Operator of 70-Plus Wendy’s Restaurants Hit with ADA Class Action Over Alleged Parking Lot Sloping

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A proposed class action alleges the operator of more than 70 Wendy’s restaurants across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia has unlawfully failed to remediate excessive sloping conditions in purportedly accessible parking spaces, aisles and curb ramps.

The 15-page lawsuit alleges defendant Primary Aim, LLC, who owns, leases and/or operates at least 72 Wendy’s locations, has run afoul of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, in particular by failing to ensure that areas of public accommodation are compliant with the law’s sloping requirements. 

According to the suit, the plaintiff’s counsel performed site investigations at 20 of the defendant’s facilities and found parking areas that are, or have become, inaccessible to individuals who rely on wheelchairs for mobility. 

“As a result of Defendants’ non-compliance with the ADA, plaintiff’s ability to access and safely use Defendants’ facilities has been significantly impeded and Plaintiff will be deterred from returning to and fully and safely accessing Defendants’ facilities due to the discrimination he has previously encountered there,” the lawsuit alleges. 

The complaint claims the plaintiff, a Fayette County, Pennsylvania resident who uses a wheelchair for mobility, experienced unnecessary difficulty and risk of physical harm entering and exiting his vehicle at the defendant’s McKees Rocks restaurant, such that “extra care was needed to avoid falling and to safely traverse the area” due to excessive sloping. 

“Defendants’ centralized maintenance and operational policies, practices or procedures have systematically and routinely resulted in excessive sloping conditions in the Parking Areas of Defendants’ facilities, in violation of the ADA and its implementing regulations,” the suit contests. 

More specifically, the lawsuit alleges parking spaces and access aisles within the defendant’s parking areas had slopes in excess of 2.1 percent. The suit also claims the accessible routes to some facilities’ entrances had a running slope in excess of five percent and up to 8.33 percent, with other facilities having curb ramp flare slopes exceeding 10 percent. 

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