allegations that McDonald's Corp. fails to adequately train employees regarding the rights of people with disabilities using service animals. The lawsuit was filed by the law firm Knauf Associates of Santa Monica. Los Angeles, California (PRWEB) March 01, 2012
Today in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, a blind woman who uses a guide dog, and her fiancée, filed a federal civil rights complaint against McDonald's Corp. including class action allegations on behalf of people with disabilities who use guide and service dogs, alleging that McDonald's has unlawfully discriminated against guide dog users and does not adequately train its employees regarding applicable laws. The lawsuit was filed by the law firm Knauf Associates of Santa Monica, California.
The complaint references news stories nationwide of McDonald's restaurants allegedly excluding people who use guide and service dogs from McDonald's restaurants, and seeks damages and an injunction requiring McDonald's Restaurants of California and McDonald's Corp. to improve written policies and procedures and employee training, as well as unspecified monetary damages.
The complaint alleges that the plaintiff, Cyrena Thomas of Los Angeles, and her fiancée, Larry Givens, attempted to dine at a McDonald's restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, with Thomas' guide dog, Suzie Q, and 
the couple's infant son. Restaurant employees, including a manager, requested that Thomas remove the dog from the restaurant and allegedly threatened not to serve them unless they did so.
According to the lawsuit, Thomas and Givens explained that Thomas is blind and uses a guide dog, but the McDonald's employees nevertheless insisted the 
dog remain outside the restaurant. Thomas then left the restaurant upset and Givens attempted to educate the McDonald's employees to no avail. Thomas and 
Givens ultimately ate at a nearby restaurant with the guide dog without incident.
"This case is unusual because of the high level of ignorance of the employees - what they did patently violates federal and state law, and it indicates a complete lack of training by the owner of the restaurant, which in this case is McDonald's Corp.  itself - it is not a franchised location," 
said Christopher Knauf, the plaintiffs' attorney.
"Due to the number of media reports of similar instances nationwide, it appears that McDonald's does an inadequate job of training its employees on 
this issue, which is a very important one for the thousands of people with disabilities nationwide who use service animals in order to live independent lives," Knauf added.
The complaint, brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the California Blind and Disabled Persons Act, among other statutes, also seeks unspecified monetary, including punitive damages. Under one statute, the plaintiffs can each receive up to three times the damages found by a jury, with a minimum fine of $4,000.
Knauf Associates is a private public interest law firm specializing in disability rights and special education law. Michael Waterstone, Esq., a disability rights expert, is co-counsel on the case.
U.S. District Court case number: CV12-01763 SVW(MANx)
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Contact Information
Christopher Knauf
ck at goodlaw.biz
goodlaw.biz
            310-663-6236
Christopher Knauf
Knauf Associates
goodlaw.biz
            310-663-6236
Source:
http://www.prweb.com/printer/9245403.htm