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A disabled plaintiff says parking facilities at Pennsylvania’s Chester County Airport fail to satisfy accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Plaintiff Jessica Slivak has filed a claim under the ADA against the Chester County Area Airport Authority, which operates the Chester County Airport in Coatesville, Pa.
Slivak alleges the airport’s parking area has several architectural barriers that prevent persons with wheelchairs from using the facilities readily and independently.
The plaintiff says she is disabled due to a congenital condition called osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease.
Because of this condition, she says she has to use a wheelchair to get around.
To get around town, Slivak reportedly uses a mini-van specially modified with an automatic side ramp that allows her to wheel herself and her wheelchair in and out of the vehicle.
Slivak says certain architectural barriers at Chester County Airport deprived her of immediate access to and independent use of the airport’s facilities.
When she went to the airport in May 2015, she says she found no parking spaces in the airport parking area that were wide enough to comply with ADA standards for van-accessible parking spaces.
She also allegedly found no parking spaces at Chester County Airport that were marked with the designation “Van Accessible,” as required under the ADA.
What signs she did find, designating certain parking spots as handicapped-accessible, but they were shorter than ADA standards require, she claims.
Neither were the access aisles adjacent to the parking spaces wide enough to satisfy ADA requirements, she says. What aisles were there are blocked by a raised concrete and grass island that has no curb ramp or cut-through.
By blocking the aisle, this island forces persons in wheelchairs to take a dangerous detour through the parking lot, Slivak says.
She also argues that lack of a curb ramp or cut-through violates specific ADA regulations.
Slivak is bringing this claim under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which “prohibits discrimination in the activities of places of public accommodation” and requires such places to be readily accessible to and independently usable by persons with disabilities.
Under ADA regulations, architectural barriers in facilities existing before Jan. 26, 1992 must be removed if removal is readily achievable. Facilities constructed or altered after Jan. 26, 1993 must be built to be readily accessible to persons with disabilities, including those who like Slivak must use wheelchairs.
Slivak seeks to represent a plaintiff Class consisting of all individuals with disabilities who have attempted to access or will attempt to access facilities at Chester County Airport.
She is asking the court for a permanent injunction requiring Chester County Airport to upgrade its facilities so that they fully comply with ADA requirements.
She asks the court to retain jurisdiction over her ADA lawsuit for a period long enough to ensure that the airport has brought its facilities into full compliance. She also seeks reimbursement of her court costs and attorneys’ fees.
Slivak is represented by attorneys Arkady “Eric” Rayz and Demetri A. Braynin of Kalikhman & Rayz LLC and Stephen E. Connolly and Gerald D. Wells III of Connolly Wells & Gray LLP.
The Chester County Airport ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Slivak v. Chester County Airport Authority, Case No. 2:16-cv-05050, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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