Nevarez vs. Forty Niners Football Company, Inc. – Anatomy of a Class Action Accessibility Lawsuit, Settlement and Lessons Learned
2 hours of Continuing Education Credits were issued for DSA CASp Certification Renewal, International Code Council (ICC), and LU/HSW Continuing Education Credits for the American Institute of Architect (AIA).
A Certificate of Attendance cannot be issued to individuals who did not attend the live webinar session.
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WEBINAR | On-Demand
Abdul Nevarez v. Forty Niners Football Company, LLC, a class action lawsuit dealing with Levi’s Stadium, has reached settlement. When our institutions fail to design, build and operate accessible major public venues such as Levi’s Stadium, it dramatically impacts people with disabilities and their ability to participate, to the fullest extent possible, in public life on an equal and integrated basis with nondisabled persons. In this presentation we will take an in-depth look at this litigation looking closely at difficulties experienced by class members and the identified access barriers. We will examine the lawsuit and the process of litigation leading to settlement. We will discuss in detail the settlement agreement reached and the access improvements that will be made in the physical facilities, policies and operations of Levi’s Stadium. We will also discuss lessons learned from this litigation and other class action access lawsuits in which we have been involved.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand how class action ADA lawsuits are originated and developed.
- Learn about the difficult access issues faced by class members attending events at Levi’s Stadium, and understand the substantive allegations of the lawsuit and process toward settlement.
- Review and understand the settlement agreement and the access improvements, to the physical facilities, policies and operations that will be implemented. Learn about the verification process and timeline for implementation of the settlement agreement.
- Understand how the access issues faced by class members were the result of failures throughout the planning, design, approval, construction, inspection and facility operations process. Discuss and understand lessons learned from the litigation and steps that can be taken to prevent similar future access failures in major public facilities.
SPEAKERS: Guy B. Wallace, Esq. & Gary K. Waters, Architect & CASp
Guy Wallace is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College. He began his career in public interest law and was the recipient of a Skadden Arps Fellowship. He is a recognized specialist in in class action and impact litigation on behalf of persons with disabilities and other protected classes. He is a frequent lecturer on disability law issues, and he has authored various publications on the topic. He was named as a Super Lawyer by San Francisco Super Lawyers Magazine from 2009 to the present. Mr. Wallace practices exclusively in the areas of civil rights and consumer rights. His expertise includes disability rights, disability access, employment, and other consumer class action cases. He has been a wheelchair user since the age of 16 as a result of a spinal injury.
Gary Waters is a graduate of architecture from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo in 1985. He began his career as an architect working primarily on commercial, civic and institutional projects. Mr. Waters eventually focused his work on educational facilities and gained significant experience in access compliance through working with the Division of the State Architect (DSA). In 2000, Mr. Waters started his own firm with an emphasis in accessibility related projects including providing outside consulting services for access compliance to all four offices of the DSA. In 2008, Mr. Waters became a Certified Access Specialist in California (CASp-065) and later an ICC Accessibility Inspector / Plans Examiner. Today, his practice focuses exclusively on access consulting offering a menu of services to public entities, large corporations and small businesses, designed to ensure people with disabilities the opportunity to participate in public life to their maximum ability. Also, a significant portion of Mr. Waters practice is to provide access litigation consulting and expert witness services.