(CN) - A California appeals court reinstated a quadriplegic man's wheelchair-access lawsuit against a private marina, saying the lower court dismissed the claim without properly viewing the marina as a rental establishment.
Dave Nicholls sued Holiday Panay Marina, a private boat-docking facility in Marina del Rey, Calif., claiming the marina was not properly accessible to people who use wheelchairs, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The trial court ruled in favor of the marina, because it was not a place of public accommodation. Justice Rubin of the Los-Angeles based appeals court reversed the decision.
Rubin noted that Nicholls rented a slip at the marina, which triggered the ADA category of a sales or rental establishment.
"The ADA's failure to mention marinas that lease boat slips to the public does not preclude marinas from being rental establishments to which the ADA applies," Rubin wrote.
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