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Defendant's Attorney: Christopher J. Stearns and Selena A. Gibson

Description: Fort Meyers, Florida personal injury lawyer represented Plaintiff, who sued Defendant on an Americans with Disabilities Act violation theory.


This is an unusual Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) case. It is odd because despite a long, complicated history between the parties on these facts, it had nothing to do with Title II of the ADA. That is until Rood lost at a zoning hearing.

Fort Myers Beach is a moving island. Bit by bit, reliable tides and relentless waves are shaping and reshaping the beach. Over time, accretion deposited more sand on the island-cutting off some tidal waters from the Gulf and creating small coastal lagoons. These lagoons are within an environmentally critical (“EC”) zone.

For Rood, this created a problem. There are two lagoons behind his house (“Property”) separated by a vegetation-covered sand dune. And the lagoons block his access to the beach. But Rood had a solution. He wanted to build a walkway from the Property-over the lagoons-to the dunes (“Dune Walkover”).


This wasn't a half-baked idea. Rood seemingly jumped through every conceivable hoop: designing the Dune Walkover with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) input, obtaining state and federal permits, getting DEP final approval through complicated, years-long administrative proceedings (“Order”), and securing a recommendation from the Town's land planning board. Still, since the project was in an EC zone, Rood needed a special exemption from the Town council. So he applied for one (“Exemption”).

The Town held a hearing and denied the Exemption. After, Rood applied for rehearing, which the Town denied following another hearing. Having lost the zoning issue, Rood turned his focus to the ADA. He never used a wheelchair. But Rood has trouble walking from various health issues. So he sued for failure to accommodate.

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This wasn't a half-baked idea. Rood seemingly jumped through every conceivable hoop: designing the Dune Walkover with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) input, obtaining state and federal permits, getting DEP final approval through complicated, years-long administrative proceedings (“Order”), and securing a recommendation from the Town's land planning board. Still, since the project was in an EC zone, Rood needed a special exemption from the Town council. So he applied for one (“Exemption”).

The Town held a hearing and denied the Exemption. After, Rood applied for rehearing, which the Town denied following another hearing. Having lost the zoning issue, Rood turned his focus to the ADA. He never used a wheelchair. But Rood has trouble walking from various health issues. So he sued for failure to accommodate.

Outcome:
At bottom, Rood seeks privileged treatment because he prefers that over the other beach access options open to him and the public.

For all those reasons, the Court grants the Motion.

Accordingly, it is now ORDERED:

1. Defendant's Motion for Final Summary Judgment (Doc. 53) is GRANTED.

2. The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment, deny any pending motions, terminate all deadlines, and close the case.

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: