Brenda Pickern Floyd Smyth Paul Heard, and Jerry Doran v. Holiday Quality Foods Incorporated

Plaintiff Jerry Doran appeals the district court’s dismissal of his suit seeking injunctive relief for an alleged violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq. (“ADA” or “Title III”). Doran, a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair, alleges that because defendant Holiday Quality Foods’ (“Holiday”) grocery stores are “{iublic accommodations” within the meaning of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 (7)(E), Holiday is required to remove architectural barriers that make it difficult for Doran to gain access to one of Holiday’s stores. On motion for summary judgment, the district court held that because Doran had not attempted to enter the store during the limitations period, and thus had not actually encountered any barriers during that period, his claim was time-barred and he did not have standing.

We hold that when a plaintiff who is disabled within the meaning of the ADA has actual knowledge of illegal barriers at a public accommodation to which he or she desires access, that plaintiff need not engage in the “futile gesture” of attempting to gain access in order to show actual injury during the limitations period. When such a plaintiff seeks…