Presta

ORDER

Plaintiff Jane Presta asserts that she is a disabled person suffering from a chronic pain disorder, thoracic outlet syndrome, that severely limits and slows her mobility. Presta claims that Defendants Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board and National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”) repeatedly discriminated against her because of this disability by denying her sufficient time to board and disembark the railroad trains they operate, and by treating her rudely when she asked for assistance. In this lawsuit, Presta brings claims of common law negligence, and violations of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the California Civil Code § 54 (“California Public Accommodations Act”) and California Civil Code § 51 (“Unruh Civil Rights Act”).

The parties have submitted proposed jury instructions. Consideration of these instructions has brought to the Court’s attention what appears to be a matter of first impression: whether a plaintiff bringing a claim of discrimination on the basis of disability must prove discriminatory intent on the part of a defendant for liability to attach under the Unruh Civil Rights Act.…