UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

PATRICIA KENNEDY, Individually,

Plaintiff,

v.

EXCEL HOSPITALITY, LLC d/b/a AMERICAS

BEST VALUE INN BELVIDERE, an Illinois

Limited Liability Company,

Defendant.

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Case No.

COMPLAINT

(Injunctive Relief Demanded)

Plaintiff, PATRICIA KENNEDY, Individually, on her behalf and on behalf of all other

individuals similarly situated, (sometimes referred to as “Plaintiff”), hereby sues the Defendant,

EXCEL HOSPITALITY, LLC d/b/a AMERICAS BEST VALUE INN BELVIDERE, an Illinois

Limited Liability Company, (sometimes referred to as “Defendant”), for Injunctive Relief, and

attorney’s fees, litigation expenses, and costs pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42

U.S.C. § 12181 et seq. (“ADA”).

1. Plaintiff is a resident of Broward County, Florida, is sui juris, and qualifies as an

individual with disabilities as defined by the ADA. Plaintiff is unable to engage in

the major life activity of walking more than a few steps without assistive devices.

Instead, Plaintiff is bound to ambulate in a wheelchair or with a cane or other support

and has limited use of her hands. She is unable to tightly grasp, pinch and twist of the

wrist to operate. When ambulating beyond the comfort of her own home, Plaintiff

must primarily rely on a wheelchair. Plaintiff requires accessible handicap parking

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spaces located closet to the entrances of a facility. The handicap and access aisles

must be of sufficient width so that she can embark and disembark from a ramp into

her vehicle. Routes connecting the handicap spaces and all features, goods and

services of a facility must be level, properly sloped, sufficiently wide and without

cracks, holes or other hazards that can pose a danger of tipping, catching wheels or

falling. These areas must be free of obstructions or unsecured carpeting that make

passage either more difficult or impossible. Amenities must be sufficiently lowered

so that Plaintiff can reach them. She has difficulty operating door knobs, sink faucets,

or other operating mechanisms that tight grasping, twisting of the wrist or pinching.

She is hesitant to use sinks that have unwrapped pipes, as such pose a danger of

scraping or burning her legs. Sinks must be at the proper height so that she can put

her legs underneath to wash her hands. She requires grab bars both behind and beside

a commode so that she can safely transfer and she has difficulty reaching the flush

control if it is on the wrong side. She has difficulty getting through doorways if they

lack the proper clearance.

2. Plaintiff is an advocate of the rights of similarly situated disabled persons and is a

"tester" for the purpose of asserting her civil rights and monitoring, ensuring, and

determining whether places of public accommodation and their websites are in

compliance with the ADA.

3. According to the county property records, Defendant owns a place of public

accommodation as defined by the ADA and the regulations implementing the ADA,

28 CFR 36.201(a) and 36.104. The place of public accommodation that the

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Defendant owns is a place of lodging known as AMERICAS BEST VALUE INN

BELVIDERE, 1605 North State Street, Belvidere, IL 61008, and is located in the

County of BOONE, (hereinafter "Property").

4. Venue is properlylocated in the NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS because the

subject hotel is located in this District. 

5. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and 28 U.S.C. § 1343, this Court has been given

original jurisdiction over actions which arise from the Defendant’s violations of Title

III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq. See also 28

U.S.C. § 2201 and § 2202.

6. As the owner of the subject place of lodging, Defendant is required to comply with

the ADA. As such, Defendant is required to ensure that it's place of lodging is in

compliance with the standards applicable to places of public accommodation, as set

forth in the regulations promulgated by the Department Of Justice. Said regulations

are set forth in the Code Of Federal Regulations, the Americans With Disabilities Act

Architectural Guidelines ("ADAAGs"), and the 2010 ADA Standards, incorporated

by reference into the ADA. These regulations impose requirements pertaining to

places of public accommodation, including places of lodging, to ensure that they are

accessible to disabled individuals. 

7. More specifically, 28 C.F.R. Section 36.302(e)(1) imposes the following

requirement: 

Reservations made by places of lodging. A public accommodation that owns,

leases (or leases to), or operates a place of lodging shall, with respect to

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reservations made by any means, including by telephone, in-person, or through a

third party - 

(i) Modify its policies, practices, or procedures to ensure that individuals

with disabilities can make reservations for accessible guest rooms during

the same hours and in the same manner as individuals who do not need

accessible rooms; 

(ii) Identify and describe accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms

offered through its reservations service in enough detail to reasonably

permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a

given hotel or guest room meets his or her accessibility needs; 

(iii) Ensure that accessible guest rooms are held for use by individuals

with disabilities until all other guest rooms of that type have been rented

and the accessible room requested is the only remaining room of that type; 

(iv) Reserve, upon request, accessible guest rooms or specific types of

guest rooms and ensure that the guest rooms requested are blocked and

removed from all reservations systems; and 

(v) Guarantee that the specific accessible guest room reserved through its

reservations service is held for the reserving customer, regardless of

whether a specific room is held in response to reservations made by others. 

8. These regulations became effective March 15, 2012.

9. Defendant, either itself or by or through a third party, accepts reservation for its hotel

through online reservations systems, or websites. These websites are located at

Americasbestvalueinn.guestreservations.com. Defendant also utilizes third party

online reservations systems, including hotels.com, redlion.com, booking.com and

expedia.com. This term also includes all other websites owned and operated by

Defendant or by third parties to book or reserve guest accommodations at the hotel.

