Lonberg

We must decide whether an architect can be held liable for designing a movie theater which is not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I

The Market Place Cinema (“Market Place”) is located in Riverside, California, and is a multiplex theater with four auditorium-style and two stadium-style movie theaters. Market Place is operated by Sanborn Theaters, Inc. (“Sanborn”). The owner of the property and building is West Coast Realty Investors, Inc. (“West Coast”). The architect of Market Place, retained by Sanborn, was Salts, Troutman & Kaneshiro, Inc. (“STK”). STK. is neither the owner, lessee, lessor, nor operator of Market Place.

John Lonberg and Ruthee Goldkorn are physically disabled and require the use of a wheelchair for mobility. On September 4, 1997, Lonberg and Goldkorn filed this suit against Sanborn, West Coast, and STK for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., as well as California state law because, they alleged, various aspects of Market Place were not sufficiently accessible to persons who use wheelchairs. 1 The only claim they brought against STK was for injunctive relief in that it had violated Title III…