The Franchise Memorandum

A federal court in California recently approved the settlement of a disability-access class action lawsuit in Vallabhapurapu v. Burger King Corp., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154867 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 26, 2012). The settlement involved the second part of a class action originally asserted by ten plaintiffs against Burger King in Castaneda v. Burger King Corp., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78299 (N.D. Cal. July 12, 2012), the settlement of which was reported in Issue 134 of The GPMemorandum. The approximately 86 plaintiffs in Vallabhapurapu contended that restaurants leased by Burger King to its franchisees in California were not accessible to customers who use wheelchairs and scooters, and they contended that Burger King had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, California’s Unruh Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act. Under the terms of settlement, Burger King agreed to an injunction to eliminate accessibility barriers and to pay $14 million in damages and approximately $4.7 million in attorneys’ fees and costs. The settlement provides the court with ongoing jurisdiction until 2016 to monitor the terms of settlement and Burger King’s compliance with the injunction.