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Squeeze Inn Owner Says Lawsuit Could Sink Him (Access Issues Violate Civil Rights, Woman Says)
MSNBC ^ | 7/8/2009 | KCRA.com

Posted on 07/08/2009 9:00:03 AM PDT by rivercat

The owner of a tiny but famous Sacramento burger joint said a lawsuit about handicapped access could shut him down.

The Squeeze Inn, known for huge mounds of melted cheese on its burgers, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the lawsuit alleges.

Kimberly Block, who says she has severly limited use of her legs, argues she suffered "embarrassment and humiliation" and that her civil rights were violated because of inadequate access inside the Fruitridge Road restaurant.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; US: California
KEYWORDS: ada; civilrights; lawsuit; squeezeinn; wheelchairnazi
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To: Slicksadick

Good grief that looks tasty.


21 posted on 07/08/2009 9:13:59 AM PDT by kenth
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To: NMEwithin
I disagree with you, my cousin was paralyzed in a hunting accident and I see no reason why a business should not be made to adhere to the American’s with Disabilities Act...just because you are confined to a wheelchair shouldn’t mean you can’t enjoy a burger.

Yeah, that's the ticket. The fact that this one small restaraunt isn't WC accessible means your cousin can't enjoy a burger. Exagerate much? Plenty of restaraunts, especially the large chains accomidate the disabled because it is a smart business move and they can afford it, especially when building a new place. However, for small joints such as this, the expense of retrofitting can be ruinous. The bigger issue is that there is no "right" to burgers or any other product or service produced by private individuals.
22 posted on 07/08/2009 9:14:26 AM PDT by armydoc
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To: NMEwithin
So I'm sure your cousin would like to "enjoy" a $200 burger to help equally share the cost of the retrofit.

Or maybe he could be a bud and have a friend or family member (if he has any,) be a bud to him and run in and get him one at the counter.

23 posted on 07/08/2009 9:14:37 AM PDT by Miss Behave (OMG, my tagline is stalking me.)
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To: joe fonebone

I’m torn on this one...on the one hand I agree with you but I also think it is very easy make such statements when you are not actually confined to a wheelchair...


24 posted on 07/08/2009 9:14:55 AM PDT by NMEwithin
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To: NMEwithin

An excellent point. I have a cousin who’s blind, and I see no reason why movie studios shouldn’t have to produce movies that she can enjoy. It’s just not fair, is it?


25 posted on 07/08/2009 9:15:26 AM PDT by Konacoast (May your chains rest lightly upon you...)
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To: NMEwithin

“just because you are confined to a wheelchair shouldn’t mean you can’t enjoy a burger.”

So don’t go there, spend your money another place. I know disabled people who go searching for people to sue.


26 posted on 07/08/2009 9:15:28 AM PDT by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: karnage

It’s worse than BS.

It slammed a lot of doors shut for the employment of anyone with a disability.

Myself included.

The ADA is a below the belt hit to anyone with a disability looking for work.


27 posted on 07/08/2009 9:16:58 AM PDT by El Sordo
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To: rivercat
You can be pretty sure this "woman" wasn't any sort of patron of this Squeeze Inn, but rather she was recruited by some scumbag lawyer who has her go around to various businesses and observe that the business makes no special accommodation for her. My guess is that the lawyer avoids Pizza Parlors as many of them are "protected."

ML/NJ

28 posted on 07/08/2009 9:16:58 AM PDT by ml/nj
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To: rivercat

Ok...that being the case, what the hell is the law suit for? That sounds like access to me.


29 posted on 07/08/2009 9:17:09 AM PDT by NMEwithin
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To: NMEwithin
"I’m torn on this one...on the one hand I agree with you but I also think it is very easy make such statements when you are not actually confined to a wheelchair..."

All disabled persons are not confined to wheelchairs. There are many types of disabilities.

It would be impossible to accomodate every single one.

30 posted on 07/08/2009 9:18:12 AM PDT by LADY J
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To: NMEwithin

I am deaf.

Can I count on your support for mandatory closed captioning of all movies and television?


31 posted on 07/08/2009 9:19:32 AM PDT by El Sordo
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To: NMEwithin
just because you are confined to a wheelchair shouldn’t mean you can’t enjoy a burger.

