Whitaker v. KK LLC

Background

Brian Whitaker, who uses a wheelchair for mobility, alleged that he planned to travel to the San Francisco area and visited the Ramada Limited Hotel’s reservation website while looking for an accessible room. He alleged that the website labeled public areas and some room features as accessible but did not provide enough detail about the bed, toilet, and sink for him or another wheelchair user to independently determine whether the room met their needs.

Whitaker asserted two claims: one under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), specifically the federal regulation governing accessibility information in hotel reservation systems, and one under California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. KK LLC moved to dismiss the First Amended Complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which allows dismissal when a complaint does not state a legally sufficient claim.

ADA Claim

The federal reservation regulation requires lodging businesses to describe accessible features in enough detail to reasonably allow people with disabilities to independently assess whether a hotel or room meets their accessibility needs. Whitaker argued that the website should have provided measurements and other details about bed clearance, toilet height, and sink features.

The court gave substantial weight to the Department of Justice’s 2010 guidance interpreting the regulation. That guidance says a reservation system is not intended to be a complete accessibility survey. For a hotel meeting the relevant accessibility standards, the guidance identifies general information that may be sufficient, including the room type, bed size and number, accessible bathing facility, and communication features. It also explains that additional details may be provided after a reservation or by hotel staff.

The court found that the website provided more accessibility information than the 2010 guidance identified, including an accessible room description, a wheelchair-accessible bedroom, a raised toilet seat with grab bars, an adjustable-height hand-held shower wand, bathtub grab bars, 32-inch-clear-width guest-room doorways, and other accessible amenities. The court concluded that the website provided sufficient accessibility information under the reservation regulation.

The court therefore dismissed the ADA claim and stated that dismissal would be without leave to amend because any amendment would be futile.

Unruh Act Claim and Disposition

Whitaker’s Unruh Act claim was based on KK LLC’s alleged failure to comply with the ADA concerning its reservation policies and practices. Because the court dismissed the ADA claim, it also dismissed the Unruh Act claim. That dismissal was likewise without leave to amend.

Judge Maxine M. Chesney granted KK LLC’s motion to dismiss and dismissed the action.