Class Action: Applebee’s Failed to Provide Accessible Bar Area Seating to Disabled Customers

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that several Applebee’s locations in Maryland discriminated against disabled patrons by failing to provide wheelchair-accessible bar area seating. The restaurants in question are all owned and operated by The Rose Group, LLC, along with Rose Casual Dining, L.P. and Delaware Valley Rose, L.P., the lawsuit states.

According to the complaint, the lead plaintiff, who relies on a wheelchair for mobility, visited the defendants’ Baltimore location at 6798 Reisterstown Road in November 2019. After asking to be seated at the bar area, the plaintiff was allegedly informed by an employee that “there is nowhere in there that will accommodate you.” Although another employee attempted to seat the plaintiff in the bar area, she discovered the only types of seating available were inaccessible bar counters, raised booths and high-top tables, the lawsuit explains. As a result, the complaint claims, the plaintiff was ultimately forced to sit in a different part of the restaurant.

The case claims the defendants’ failure to provide accessible seating in the bar area was discriminatory under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). From the case:

“Defendants’ failure to provide individuals with mobility disabilities accessible dining surfaces or accessible seating in the bar dining areas is discriminatory, segregationist, and in violation of the ADA. Just as Defendants could not exclude customers from the bar dining area based upon race, the ADA precludes Defendants from segregating customers based upon disability.”

Investigators allegedly surveyed several of the defendants’ other Maryland locations and found that at least six contain the same inaccessible bar area seating that the plaintiff encountered. The case contends that since the defendants’ Applebee’s restaurants follow a mandatory common design and construction plan, the aforementioned accessibility issues are likely widespread throughout defendants’ 54 mid-Atlantic locations.

The lawsuit seeks to represent all persons who use wheelchairs or scooters and have been, or will be, denied the “full and equal enjoyment” of any of the defendants’ Maryland restaurants due to inaccessible dining surfaces and seating in the bar area.