US Supreme Court agrees to hear civil rights ‘tester’ case challenging ADA violations News
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US Supreme Court agrees to hear civil rights ‘tester’ case challenging ADA violations

The US Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear a case challenging hotel accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The case, Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer, is the only new case from Monday’s order list that the court agreed to add to its docket for the current term.

The plaintiff in the case, Deborah Laufer, is a self-proclaimed ADA “tester,” as in she brings suits to challenge the legality of ADA accommodations, and advocate for people with disabilities. In the suit, she alleges that Acheson Hotels violated the ADA and 28 C.F.R. § 36.302 by failing to include accessibility information online for one of its hotels in Maine. 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(e), commonly known as the “Reservation Rule,” states in part that places of lodging and accommodation must:

Identify and describe accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms offered through its reservations service in enough detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets his or her accessibility needs.

The case was originally brought in the District Court of Maine and thrown out for lack of standing and subject-matter jurisdiction. On appeal, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit reversed and remanded, finding that Laufer has standing to bring the suit. The doctrine of standing refers to someone’s legal right to sue. In its opinion, the court cited a rule explanation from Spokeo, Inc. v. Robinson and said:

To have standing, a plaintiff has to show three things: that she “(1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.” We’re focused on the first part here – injury in fact.

The court reasoned that in order for an injury in fact to be concrete, it need not be tangible. “The denial of information to which plaintiffs have a legal right” sufficiently constitutes an injury in fact. The court relied one of the Supreme Court’s earlier tester cases, Havens Realty Corp. v. Coleman, which ruled that testers can have standing.

Laufer, who lives in Florida, has conceded that she does not intend to visit the Maine hotel. Though she has filed hundreds of other ADA-related lawsuits, this is the activist’s first case to reach the Supreme Court.

The issue of standing in tester cases has produced a circuit split. While the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit joins the Eleventh Circuit in finding standing, the Second Circuit, Tenth Circuit, Fifth Circuit, and D.C. Circuit have denied standing in similar cases. A date has not yet been set for the court to hear oral arguments.