Letters to Eastwood About Hotel Access Unanswered, Court Told

A woman suing Clint Eastwood because a hotel he owns was inaccessible to her wheelchair sent him two letters about the problem before suing him, but the letters went unanswered, she and her husband testified Wednesday.

Diane zum Brunnen, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, is seeking unspecified damages in federal court from Eastwood, claiming his Mission Ranch in Carmel violated the Americans With Disabilities Act when she visited in 1996.

The actor-director acknowledges that his hotel was not fully accessible to wheelchairs but says he was not given a fair chance to improve it before he was sued.

Michael and Diane zum Brunnen testified that they had dinner at Mission Ranch in 1995 and considered staying there. They said they later wrote Eastwood to complain that there were no ramps at key places and that the wheelchair-accessible guest room was $225 a night, when other room rates were as low as $85.

That letter went unanswered, the zum Brunnens said, so she sent a second one to Eastwood via certified mail. The letter was refused.

The zum Brunnens say they again had dinner at Mission Ranch on Jan. 21, 1996, and discovered that the accessible bathroom for the restaurant was more than 200 feet away, through the parking lot, and the main office could be reached only by climbing two stairs. They sued a year later.

Eastwood attorney Chuck Keller challenged inconsistencies in the zum Brunnens’ stories that he said made it impossible to prove whether they even visited Mission Ranch that day, and if they did, whether they went there merely to find fuel for a lawsuit.

The zum Brunnens’ attorney, John Burris, said Eastwood spent $6.7 million on renovations over the years but neglected to install ramps and other means of improving wheelchair access that would have cost less than $20,000. State and federal laws require that such improvements be made during renovations, Burris said in his opening statements.