Cubs win lawsuit claiming Wrigley Field does not have enough wheelchair-accessible seats

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Update: 

• The Chicago Cubs defeated accusations that its stadium does not have adequate seating options for wheelchair users after the team countered that it is more accessible than ever before. 
• On June 21, U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso ruled plaintiff David Felimon Cerda did not adequately prove the Cubs violated the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) during a 2014 remodel of Wrigley Field.
• Judge Alonso says he agreed with the Cubs’ position that it has 225 ADA-compliant seats, the number mandated for a stadium of Wrigley’s size.
• “The evidence submitted at trial showed that patrons requiring accessible seats have a wide variety of seating locations, views of the field and experiences to choose from throughout Wrigley Field,” he says in his ruling.
• The plaintiff claimed that during a remodel, the team removed and replaced desirable wheelchair seating options with seats that have an obstructed view of play. He says he plans to appeal.

Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field wheelchair access lawsuit overview: 

• Who: David Felimon Cerda filed a lawsuit against Chicago Cubs Baseball Club LLC. 
• Why: Cerda claims the Chicago Cubs do not have enough wheelchair-accessible seating at Wrigley Field to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. 
• Where: The Chicago Cubs lawsuit was filed in Illinois federal court. 

(Sept. 6, 2022)

The Chicago Cubs have been denied summary judgment on claims from a fan that the baseball club fails to have enough wheelchair-accessible seating at Wrigley Field. 

Plaintiff David Felimon Cerda claims the Cubs are, by their own filings, more than 20 seats short of the amount they are required to have by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

In refusing to grant summary judgment, the judge overseeing the complaint ruled that evidence submitted by the Cubs shows it has only 188 designated Wrigley Field wheelchair-accessible seats when the ADA requires a stadium of its size to have 210. 

“Defendant concedes the point in its brief. Defendant has not shown that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff’s claim that defendant fails to provide the appropriate number of wheelchair seats,” U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso says in his order. 

Judge Alonso determined further that, since there aren’t the required number of Wrigley Field wheelchair-accessible seats, the Cubs failed to show the team is entitled to summary judgment on the question of whether its wheelchair-accessible seats are in ADA compliance with horizontal disbursement. 

Cubs argue they planned to add 24 wheelchair-accessible seats prior to learning of DOJ compliance review

In the Chicago Cubs lawsuit, the team argues it had intended to add an additional 24 wheelchair-accessible seats to Wrigley Field prior to the 2020 season, but that the plan was put on hold after it became aware that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had begun a compliance review of the stadium. 

Judge Alonso ruled that despite the Cubs showing evidence of where the seats would be installed “the court will not provide an advisory opinion on whether those seats, if actually installed, would, together with previously-installed seats, qualify as horizontally dispersed under the 2010 ADA standards.” 

The Cubs were, however, granted a dismissal for claims on how Wrigley Field wheelchair-accessible seats were sold, according to the judge’s order. 

In related sports accessibility news, in 2019, the San Francisco 49ers agreed to pay $24 million in 2019 to resolve claims the NFL franchise has thousands of access barriers at its stadium that prevent individuals with mobility disabilities from being able to enjoy a game. 

Have you been unable to obtain Wrigley Field wheelchair-accessible seating? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by David A. Cerda of Cerda Law Office.

The Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field wheelchair wheel-chair accessible seating lawsuit is Cerda v. Chicago Cubs Baseball Club LLC, Case No. 1:17-cv-09023, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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