The purpose of these websites is so that members of the public may reserve guest

accommodations and review information pertaining to the goods, services, features,

facilities, benefits, advantages, and accommodations of the Property. As such, these

websites are subject to the requirements of 28 C.F.R. Section 36.302(e). 

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10. Prior to the commencement of this lawsuit, Plaintiff visited the websites on March

27, 2020, March 29, 2020, March 31, 2020, April 1, 2020, April 2, 2020, April 5,

2020, April 6, 2020 and April 7, 2020 for the purpose of reviewing and assessing the

accessible features at the Property and ascertain whether they meet the requirements

of 28 C.F.R. Section 36.302(e) and her accessibility needs. However, Plaintiff was

unable to do so because Defendant failed to comply with the requirements set forth

in 28 C.F.R. Section 36.302(e). As a result, Plaintiff was deprived the same goods,

services, features, facilities, benefits, advantages, and accommodations of the

Property available to the general public. Specifically, neither

americasbestvalueinn.guestreservations.com, hotels.com, redlion.com, booking.com

nor expedia.com identify or allow for booking of accessible rooms and provide

insufficient information about accessibility.

11. In the near future, Plaintiff intends to revisit Defendant's websites and/or online

reservations system in order to test them for compliance with 28 C.F.R. Section

36.302(e) and/or to utilize the websites to reserve a guest room and otherwise avail

herself of the goods, services, features, facilities, benefits, advantages, and

accommodations of the Property. 

12. Plaintiff is continuously aware that the subject websites remain non-compliant and

that it would be a futile gesture to revisit the websites as long as those violations exist

unless she is willing to suffer additional discrimination.

13. The violations present at Defendant's websites infringe Plaintiff's right to travel free

of discrimination and deprive her of the information required to make meaningful

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choices for travel. Plaintiff has suffered, and continues to suffer, frustration and

humiliation as the result of the discriminatory conditions present at Defendant's

website. By continuing to operate the websites with discriminatory conditions,

Defendant contributes to Plaintiff's sense of isolation and segregation and deprives

Plaintiff the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges

and/or accommodations available to the general public. By encountering the

discriminatory conditions at Defendant's website, and knowing that it would be a

futile gesture to return to the websitesunless she is willing to endure additional

discrimination, Plaintiff is deprived of the same advantages, privileges, goods,

services and benefits readily available to the general public. By maintaining a

websiteswith violations, Defendant deprives Plaintiff the equality of opportunity

offered to the general public. Defendant's online reservations system serves as a

gateway to its hotel. Because this online reservations system discriminates against

Plaintiff, it is therebymore difficult to book a room at the hotel or make an informed

decision as to whether the facilities at the hotel are accessible.

14. Plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer direct and indirect injury as a result

of the Defendant’s discrimination until the Defendant is compelled to modify its

websitesto comply with the requirements of the ADA and to continuallymonitor and

ensure that the subject websitesremains in compliance. 

15. Plaintiff has a realistic, credible, existing and continuing threat of discrimination

from the Defendant’s non-compliance with the ADA with respect to these websites. 

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Plaintiff has reasonable grounds to believe that she will continue to be subjected to

discrimination in violation of the ADA by the Defendant. 

16. The Defendant has discriminated against the Plaintiff by denying her access to, and

full and equal enjoyment of, the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages

and/or accommodations of the subject website.

17. The Plaintiff and all others similarly situated will continue to suffer such

discrimination, injuryand damagewithout the immediate relief provided bythe ADA 

as requested herein.

18. Defendant has discriminated against the Plaintiff by denying her access to full and

equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages and/or

accommodations of its place of public accommodation or commercial facility in

violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq. and 28 CFR 36.302(e). Furthermore, the

Defendant continues to discriminate against the Plaintiff, and all those similarly

situated by failing to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices or

procedures, when such modifications are necessary to afford all offered goods,

services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations to individuals with

disabilities; and by failing to take such efforts that may be necessary to ensure that

no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise

treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and

services.

19. Plaintiff is without adequate remedy at law and is suffering irreparable harm. 

Plaintiff has retained the undersigned counsel and is entitled to recover attorney’s

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fees, costs and litigation expenses from the Defendant pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12205

and 28 CFR 36.505.

20. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12188, this Court is provided with authority to grant Plaintiff

Injunctive Relief, including an order to require the Defendant to alter the subject

websites to make it readily accessible and useable to the Plaintiff and all other

persons with disabilities as defined by the ADAand 28 C.F.R. Section 36.302(e); or

by closing the websites until such time as the Defendant cures its violations of the

ADA.

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests:

a. The Court issue a Declaratory Judgment that determines that the Defendant at the

commencement of the subject lawsuit is in violation of Title III of the Americans

with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12181 et seq. and 28 C.F.R. Section 36.302(e).

b. Injunctive relief against the Defendant including an order to revise its websites to

comply with 28 C.F.R. Section 36.302(e) and to implement a policy to monitor and

maintain the websites to ensure that it remains in compliance with said requirement.

c. An award of attorney’s fees, costs and litigation expenses pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

§ 12205.

d. Such other relief as the Court deems just and proper, and/or is allowable under

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Respectfully Submitted,

By: /s/ Kimberly A. Corkill, Esq.

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Kimberly A. Corkill, Of Counsel

Thomas B. Bacon, P.A.

7 N. Coyle Street

Pensacola, FL 32502

ph. 850-375-3475

fx 877-828-4446

kimberlyatlaw@gmail.com

Florida Bar Id. No. 84942

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