A man with disabilities has sued Placer County, saying the local government violated his First Amendment rights and federal and state disability discrimination laws because the county government's municipal building, known as The Domes, allegedly is not properly accessible, denying him the opportunity to attend county government meetings.
The lead plaintiff, Byron Chapman, has a spinal injury and uses a wheelchair for mobility, according to lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.
Chapman went to the county's The Domes facility to attend meetings of the Local Agency Formation Commission "to exercise his First Amendment right to
petition the government for a redress of grievances," according to the suit.
"The meeting room did not provide any wheelchair seating areas on the dates of Plaintiff’s visits," the lawsuit states. " As a result, Plaintiff was forced to sit far in the back and/or in the aisle. The vantage point from a wheelchair already makes seeing who is speaking and what is happening difficult. But the lack of dedicated wheelchair seating exacerbated this condition such that Plaintiff could not really see what was happening."
Chapman seeks a court order directing Placer County to install accessible seating in the meeting room and other improvements to make the building more accessible. He also seeks financial damages and attorney fees.
He is represented by Amanda Seabock, of Seabock Price APC, of Pasadena.
Chapman v. County of Placer, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, 2:23-at-01150.