LOS ANGELES — A paraplegic who requires a wheelchair is suing owners of a Bellflower car wash, alleging failure to uphold Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.
Francisco Duarte filed a complaint Jan. 4 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against ATS Dhaka Corporation and Does 1-10, alleging they failed to provide full and safe equal access to its facilities.
According to the complaint, in September 2016, Duarte was Bel Comp Car Wash in Bellflower. The suit says he suffered difficulty and frustration while attempting to utilize the defendant's facilities, including dedicated parking spaces and transaction counters for persons with disabilities.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants failed to ensure that the parking space reserved for persons with disabilities remained usable, failed to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, and failed to remove architectural barriers.
Duarte seeks trial by jury, damages and injunctive relief, actual damages and a statutory minimum of $4,000, attorney fees, litigation expenses and costs of suit. He is represented by attorney Isabel Masanque of Center for Disability Access in San Diego.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 18-cv-00072