FRESNO – A Terra Bella restaurant is alleged to have barriers that interfered with a wheelchair user's ability to have equal access to the facilities.
Jose Trujillo filed a complaint on Sept. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against Lauro Lara, doing business as Sabroso Restaurante, and Juanita Cruz citing the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff uses a wheelchair and visited the defendants' restaurant in June 2017 to eat with his family. He alleges during his visit, he could not locate any accessible parking, the entry door was heavy and difficult to open and had a raised threshold, and the restaurant only had had one accessible table that was already in use at the time of their visit.
The plaintiff holds Lara and Cruz responsible because the defendants allegedly denied him full and equal enjoyment and use of their facilities because of the architectural barriers there.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendants for statutory damages; attorneys’ fees; litigation expenses; costs of suit; interest; injunctive, preventive and other relief the court deems proper. He is represented by Zachary M. Best of Mission Law Firm APC in San Jose.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California case number 1:18-cv-01215