Starbucks Faces ADA Class Action Lawsuit By Wheelchair Bound Woman

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The Starbucks Corporation has been hit with a Americans with Disabilities Act class action by a disabled woman, alleging that the coffee chain had built steep sloped curb ramps and other surfaces in their parking lots that limited access to the store for individuals with wheelchairs.

Plaintiff Sarah Heinzl is a resident of Pennsylvania and regular Starbucks patron who “has a mobility disability and is limited in the major life activity of walking, which has caused her to be dependent upon a wheelchair for mobility.”

According to the class action lawsuit, Heinzl alleges that 11 Starbucks stores in Pennsylvania have violated Title III of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) because these locations have curb ramps and entrance walkways with slopes steeper than 2.1 percent, which makes access to these areas for an individual with a wheelchair quite difficult.

Additionally, the Starbucks ADA class action lawsuit, filed by Heinzl on Tuesday,  alleges that certain Starbucks stores did not have marked “van accessible” parking spaces. Starbucks locations that did have designated van accessible parking spaces contained grates and large opening, potential hazards for individuals like Heinzl.

The proposed Starbucks ADA Class was filed “on behalf of all wheelchair users who have attempted, or will attempt, to access Defendant’s facilities.” The Starbucks class action lawsuit does not specify the numerosity of the Class , but does state that the proposed class is potentially large enough that joining of all plaintiffs in a single action would be impractical and time consuming.

Heinzl also claims in the ADA Class Action Lawsuit that the failure to conform to ADA policies by the 11 Pennsylvania Starbucks locations are not isolated incidences, but a result of Starbuck’s negligence to adopt a thorough plan to provide full accessibility to the locations for individuals with wheelchairs.

The Starbucks ADA Class action lawsuit alleges that Starbucks, “has never had a plan or policy that is reasonably calculated to make its facilities fully accessible to and independently usable by individuals with mobility disabilities[.]”

This is not the first time Starbucks has been hit with an ADA class action lawsuit. In August 2013, Starbucks attempted to dismiss allegations of violating the ADA by allegedly having counters inside their California stores that were too high for a person using a wheelchair to reach.

Starbucks’ attempts to dismiss the lawsuits were denied by U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson who then allowed four quadriplegic plaintiffs to pursue lawsuits against Starbucks stores and locations built prior to 2005, the year the coffee chain company changed its counter designs. Any ADA class action lawsuit claims made against stores after 2005 were dismissed.

In Pennsylvania’s Starbucks ADA Class action lawsuit, Heinzl has asked the court for declaratory judgment stating that the Starbucks’ parking lot design and conditions are in violation of the ADA. Heinzl is also seeking an injunction that would require the coffee chain to alter parking lot structures so as to be fully accessible for individuals using wheelchairs.

Neither party was available for comment or has responded to requests to comment.

The plaintiffs are represented by R. Bruce Carlson, Benjamin J. Sweet and Stephanie Goldin of Carlson Lynch LTD.

The Starbucks ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Sarah Heinzl v. Starbucks Corp., Case No. 2:14-cv-00989, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.