Source: https://www.ada.gov/oasis.htm
Timestamp: 2017-11-18 01:00:23
Document Index: 66355826

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 12131', '§ 12181', 'art 36', 'art 36', '§ 12182', '§ 12183', '§12181', '§ 12182', '§ 12188', '§ 12188', '§ 12181', '§ 36', '§ 12188']

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TWIN CITIES AVANTI STORES LLC dba OASIS MARKETS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ADA COMPLAINT NUMBER 202-39-32
TWIN CITIES AVANTI STORES LLC
dba OASIS MARKETS
1. This matter was initiated by a complaint filed with the United States Department of Justice (“Department”) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota (“U.S. Attorney”) against Twin Cities Avanti Stores, LLC, dba Oasis Markets (“TCAS”). The complaint was filed by the Center for Independent Living in Mankato, Minnesota, under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134. The complaint alleged that persons who use wheelchairs were unable to gain entrance at an Oasis Market convenience store and gas station located in Mankato, Minnesota, because TCAS had failed to remove architectural barriers where doing so was readily achievable. The complaint also alleged that many other Oasis Market convenience stores and gas stations in Minnesota had architectural barriers in violation of Title III of the ADA and its implementing regulation.
II. ADA COVERAGE
2. Title III of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-12189, and the Department’s Title III implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 36, prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and require places of public accommodation and commercial facilities to be designed, constructed, and altered in compliance with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (“Standards”), 28 C.F.R. Part 36, Appendix A. Title III of the ADA also requires the removal of architectural barriers by places of public accommodation in existing facilities where such removal is readily achievable. See 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(iv). The ADA also requires that alterations be made in such a manner that they are readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities to the maximum extent feasible. See 42 U.S.C. § 12183(a).
3. TCAS owns and operates 22 convenience stores and gas stations in Minnesota. Convenience stores and gas stations are considered “places of public accommodation” under Title III of the ADA, see 42 U.S.C. §12181(7)(A), and places of public accommodation are required to remove architectural barriers where such removal is readily achievable, see 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(iv).
III. INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINT
4. The Department and U.S. Attorney are authorized to enforce Title III of the ADA by seeking the removal by places of public accommodation of architectural barriers that are readily achievable. See 42 U.S.C. § 12188(a)(2). In addition, the Department and U.S. Attorney may commence a civil action to enforce Title III in any situation where they believe a pattern or practice of discrimination exists or a matter of general public importance is raised. See 42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(1)(B).
5. After the complaint in this matter was filed, the U.S. Attorney expanded its investigation to include not only the convenience store and gas station in Mankato, Minnesota, but all the convenience stores and gas stations owned by TCAS in Minnesota.
6. In 2003, an ADA investigator from the U.S. Attorney’s Office randomly evaluated several convenience stores and gas stations owned by TCAS. The ADA investigator determined that there were in fact barriers to accessibility present in many of the convenience stores and gas stations and that it was readily achievable to remove such barriers. Thereafter, the U.S. Attorney commenced discussions with representatives of TCAS.
7. In 2004, TCAS retained an ADA consultant to inspect all of its convenience stores and gas stations in Minnesota for compliance with the Standards. In 2005, the ADA consultant specified the necessary modifications to bring the convenience stores and gas stations into compliance with the Standards.
8. The parties thereafter commenced negotiations and now enter into the following Settlement Agreement.
9. Agreement to Undertake Barrier Removal. Pursuant to this Agreement, TCAS agrees to undertake barrier removal to ensure that individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs, have an opportunity to enjoy its goods and services equal to that of individuals without disabilities. The parties agree that the modifications to be performed by TCAS pursuant to this Agreement are readily achievable, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 12181(9) and 28 C.F.R. § 36.104, and that all such modifications will be made in accordance with the Standards.
10. Properties Subject to this Agreement. Attached to this Agreement and incorporated herein is Exhibit A, which details the street address and city location of each convenience store and gas station owned and operated by TCAS that is subject to this Agreement. A four-digit number is also assigned to each store in Exhibit A.
11. Barrier Removal To Be Completed by TCAS Within Twelve (12) Months of Effective Date of Agreement; Compliance Reports. Within twelve (12) months of the effective date of this Agreement, TCAS will perform and complete the modifications listed as Category 1 Work in Exhibit A in accordance with the Standards. Beginning sixty (60) days from the effective date of this Agreement and until all the Category 1 Work required by this Paragraph is completed, TCAS will submit quarterly status reports to the U.S. Attorney detailing the work performed during the previous quarter (or, in the case of the first status report, since the effective date of this Agreement). The Department and/or the U.S. Attorney will have the right to request, and TCAS will provide, within twenty (20) days after request therefore, any reasonable documentation of the work performed, including blueprints, photographs, signed statements, receipts, contracts, and other relevant evidence.