Your cousin can't "enjoy a burger" at one of the tens of thousands of places that have wheel chair access? Gimmie a break. I'm going with the earlier posters on this and betting that this woman is a professional parasite/plaintiff who makes a living off businesses like this.

32 posted on 07/08/2009 9:19:44 AM PDT by from occupied ga (Your most dangerous enemy is your own government,)
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To: NMEwithin
As one who now uses a wheelchair for mobility, I assure you that we 'walking challenged' can enjoy a burger at many burger joints. BUT, why must the entire world be made to open itself to us? When you force these idiot laws upon everyone, in an irrational reading of 'access' like access to every burger joint in America, you lose the rational reason for some accessibility.

A business that doesn't want to change to accomodate the business of certain folks ought have that right ... in a Constitutional Republic, which may be the key to the whole lesson of forcing these things, too many no longer believe America is a Constitutional Republic.

33 posted on 07/08/2009 9:20:37 AM PDT by MHGinTN (Believing they cannot be deceived, they cannot be convinced when they are deceived.)
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To: rivercat

This money-hungry tyrant could have easily wheeled herself up the back patio, or found a convenient place to sit outside. Instead, she sees her opportunity and she’s going for it. May she fail miserably. (And I say this as a permanently disabled individual, with Cerebral Palsy that severely limits MY mobility)


34 posted on 07/08/2009 9:20:58 AM PDT by richmwill
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To: driftdiver

My wife was wheel chair bound for a while after her stroke and now walks with a cane. I have found that businesses will usually do whatever it takes to make sure her experience is as good as anyone’s. I think these kind of legal actions are just grabs for attention and/or $$$$.


35 posted on 07/08/2009 9:20:58 AM PDT by DonaldC
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To: NMEwithin

Hell, I’m quite sure even a “stranger” would run in and get him a burger...and not even “ditch” with either his money or his burger.


36 posted on 07/08/2009 9:21:27 AM PDT by Miss Behave (OMG, my tagline is stalking me.)
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To: NMEwithin
Involving the federal bureacracy is almost always a mistake. They make things worse, make everybody mad, and instill a sense of perpetual grievance in the people they're supposedly "helping".

A dear friend is a functional quad in a large and heavy electric wheelchair. There are some things she just can't do, but with friends and reasonable cooperation from local businesses, we always find a workaround. If the business does its best, and we still have to use a service elevator or a back door, so what, we all get in and that's what counts. And our friend is the most cheerful and uncomplaining person you could ever meet -- I know disability doesn't make you automatically a saint, but she qualifies. She would never harass anyone -- of course we're all here to raise cain on her behalf, since she would never do it herself. But the reason she has so many good friends and partisans is because she is so good.

I think with a little tiny place like this, the retrofit to accommodate an electric wheelchair would be larger than the whole establishment itself and completely impractical. Carryout is just going to be necessary here, or a picnic at a nearby table if one's available. But for heaven's sake don't get the feds involved over a hamburger shack!

37 posted on 07/08/2009 9:22:43 AM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
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To: DonaldC
Bingo! Thank you! You said it better and in fewer words than I did.

Any business worth its salt will do whatever it can to accommodate any customer.

38 posted on 07/08/2009 9:24:03 AM PDT by AnAmericanMother (Ministrix of ye Chasse, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment))
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To: El Sordo
Hey now...for everyone beating me up on this, all I am talking about here is having an eating area that is accessible by wheelchair and it sounds like they have it. If a different table needs to be purchased to accommodate a wheelchair, that is a low cost solution.

The woman in this story is looking to have the entire place renovated, I don't agree with that. In the very least I would say a bar in the bathroom and access to the outdoor eating area.

39 posted on 07/08/2009 9:24:44 AM PDT by NMEwithin
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To: NMEwithin

“I disagree with you, my cousin was paralyzed in a hunting accident and I see no reason why a business should not be made to adhere to the American’s with Disabilities Act...just because you are confined to a wheelchair shouldn’t mean you can’t enjoy a burger.”

Then your cousin should risk his/her own hard work and money to open a stellar burger joint that caters to those confined to a wheelchair.


40 posted on 07/08/2009 9:25:01 AM PDT by CSM (Business is too big too fail... Government is too big to succeed... I am too small to matter...)
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