139 Wendy’s Locations Pose ‘Risk of Physical Harm’ To Disabled, Claims Class Action Lawsuit

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Consumers with disabilities cannot safely patronize hundreds of Wendy’s restaurants, claims a class action lawsuit lodged against the franchise operators.  

Lead plaintiff, Chance Wollbrinck, filed the lawsuit seeking to represent other disabled consumers in Wisconsin federal court Monday. Wollbrinck accuses franchising companies Bridgeman Foods II Inc and Manna Inc of running their Wendy’s restaurants located in Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Kentucky in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

Wollbrinck, an Illinois resident who is partially paralyzed and must use a wheelchair for mobility, says he attempted to visit the defendants’ Wendy’s franchise located in Germantown, Wisconsin in April. Wollbrinck claims that despite being fairly fit as an avid archer and Paralympic hopeful, he was unable to navigate the Wendy’s parking lot safely.  

The plaintiff says “he experienced unnecessary difficulty and risk of physical harm exiting and entering his vehicle, and navigating the facilities,” when he attempted to visit that Wendy’s location. He said that excessive slopes in the “accessible” parking area forced him to take extra care to ensure he did not fall.  

Wollbrinck, a fan of Wendy’s “baconater meal,” says he will likely try to visit the Germantown location again because he often travels to the area for various reasons, including to visit his nephew, a Frosty ice cream fan.  

In the meantime, the plaintiff says that the operators’ continued non-compliance with the ADA impedes his ability to visit the Wendy’s store safely.  

Further, Wollbrinck says he investigated multiple other locations owned and operated by Bridgeman and Manna and discovered multiple access barriers, including potholes, improperly constructed ramps, and steep parking lot slopes. The plaintiff says that he suspects all 139 Wendy’s locations owned by the defendants present additional obstacles to consumers with disabilities in violation of the ADA.  

“The fact that individuals with mobility-related disabilities are denied full and equal access to numerous of Defendants’ facilities, and the fact that each of these facilities deny access by way of inaccessible Parking Areas, is evidence that the inaccessibility Plaintiff experienced is not isolated, but rather is caused by Defendants’ systemic disregard for the civil rights of individuals with disabilities,” contends the class action lawsuit.  

Wollbrinck wants to represent a nationwide Class of consumers with mobility disabilities who have attempted to visit Wendy’s locations run by the defendants. In addition to money damages, the class action lawsuit asks for a court order forcing the Wendy’s franchise owners to come into compliance with the ADA.  

Have you had trouble accessing a Wendy’s restaurant? We want to hear about it! Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.  

The lead plaintiff is represented by Mark A. Eldridge of Ademi LLP, Benjamin J. Sweet, Jonathan D. Miller, and -+Jordan T. Porter of Nye, Stirling, Hale & Miller LLP. 

The Wendy’s ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Wollbrinck v. Bridgeman Foods II Inc. et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-00724, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. 

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