12. Barrier Removal To Be Completed by TCAS Within Twenty-Four (24) Months of Effective Date of Agreement; Compliance Reports. Within twenty-four (24) months of the effective date of this Agreement, TCAS will perform and complete the modifications listed as Category 2 Work in Exhibit A in accordance with the Standards. Beginning sixty (60) days from the effective date of this Agreement and until all the Category 2 Work required by this Paragraph is completed, TCAS will submit quarterly status reports to the U.S. Attorney detailing the work performed during the previous quarter (or, in the case of the first status report, since the effective date of this Agreement). The Department and/or the U.S. Attorney will have the right to request, and TCAS will provide, within twenty (20) days after request therefor, any reasonable documentation of the work performed, including blueprints, photographs, signed statements, receipts, contracts, and other relevant evidence.
13. Barrier Removal To Be Completed Within Forty-Eight (48) Months of the Effective Date of Agreement; Compliance Reports. Within forty-eight (48) months of the effective date of this Agreement, TCAS will perform and complete the modifications listed as Category 3 Work in Exhibit A in accordance with the Standards. Beginning sixty (60) days from the effective date of this Agreement and until all the Category 3 Work required by this Paragraph is completed, TCAS will submit quarterly status reports to the U.S. Attorney detailing the work performed during the previous quarter (or, in the case of the first status report, since the effective date of this Agreement). The Department and/or the U.S. Attorney will have the right to request, and TCAS will provide, within twenty (20) days after request therefor, any reasonable documentation of the work performed, including blueprints, photographs, signed statements, receipts, contracts, and other relevant evidence.
14. Training of Store Managers. Within one hundred eighty (180) days of the effective date of this Agreement, TCAS will conduct training on Title III of the ADA for each manager of the stores listed in Exhibit A. The training will include the Refueling Assistance Procedures in Paragraph 15 of this Agreement. The U.S. Attorney will approve the agenda of the training conducted. TCAS will submit a report to the U.S. Attorney at the end of the 180-day period detailing the dates of the training and the names of the store managers trained. At the time each new store manager is hired, TCAS will incorporate into its regular manager training a segment on ADA accessibility and the Refueling Assistance Procedures in Paragraph 15 of this Agreement.
15. Refueling Assistance Procedures. TCAS agrees that it will follow and will train its employees on the Department’s refueling procedures detailed in the Department’s June 2002 ADA Business Brief: Assistance at Gas Stations, attached and incorporated herein as Exhibit B. TCAS will issue policies to implement the refueling assistance procedures of Exhibit B within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this Agreement.
16. Covenant Not To Sue; Exceptions. In consideration of the Agreement as set forth above, the United States agrees to refrain from undertaking further investigation or from filing a civil suit in this matter under section 308(b)(1)(B) of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12188(b)(1)(B). However, the Department and/or the U.S. Attorney may review compliance with this Agreement at any time. If the United States believes that this Agreement or any provision thereof has been violated, it may institute a civil action in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, following written notice to TCAS of the possible violation and a period of thirty (30) days in which TCAS has the opportunity to cure the first alleged violation. For any subsequent alleged violations of this Agreement, the United States may institute a civil action against TCAS without any waiting period for TCAS to cure the alleged violation.
17. Public Document. This Agreement is a public document. A copy of this document or any information contained in it, may be made available to any person.
18. Nonwaiver of Enforcement. Failure by the Department and/or the U.S. Attorney to enforce this entire Agreement or any provision thereof with respect to any deadline or any other provision herein will not be construed as a waiver of their right to enforce other deadlines and provisions of this Agreement.
19. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties on the matters raised herein, and no other statement, promise, or agreement, either written or oral, made by any party that is not contained in this written Agreement will be enforceable under its provisions.
20. Parameters of Agreement. This Agreement is limited to the facts set forth in the Introduction of this Agreement, and it does not purport to remedy any other potential violation of the ADA, or any other federal or state law. Except in accordance with Paragraph 16 of this Agreement, this Settlement Agreement does not affect TCAS’s continuing responsibility to comply with all aspects of the ADA.
21. Binding Agreement; Duty to Notify. Each signer of this Agreement represents that he or she is authorized to bind the party he or she represents to the terms of this Agreement. This Agreement will be binding on TCAS and its successors in interest. TCAS has a duty to notify all such successors in interest of this Agreement and the duties and responsibilities it imposes on it.
22. Effective Date; Termination. The effective date of this Agreement is the date of the last signature below. This agreement will remain in effect for forty-eight (48) months from the effective date of this Agreement or until the parties agree that full compliance with this Agreement by TCAS has been achieved.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMPLAINT NUMBER
204-39-32
Dated: 7/10/06
TWIN CITIES AVANTI STORES LLLC
BY: ERIC S. ANDERSON
Atty. I.D. Number:
(612) 492-7030
TO SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IN
USDOJ ADA COMPLAINT NO. 202-39-32
1. Parking, Exterior Access
2. Indoor Counters, Seating, Aisles
STORE NO. AREA SUMMARY OF WORK TO BE DONE CAT.NO.
