April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 30

L AW R E V I E W

Blind Paintballers Disability Discrimination Claim
By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

M

any legal problems start out as a failure to communicate. People get angry, then decide to vent their frustration in a costly and
time-consuming lawsuit for all involved. Apparently, such was the
unfortunate situation in the case described herein, Blind Industries and Services
of Maryland v. Route 40 Paintball Park. In this particular instance, a group of
blind individuals became angry when told they would not be allowed to play
paintball. As noted by the federal court, " at some point in the verbal exchange,
communications seem to have broken down. "
According to the court, " the fact
that Plaintiffs became angry and
voices were raised would not be a
factor in Route 40's defense " against
a claim of discrimination against individuals with disabilities. In hindsight, although challenging under
the circumstances, good customer relations may have been better
served by more accommodation, as
opposed to confrontation over facility policies and waiver forms.
In the case of Blind Industries
and Services of Maryland v. Route 40

28

Parks & Recreation

Paintball Park, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172331 (Dist. Md. 12/5/2012),
plaintiffs brought their lawsuit
under Title III of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42
U.S.C. § 12182. Title III prohibits
discrimination against individuals
with disabilities by those who offer
public accommodations, i.e., a facility, operated by a private entity
that provides services to the public.
(Similarly, Title II of the ADA prohibits such discrimination by public entities.)

| A P R I L 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

In response, defendant Route 40
had asserted that " the ADA and
'old-fashioned common sense' recognize that some activities involve
sufficient risk that individuals with
disabilities, like blindness, should
only participate...with assistance or
under modified conditions. " The
federal district court acknowledged
that, perhaps, " Route 40 has legitimate concerns regarding Plaintiffs'
abilities to safely play paintball. " On
the other hand, the court recognized
the possibility that " what is offered as
'old-fashioned common sense' is really nothing more than paternalistic
and unsupported assumptions about
what individuals with disabilities are
able to achieve and accomplish. "
As described below, while " the
evidence points to a finding that
Route 40 violated the ADA in denying Plaintiffs the opportunity to play



April 2013 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2013 - Parks & Recreation

April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 1
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 2
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 3
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 4
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 5
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 6
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 7
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 8
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 9
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 10
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 11
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 12
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 13
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 14
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 15
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 16
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 17
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 18
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 19
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 20
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 21
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 22
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 23
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 24
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 25
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 26
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 27
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 28
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 29
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 30
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 31
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 32
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 33
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 34
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 35
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 36
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 37
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 38
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 39
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 40
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 41
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 42
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 43
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 44
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 45
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 46
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 47
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 48
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 49
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 50
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 51
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 52
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 53
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 54
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 55
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 56
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 57
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 58
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 59
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 60
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 61
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 62
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 63
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 64
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 65
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 66
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 67
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 68
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 69
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 70
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 71
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 72
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 73
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 74
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 75
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 76
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 77
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 78
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 79
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 80
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 81
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 82
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 83
April 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 84
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2009
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com