VENICE : Disabled Man Loses Suit Against Cafe
A jury decided Monday that the owner of a Venice oceanfront cafe did not violate the rights of a disabled local resident by restricting access to its handicapped-only parking space.
The decision was a setback to the disabled activist, who sued the property owners after being denied entry to a handicapped parking spot that had been chained off.
“If there had been a sign up saying ‘No Blacks Allowed’ the outrage that would have poured forth . . . [the chain] wouldn’t have lasted 24 hours,” plaintiff Shawn Casey O’Brien said. “When you have a chain up in a blue zone, that means no cripples allowed, and that’s the largest minority in the U.S.--49 million people.”
By limiting entry to the restaurant’s parking lot, O’Brien said, the cafe owners violated laws on access to public accommodation outlined in the federal Americans With Disabilities Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
A lawyer for the defendant, David Dror, said that he and his client were satisfied with last week’s decision and that O’Brien had failed to convince the jury of his case.
“All along we thought that Mr. Dror had done nothing wrong and that we proved that in court,” said attorney David Glickman.
O’Brien, age 39, who suffers from cerebral palsy, filed a lawsuit in 1993 against the Muscle Beach Cafe at 1815 Ocean Front Walk after he was unable to park his car in the specially designated handicapped area.
Dror and the restaurant’s other owner had strung up a chain across the property’s 17-space parking lot, one of which was designated as a spot for the disabled.
O’Brien, who works as a paralegal, said he contacted city and state officials for more than five months complaining about the violation but received no meaningful response. Only then did he file the civil lawsuit.
“I’ve lived in Venice for 20 years and every time I drove by I’d think ‘Hey, I’m a second-class citizen in my own neighborhood,’ ” he said.
The cafe’s parking spaces were primarily reserved for the business’ tenants and employees. Glickman said the chain went up in the parking area nine months after Dror bought the property in the late 1980s after motorcyclists continually parked in the lot without permission.
About 11 months ago, the California Coastal Commission, which issues development permits to oceanfront businesses, asked Dror to remove the chain, which he did, Glickman said. Despite this, O’Brien continued to press his lawsuit until the ruling last Monday.
Regardless of the jury’s decision, O’Brien said that he plans to appeal and keep fighting for the rights of the disabled.
“One reason I’m continuing to fight is that there is no teeth in the legislation, there is no enforcement of these laws,” he said. “I just wanted someone to cite this venue but I never got any action. I’m a frustrated boxer and this is Round 5 of a 15-round boxing match. I’m ready to take this all the way to the Supreme Court.”
