article: On January 15, 2015, the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC), along with two individuals requiring wheelchairs for mobility, brought this class action against Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Ashford operated 15 hotels in California and others throughout the United States. In October 2014, the two plaintiffs had separately asked if the Courtyard Oakland Airport hotel and the Embassy Suites Walnut Creek hotel provided wheelchair-accessible shuttle services. Both locations informed the plaintiffs that they did not. The plaintiffs alleged that Ashford violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's Unruh Civil Rights Act by failing to provide wheelchair accessible vehicles at its hotels. The plaintiffs requested declaratory relief and a permanent injunction requiring Ashford to comply with state statutes and the ADA. The plaintiffs filed for class certification of individuals who rely on wheelchairs or scooters for mobility and have been or would be denied full and equal enjoyment of Ashford's services because of the lack of accessible transportation services at Ashford's hotels. The case was assigned to Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu. On March 25, 2015, the plaintiffs filed to consolidate and/or relate this case to two other cases for pre-trial purposes, because the defendants were publicly traded real estate investment trusts that own and operate hotels in the U.S. and the plaintiff was similarly-situated and seeking class certification. The judge rejected the argument that these similarities warranted case consolidation, and denied this motion on May 6, 2015. On August 27, CREEC filed a stipulated dismissal of all claims, with prejudice, of one of the plaintiffs. In an amended complaint filed on August 31, that plaintiff was removed and a new one was added. Meanwhile the court had granted the defendant's request for private alternative dispute resolution and the parties began settlement discussions before Magistrate Judge James Larson. These proceedings concluded with a settlement agreement reached on October 2, 2015. On November 5, the plaintiffs filed an unopposed motion to certify the class and for preliminary approval of the settlement. The judge granted both motions on December 18, 2015. The Settlement Agreement required all Ashford-owned and operated hotels to come into compliance with ADA regulations by providing hotels that offer transportation services with equivalent transportation services for people who used wheelchairs or scooters. The Agreement explicitly required that Ashford provide accurate information to potential hotel guests so that no guests would be erroneously deterred. Ashford agreed to pay fees and costs of monitoring and the agreement authorized class counsel to seek an award of attorney's fees. The proposed Settlement Agreement was sent to hundreds of disability organizations as well as individuals who had communicated with CREEC about problems with Ashford's transportation. The plaintiffs sent class notice by email to 655 organizations and 43 individuals on December 21, 2015, and received no objections to the proposed settlement. On March 22, 2016, the court approved the final certification of the settlement class. In a final judgment on March 29, 2016, the Court approved the Settlement and announced that it would retain continuing jurisdiction over the parties, the lawsuit, and the settlement for purposes of enforcing the settlement and resolving disputes under the Settlement Agreement. The case was closed.
summary: Two individual plaintiffs, both of whom required wheelchairs for mobility, as well as the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center brought this action for injunctive and declaratory relief against Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc., an operator of hotels. The plaintiffs alleged violations of the ADA and the case settled with a requirement that the defendant hotels provide wheelchair-accessible shuttle services.