Store Must Provide Space for Disabled

In a ruling that could set a precedent for the retail industry, a federal judge has ordered Macy’s West to establish 32-inch minimum pathways between clothing racks in its flagship San Francisco store so that disabled shoppers can reach them more easily.

The June 14 decision by U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel in a closely watched case could set a standard for large department stores, which have recently been hit with a wave of lawsuits from advocates for the disabled who say the stores’ narrow pathways and tall counters violate the 10-year-old Americans With Disabilities Act.

Disability Rights Advocates of Oakland sued Macy’s on behalf of disabled shoppers who complained that the narrow passageways caused them to knock over mannequins and get their wheelchairs tangled in the store’s clothing racks.

The Oakland group has filed similar suits against dozens of other Macy’s stores throughout California and against other retail giants, including Mervyn’s and St. Louis-based May Department Stores Co., owner of Robinsons-May stores.

The case involving Macy’s Union Square store is the first to be decided. Lawyers in the case say Patel, a San Francisco judge who is presiding in other class action cases against the retail giant, could set similar targets for Macy’s other California stores.

Macy’s and other retailers have argued that they need every inch of floor space to display their goods and remain competitive. Widening aisles and pathways would hurt their bottom lines, retailers say.

David Copus, a Washington attorney who represents Macy’s, pleaded with Patel to refrain from establishing a minimum level of access.

“Our compliance should be measured by our efforts and not by our results,” Copus said.

He said the store would “strive reasonably” to provide aisles between 28 and 36 inches wide.

But the judge called the language in Macy’s proposal “weasel words” and established the 32-inch minimum pathway.

Larry Paradis, an attorney with Disability Rights, said Hall’s decision would benefit all shoppers.

“The tight, narrow pathways are uncomfortable for everybody, not just disabled people with wheelchairs and scooters,” he said.

Paradis said his group was in confidential talks with major retail giants that offered to negotiate instead of fight the matter in court. But Macy’s, he said, has steadfastly refused to settle.

“We’re ready to work with Macy’s and help them to improve their access in a cooperative fashion,” Paradis said. “But they need to get out of the Stone Age and realize that people with disabilities have the right to enter their stores.”

A Macy’s representative declined to say if the store would appeal Patel’s decision, but Peter Blanck, an expert on disability issues and a professor of law and medicine at the University of Iowa, said the retailer would be well advised to accept the ruling.

“If Macy’s makes the changes, they will be even more competitive because they will better serve women who push strollers, people who use walkers and people who use wheelchairs,” Blanck said. “If anything, the ADA has opened a new consumer market comprised of individuals whose dollars are as green as anybody else’s.”