5102 Entrance Bevel cement in front of doors 1
5102 Counter Lower check-out counter 2
5102 Restrooms Increase size of rooms. Replace grab bars. Change faucets. Change signs. Move wall, change plumbing setup.
5104 Parking Change accessible parking space and access aisle to be perpendicular to building. 1
5104 Aisles Clear aisle to 36". 2
5104 Counter Lower check-out counter 2
5107 Parking Move accessible parking and access aisle to other side of building 1
5107 Aisles Clear aisle to 36". 2
5107 Counter Lower check-out counter 2
5110 Parking Add accessible parking sign 1
5110 Aisles Clear aisle to 36" 2
5110 Counter Lower check-out counter 2
5156 Parking Move accessible parking space, access aisle and sign 1
5156 Aisles Clear aisle to 36" 2
5156 Counter Lower check-out counter 2
5156 Restrooms Women's: Change sign.
Men's: Replace doorknob with lever handle. Cover pipes. Change sign. 3
5202 Parking Add an access aisle 1
5206 Parking Widen access aisle. Level accessible parking space and access aisle. 1
5206 Entrance Bevel rise near entrance. 1
5206 Restrooms Change doorknobs to lever handles. Lower towel rack. Lower mirrors. Change men's sign. Remount women's sign. Chanqe out hardware 3
5217 Walkway Repair curb ramp. 1
5217 Aisles Clear aisles to 36". 2
5220 Parking Add accessible parking space, access aisle and sign. 1
5220 Aisles Clear aisle to 36". 2
5220 Restrooms Replace sink. Remount toilet paper. Lower mirror. Replace sink. 3
5221 Parking Add accessible parking, access aisle and sign. 1
5221 Aisles Clear aisles to 36". 2
5222 Aisles Clear aisles to 36". 2
5222 Aisles Remove electrical box in middle of floor. 2
5224 Parking Widen access aisle. 1
5224 Entrance Level cement in front of door. Add curb ramp. 2
5224 Restroom Move sink. Replace grab bars. Lower paper towels. Lower soap. Remount toilet paper. Remove door closer. Change sign. Change out plumbing and hardware 3
5226 Parking Post accessible parking sign. 1
5226 Aisles Clear aisles to 36" 2
5308 Parking Level parking space and access aisle. Stripe access aisle. 1
5652 Restroom Increase size of room. Widen doorway. Replace doorknob with lever handle. Lower mirror. Lower paper towels. Add grab bars. Cover pipes. Move toilet. Replace faucet controls. Change sign. Change door. 3
5652 Parking Add accessible parking space and access aisle. 1
5652 Walkway Repair curb ramp. 1
5652 Aisles Clear aisles to 36" 2
5658 Parking Level parking area. Add accessible parking space, access aisle and sign. 1
5658 Aisles Clear aisles to 36". 2
5658 Restroom Replace doorknob with lever handle. Replace faucet with lever type. 3
5666 Parking Level parking space and access aisle. 1
5666 Parking Post accessible parking sign. 1
5666 Curb Ramp Repair rise at curb ramp. 1
5666 Restroom Increase size of room. Change grab bars. Remount toilet paper. Lower towels. Lower mirror. Change sign. Change out wall and plumbing 3
5667 Parking Add accessible parking space, access aisle and sign. 1
5667 Entrance Bevel at entrance. 1
5667 Aisles Clear aisles to 36". 2
5679 Parking Remove curb ramp to level parking space. 1
5679 Walkway Install curb ramp. 1
5679 Walkway Mudjack the sidewalk to remove slope. 1
5679 Aisles Clear aisles to 36". 2
5681 Walkway Remove the window washer display that blocks the accessible route. 1
5681 Parking Level accessible parking space and access aisle. 1
5681 Parking Remove cement bollard. 1
5681 Exit Move obstructions near exit. 2
5681 Aisles Clear aisles to 36". 2
5681 Restroom Increase size of room. Widen doorway. Change doorknob to lever handle. Add grab bars. Lower mirror. Cover pipes. Replace drain cover. Change sign. Exterior restrooms: change out walls, rerun plumbing 3
5685 Parking Move parking and access aisle. Post sign. 1
5685 Entrance Mudjack or ramp cement at entrance. 1
5685 Counter Lower check-out counter 2
5685 Restroom Increase size of room. Change doorknob to lever handle. Replace grab bars. Remount toilet paper. Lower mirror. Cover pipes. Remount sign. Change out wall, move plumbing 3