Accessible Cruises, Fair Housing, and the Americans With Disabilities Act

One need not be a Disabilities Study scholar, although a little knowledge of the field could avert some major miscalculations in the travel industry, to understand that when people with disabilities have historically been excluded from a market sector or industry, a cultural arena, scientific or engineering question the disability community's pent-up creativity and desire to contribute socially inevitably leaves the gatekeepers of social participation reeling in surprise at the rich life of the disability community. The Court's decision is a gift to the industry if it jolts that industry awake to the market it has been overlooking.

In some respects, the apparent pro-business stance of the justices does the industry a disservice. By preemptively determining that the ADA's escape clause--that a modification be "readily achievable"--has been met simply by the nature of seagoing vessels and conceding, without examining specifics or challenging the industry to application of state-of-the-art solutions, that retrofitting and design changes are beyond the reach of the law, the Court lulls unsuspecting industry decision makers into a false sense of security. As the statement at www.Wheelmeon.org released by Goldstein & Howe, PC, explains:

The issue then becomes: To what extent does the ADA apply? Here, the Court is further divided. The controlling opinion of three Justices--Kennedy for a plurality, joined by Stevens and Souter--holds that Title III applies except in all likelihood to the extent the statute would otherwise require "permanent," "significant," "structural" changes to the "basic ship design and construction." That opinion is controlling because it is the narrowest holding: Justice Thomas would not apply the statute to require any structural changes and, as noted, the three Justices dissenting in full would not apply the statute at all. By contrast, two concurring Justices - Justice Ginsburg, joined by Justice Breyer - would hold that Title III applies except to the extent that the statute imposes requirements that conflict with treaty obligations.

In the face of such a pusillanimous decision it might have been easier for some to follow the course of "loopholes-as-usual" if it were not for a major settlement this week involving The Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act ( http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000... ).

The Equal Rights Center (ERC), the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the United Spinal Association along with their counsel, Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld, & Toll, PLLC and the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs announced today [June 8, 2005] what

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