LANDMARK
SETTLEMENT REQUIRES ACCESSIBLE EVACUATION PROCEDURES
AT ALL MARSHALLS STORES NATIONWIDE
WASHINGTON,
D.C., May 4, 2005 — Attorneys from Hogan &
Hartson L.L.P. and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee
for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs announced today
the settlement of a high-profile, ground-breaking
lawsuit against Marshalls that will require the major
discount retailer to provide accessible evacuation
routes for shoppers with disabilities in all of its
stores nationwide. This landmark settlement ensures
that Marshalls will adopt emergency evacuation procedures
that take into consideration the needs of shoppers
with disabilities in each of its more than 700 stores
in 42 states and Puerto Rico. As a result, Marshalls
becomes the first national retailer in the country
to agree to address the critical emergency evacuation
needs of persons with disabilities.
The
settlement agreement resolves a lawsuit filed by Katie
Savage, a Washington, D.C. resident who has a mobility
impairment and who uses a wheelchair, and the Disability
Rights Council of Greater Washington (DRC). On September
3, 2002, Ms. Savage became trapped during an emergency
evacuation of a Marshalls store and the mall in which
it was located. After Marshalls required her to exit
into an area of the mall that is below ground level,
Ms. Savage was trapped and unable to evacuate because
the elevators were shut down and all the exits had
stairs. Ms. Savage, who did not receive any assistance
or guidance from the store or mall personnel, resolved
to use this incident as a vehicle to make certain
that fellow citizens with disabilities would not be
similarly victimized in emergency evacuation situations.
Ms. Savage joined the DRC in filing a lawsuit against
Marshalls that alleged violations of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Maryland law in Marshalls’
corporate-wide evacuation policies.
The
settlement was preceded by a significant decision
issued in this case on December 28, 2004 by Judge
John W. Debelius III of the Circuit Court for Montgomery
County, Maryland. In this decision, Judge Debelius
found that the ADA requires places of public accommodation
to consider the needs of people with disabilities
in developing emergency evacuation plans. As a result,
shopping malls, stores, restaurants, movie theaters,
museums, and other entities subject to the ADA throughout
the country, whether landlords or tenants, should
now seek to accommodate people with disabilities in
the development and modification of emergency evacuation
procedures.
“The
settlement with Marshalls is a significant step in
ensuring the safety of consumers with disabilities,
and should serve as a model for other retailers,”
said Elaine Gardner, Director of the Disability Rights
Project at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil
Rights and Urban Affairs. “The ADA always has been
understood to help get people with disabilities into
places of public accommodation. Now, for the first
time, it also works to ensure that public places try
to get those same people out in the event of
a fire, terrorist attack, or other emergency.”
“I
am extremely proud of the Marshalls settlement and
hope that it will serve as an example to other retailers
when they are designing their emergency evacuation
procedures,” said Ms. Savage. “This is an agreement
which recognizes that people with disabilities are
not second-class citizens, and that our safety is
just as important as others in the event of an emergency.”
One
of Ms. Savage’s attorneys, Steve Hollman, agreed.
“This is a landmark agreement that will establish
access to emergency services for thousands of people
with disabilities across the country,” said Mr. Hollman,
a partner with Hogan & Hartson L.L.P. in Washington,
D.C. “And because governments can seek guidance from
the way the law is interpreted for public accommodations
under the ADA, this case should have significance
not just to commercial landowners, but also to state,
local, and federal agencies who are designing their
evacuation plans.”
The
parties agreed to a confidential financial settlement.
Among other things, Marshalls also agreed to: