A Maui man on a mission to improve access for the disabled across the state is on the brink of settling a federal lawsuit against Hawaii County government on allegations the county’s Hele-On bus system isn’t compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Ed Muegge said in court filings he occasionally visits friends in Kailua-Kona, and he has been denied equal access to the transit system because he uses an electric scooter. He said he needs public transportation to get from Kona International Airport to Uncle Billy’s Kona Bay Hotel on Alii Drive.
“I had inquired about accessibility and para-transit service for the disabled using the Hele-On bus service,” Muegge said in an April 22, 2012, letter to the county’s Mass Transit Agency. “I was informed that all the fixed route buses were ADA compliant, but there was no para-transit services for those that could not use the regular buses.”
The County Council is scheduled to discuss the settlement behind closed doors today at its 9 a.m. meeting in Hilo. The settlement includes monetary damages, attorneys’ fees and service improvements, said Honolulu attorney Lunsford Dole Phillips, who represents Muegge.
“What the county was offering the public was woefully inadequate,” Phillips said Tuesday. “Basically, they had no para-transit program. … They have agreed to substantially improve the the transportation system for persons with disabilities.”
Phillips, citing possible confidentiality requirements in the settlement agreement, declined to say how much the monetary damages could be.
Deputy Corporation Counsel Melody Parker declined to discuss the specifics of the case until after a settlement had been approved by the court. But she said monetary damages, attorneys’ fees and corrective action are typical components of settlements in ADA cases.
The county maintains it had offered Muegge accommodations for his disability, but he didn’t take the government up on them.
“The plaintiff in the present case was not denied transportation. Rather, plaintiff had full access to any of the County’s buses,” Corporation Counsel attorneys said in a March 15 motion for summary judgment. “In addition, the county offered to meet any of his transportation needs. As a result, plaintiff was treated better than the general public and was provided with at least equal treatment.”
The case is being handled by U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi in Honolulu.
It’s by no means the first time Muegge has settled cases following ADA complaints. Phillips, who said Muegge is a 100 percent disabled veteran, said his client files lawsuits out of personal frustration with access restrictions and for the public cause of improving access for those with disabilities.
Last year, Muegge was one of the lead plaintiffs winning a $5.4 million settlement in a class-action federal lawsuit against Taco Bell Corp. after accusing the fast-food restaurant of violating the ADA in Santa Rosa, Calif., by imposing architectural barriers to diners in wheelchairs and scooters.
Also last year, Muegge settled with Aqua Hotels and Resorts Inc. and its member hotels for damages of $50,000 plus attorneys’ fees and a remediation plan because many of the hotels in the chain did not have any fully accessible guestrooms.
In 2013, Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway ruled that Muegge had no cause for action as a private citizen to require Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to pay a fine to the state’s general fund for not having a sign depicting the handicapped aisle near a handicapped parking space at its Kihei, Maui, store.
Muegge is currently suing taxi companies on Maui on ADA complaints.
The Americans With Disabilities Act, passed in 1990, outlaws discrimination against people with disabilities and sets out detailed guidelines for making public places accessible for them. Phillips said it’s especially egregious when governments such as Hawaii County accept federal funds for transportation services and then deny equal access to disabled travelers.
While the settlement agreement will be discussed in a closed-door executive session, the public can comment at the start of the meeting, either in person at Hilo council chambers, at Kona council chambers at the West Hawaii Civic Center, the Waimea council office, the county facility in Kohala, the state office building in Naalehu or the Pahoa neighborhood facility.
