LOS ANGELES – A man alleges that a Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks property is not accessible to patrons with disabilities.
Nehemiah Kong filed a complaint on March 27 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Sherman Oaks First Plaza LLC, RM El Torito LLC, Fresh Med Food Inc. and Does 1-10 citing the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff is a paraplegic and uses a wheelchair for mobility. He alleges in February, he went to the El Torito and Alcazar restaurants, which are owned by the defendants or located on property owned by the defendants. He alleges that the defendants' location did not have accessible handicap parking spaces or restrooms.
The plaintiff holds Sherman Oaks First Plaza LLC, RM El Torito LLC, Fresh Med Food Inc. and Does 1-10 responsible because he was allegedly denied full and equal access to the defendants' facilities because of the purported barriers.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendants for injunctive relief, actual damages and a statutory minimum of $4,000, attorney's fees, litigation expenses and costs of suit. He is represented by Chris Carson, Ray Ballister Jr., Phyl Grace and Dennis Price of Center for Disability Access in San Diego.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 18-cv-02444