Sandi Rush v. Highgrove Restaurants, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

The district court granted summary judgment to defendant Highgrove Restaurants, Inc., on sixteen of the seventeen Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) claims (and the related California law claims) asserted in plaintiff Sandi Rush’s first amended complaint. The court granted summary judgment to Rush on her remaining claim, finding that handicapped accessible parking spaces at Highgrove’s restaurant violated current Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (“ADAAG”). Both Highgrove and Rush appealed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We vacate the district court’s summary judgment against Highgrove and remand, but otherwise affirm.

1. Highgrove is required under the ADA only to make “readily achievable” modifications to an existing facility that complied with the Act when constructed. 42 U.S.C. § 12182 (b)(2)(A)(iv); see 28 C.F.R. § 36.104 (defining an existing facility as “a facility in existence on any given date, without regard to whether the facility may also be considered newly constructed or altered under this part”); 28 C.F.R, pt. 36, app. A (“A newly constructed facility remains subject to the accessibility standards in…