Court Decision on ADA Not UNIFORM

The problems with ADA and the Federal District courts that show no uniformity in their decisions on the application of ADA on foreign flagged cruise ships rests with members of Congress and the bureaucrats. There is no uniformity within the Federal District Courts even with the same circuits that foreign flagged cruise ships are subject to ADA.. For every decision that ADA applies there is other judge or Court of Appeals that offers an opposite ruling.

I reviewed the U.S. District court decision in the case of Resnick and Access Now,. V. Magical Cruise Company , decided June 24, 2001, cited as 148 Federal Supplement 2nd Series, 1298. The suit was filed by Resnick and Access alleging the "Disney Wonder" and "Disney Magic", both foreign flagged cruise ships did not meet ADA construction standards.

The suit was dismissed on several grounds, the more important being that Resnick had not booked a cruise or been aboard either vessel. Another reason was that the United States has never provided the cruise lines with any construction specifications as to what is required to comply with ADA..

In 1993, United States Senator Phil Gramm wrote a letter to the head of the Department of Transportation asking the department to develop construction requirements for cruise ships to meet ADA. As of September 22, 2001, the Department of Transportation has taken no action. It is quite evident this subject has had no priority with members of Congress, nor even the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The only logical way to "light a fire under this subject" is to get the public to communicate with their Congressional Representatives. " A squeaky wheel usually gets greased first." This posting is submitted for educational purposes since I am, not a lawyer, I cannot and do not offer legal advise. If you feel you have been discriminated against as a disabled person, contact the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. They seem to welcome possible ADA suits against cruise lines.