LOS ANGELES — A disabled California man who requires a wheelchair is suing owners and operators of a Torrance restaurant, alleging disability discrimination.
Luis Villegas filed a complaint Jan. 25 in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against ARCP RL Portfolio VIII, LLC and Red Lobster Hospitality LLC, alleging violations of the American’s With Disabilities Act and Unruh Civil Rights Act.
According to the complaint, in October 2017, Villegas went to the Red Lobster restaurant, at 21233 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, where he encountered barriers that hindered him from coming back to the facility. Villegas says the public property denied him full and equal access as a disabled person, which caused him difficulty and frustration.
The plaintiff alleges the defendants failed to maintain their premises in working and usable condition with the features required to provide ready access to persons with disabilities.
Villegas seeks trial by jury, 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 2:18-cv-00637-AB-JEM