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8/27/98, 1:37 pm
The Public Eye continues a tradition of BAD BUSINESS
Eight years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) there is still not an accessible entrance to The Public Eye. Deborah Cunningham, a local organizer for ADAPT, has petitioned the Federal District Court to step in because requests, protests and technical support have failed to accomplish voluntary compliance.
Ramps, accessible parking, braille signs and a variety of accommodations are seen at other businesses around Memphis since the civil rights initiative of the ADA took effect. Because the cost of compliance may vary, and to encourage compliance of small businesses, the ADA merely requires that public accommodations make alterations "when readily achievable." The Public Eye, however, has used this attribute of the ADA to avoid providing access and denying equal access to all Americans.
Because the ADA states that responsibility for compliance is shared by tenant and lessee, the complaint also lists the property owners, Southland Capital, and the property managers, JPM Properties as defendants.
ADAPT organizer Deborah Cunningham is also the Executive Director of the Memphis Center for Independent Living. She knows of 2 other successful pro se complaints dealing with violations of the ADA filed in Memphis this year. Pro se litigation is often associated with prisoners, yet it is a method of direct access to the Federal Court System for all citizens.
"This is what we do," explains Ms. Cunningham who is not an attorney, "we are all about self- advocacy." Deborah has demanded a jury trial and hopes to have the opportunity to present her case to fellow Memphians.
Terry A. Lynch
President
Southland Capital Corp.
5668 South Rex RD
Ste. 200
Memphis, TN 38119-3822
(901) 680-0590
Pat McDowell
JPM Properties, Inc.
2157 Madison AVE
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 278-6300
The Public Eye
17 South Cooper ST
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-4040
The Memphis Center for Independent Living
1633 Madison Avenue,
Memphis, TN 38104
(901) 726-6404 v/tty (901) 726-6521 fax
mcil@mcil.org
MCIL is a United Way of the Mid-South member Agency
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