Marshalls Class Action Says Crowded Aisles Violate ADA

A recent Marshalls class action lawsuit accuses the retailer of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with intentionally crowded aisles.

Plaintiff Ronald J. Migyanko claims he was denied full and equal access to Marshalls’ stores due to their crowded aisles. Migyanko says he uses a wheelchair and is unable to navigate the stores the same way a non-disabled person is able to. He says the lack of equal access is in violation of the ADA.

The ADA protects disabled people from discrimination and requires stores to ensure their goods and services can be fully and equally accessed by people with disabilities.

“Plaintiff, at all times relevant hereto, has suffered from a legal mobility disability as defined by the ADA,” the Marshalls class action lawsuit states. “Plaintiff is therefore a member of the protected class under the ADA and the regulations implementing the ADA.”

Migyanko allegedly shopped at his local Marshalls store in December 2019 when he experienced several “interior access barriers.”

According to the Marshalls class action lawsuit, there was a significant amount of merchandise and displays narrowing interior paths of access. As a result of the cluttered aisles, Migyanko was allegedly unable to navigate the stores in his wheelchair.

Migyanko says the crowded aisles are not an accident. Instead, these obstructed walkways are a “calculated judgment that impeding interior paths of travel increases sales revenue and profits.”

The Marshalls class action lawsuit references several articles from The New York Times and Time Magazine which state that cluttered aisles actually cause shoppers to purchase more. According to Migyanko, Marshalls operator TJX Companies Inc. is aware of the trend and purposefully crowd aisles in order to increase sales.

“Although this practice may increase profits, it does so at the expense of basic civil rights guaranteed to people with disabilities by the ADA because it results in unlawful access barriers,” the Marshalls class action lawsuit claims.

Migyanko says these barriers are likely to continue without a change to Marshalls’ corporate policies. He also says even if changes are made, barriers are likely to reoccur.

The Marshalls class action lawsuit seeks numerous forms of relief to remedy this, including injunctive relief which would require the stores to remove barriers that violate the ADA. The Marshalls class action lawsuit also seeks statutory damages, court costs and attorneys’ fees.

Migyanko seeks to represent a Class of people who have qualified mobility disabilities and experience difficulty moving through the aisles in Marshalls stores located in Pennsylvania.

Did you shop at a Marshalls store which was inaccessible due to ADA violations? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

Migyanko and the proposed Class are represented by R. Bruce Carlson, Kelly K. Iverson and Bryan A. Fox of Carlson Lynch LLP.

The Marshalls ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Migyanko v. The TJX Cos. Inc. d/b/a Marshalls, Case No. unavailable, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

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