NEW ORLEANS – A Jefferson Parish man is seeking the court’s help in fixing mobility barriers for the disabled at a shopping center.
Lawrence Fultz filed a suit on March 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Lake Ave. Corp. citing alleged violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Fultz, a man with disability, alleges that defendant’s property, located on 2309 Manhattan Blvd. in Harvey, fails to comply with ADA standards. More specifically, the suit states that the shopping center houses a store known as Creative Cakes that Fultz has allegedly frequently visited. However, Fultz claims that there are certain barriers that make it difficult for him to safely navigate the property in his wheelchair. Such barriers are alleged to include a steel curb ramp with an excessively steep platform and dangerous slopes, a gap between the promenade and the curb ramp, the curb ramp impermissibly projects to the narrow and dangerous access aisles of the parking spots, and other mobility related barriers. Fultz alleges that he would like to continue to visit the shopping center but fears that, if the mobility barriers are not resolved or addressed, he will continue to face difficulty in accessing the goods and services available.
He is asking the court to declare that the property owned by defendant to be in violations of the ADA, to order the defendant to alter or fix the mobility barriers, and to award him with reasonable attorney fees, costs of the suit, and any other relief deemed proper by the court. He is represented by Andrew D. Bizer, Garret S. DeReus, and Amanda K. Klevorn from The Bizer Law Firm in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-02434-LMA-KWR