Class Action Lawsuit Says Bertucci’s Restaurants Violate ADA

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On Thursday, Bertucci’s Restaurant Corp. was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that many of its restaurants are not accessible to disabled patrons, in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

According to the class action lawsuit, Bertucci’s has operated as a brick oven pizzeria for more than 30 years. Approximately 90 Bertucci’s restaurants are currently in operation from New England to Virginia.

Lead plaintiff Jose Clemente filed the class action lawsuit on behalf of wheelchair-bound persons who have patronized (or who would like to patronize) Bertucci’s restaurants. Clemente, a New Jersey resident, is a paraplegic who qualifies as an individual with disabilities under the ADA. Because he has permanently lost the use of his legs, he requires a wheelchair to get around.

The ADA sets out accessibility guidelines for buildings and facilities to ensure that they are readily accessible and usable by people with disabilities. Under the ADA guidelines, “no place of public accommodation shall discriminate against an individual, on the basis of such individual’s disability with regard to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations at that place of public accommodation.”

According to the ADA class action lawsuit, Clemente has patronized local Bertucci’s stores. He alleges that he has experienced discrimination because a number of the restaurants are not wheelchair-accessible. He identifies a number of alleged ADA violations, including the lack of accessible parking and a fully accessible restroom. He says he had to park in a non-handicap accessible parking space because a Bertucci’s restaurant failed to provide the required number of accessible parking spaces. He also complained that the restroom was not ADA compliant because the door did not remain open long enough for him to wheel himself into the room without assistance. Further, the pipes in the restroom were uncovered, putting him at risk of burns, and the paper towels were mounted out of his reach.

According to the class action lawsuit, Clemente obtained reports from investigations conducted by a building expert, which indicated that Bertucci’s had received notice of several ADA violations at 10 of its locations.

“Plaintiff has reasonable grounds to believe that defendant will continue to subject him, or other disabled individuals, to discrimination in violation of the ADA and the laws of the state of New Jersey, given that defendant has failed to bring existing stores into compliance for well over 30 years and has allowed new stores to be constructed or converted that were similarly out of compliance,” the class action lawsuit states.

Clemente seeks to represent thousands of mobility impaired and/or wheelchair-bound persons who have patronized Bertucci’s restaurants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and who were “denied the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, programs, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any of the stores identified” in the class action lawsuit.

The class action lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and costs, and statutory damages.

Clemente is represented by Jordan Schatz and Jason Brodsky of Brodsky & Smith LLC.

The Bertucci’s Restaurant ADA Violation Class Action Lawsuit is Jose Clemente, et al. v. Bertucci’s Restaurant Corp., Case No. 2:14-cv-01515, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.