Lawsuit claims ADA violations at St. Joseph County court buildings

SOUTH BEND — A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court seeks an injunction requiring St. Joseph County and the city of South Bend to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act by improving access to county court buildings. Kent Hull, with offices in South Bend, filed the lawsuit on behalf of four disabled area residents — Victoria Means, Tonia Matney, Stephen Hummel, and Margaret Hummel. An attorney with Indiana Legal Services, he represents the plaintiffs in two separate, unrelated civil cases pending in St. Joseph County Superior Court. The 10-page complaint claims the county and city “acted with intent” in failing over a period of nearly two decades to provide disabled persons adequate access to two court buildings — the St. Joseph County Courthouse in South Bend and County Services Building in Mishawaka. It seeks relief in the form of damages and preliminary and permanent injunctions against the defendants, identified as the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, St. Joseph Superior Court, and city of South Bend. The city is named because it operates a parking lot that serves the courthouse but “is not sufficiently plentiful and is located a great distance from the courthouse,” according to the complaint. Reached Tuesday, Hull, who also is disabled, said he filed the complaint based on the county’s apparent indifference to ADA compliance, evidenced by its continued inaction in regard to the issue. Since passage of the ADA in 1990, appeals to the county to improve access to county buildings, including court buildings, have continually been ignored, Hull said, “and at a certain point I think we need to have the federal court order the county to bring the courthouse into compliance.” As evidence of a “lack of accessibility” at court buildings, the complaint lists: entryways, jury boxes and deliberation rooms, witness stands, speaking podiums, spectator seating areas, clerk counters, restrooms and drinking fountains, and the courthouse elevator. Responding to the complaint, county Commissioner Dave Thomas said he was disappointed the plaintiffs chose to seek relief in the courts rather than through government channels. He described many of the compliance issues as “inherited,” since construction of the buildings in question pre-dates the ADA. Furthermore, because of the economy, he said, the county does not have money for building improvements. Asked about that, Hull was not sympathetic. “I represent people every day who are threatened with foreclosure and eviction because of budget woes,” he said “and I’ve yet to see a judge accept that as a defense. So I’d like to see the county treated the same as a litigant.”