AMC theaters and disability access

[Guest guest]

Ruling Could Force Theater Alterations: (From the Los Angeles Times)

Judge finds that AMC chain's stadium-style seating layout violates

disabilities law.

By Bates, Times Staff Writer

AMC Entertainment Inc., the giant movie theater chain, said Wednesday

that it plans to appeal a recent federal court decision that its popular

stadium-style seating violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Last week's ruling by U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie in Los

Angeles stemmed from a 1999 lawsuit brought by the Justice Department.

It broke a string of successful legal victories by the theater industry,

which claims to have complied with the 12-year-old law by providing

other, unobstructed views for moviegoers in

wheelchairs.

In her decision said wheelchair users are segregated into

separate areas, usually close to the screen, that are inferior for movie

viewing. The judge concluded that AMC theaters violated the disabilities

act by failing to " provide lines of sight comparable to those for

members of the general public. "

" It's a great victory for common sense, " said Larry Paradis, executive

director of Disability Rights Advocates in Oakland.

AMC's offices in Kansas City, Mo., closed early on Wednesday and

executives could not be reached for comment.

But AMC said in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange

Commission earlier in the day that it planned to appeal 's

decision.

AMC noted in the filing that other courts had approved the kind of

seating AMC provides for the disabled, and added that 's ruling

does not suggest any specific remedies.

As a result, AMC said, it was impossible to know the effect the ruling

could have on both the company and on the movie exhibition business as a

whole. Industry experts said, however, that the judge's decision could

force theater owners to revamp their seating plans, potentially costing

them millions of dollars.

Stadium seating is a relatively new innovation that gives moviegoers a

clear view of the screen without having to look past the head of the

person in front of them. Rows of seats rise sharply on multiered levels,

in contrast to the gently sloping seating that theaters traditionally

have offered.

AMC first installed stadium seating in Dallas in 1995, court papers

show. It since has made stadium seating a key part of its marketing,

advertising that seats " virtually suspend the moviegoer in front of the

wall-to-wall screen " and that all seats are " the best in the house. "

Because stadium seating is accessible by stairs, theaters usually set

aside an area below for those in wheelchairs.

Law professor Mark Kelman of Stanford University said that 's

decision was significant because it questioned the notion that the

disabled should sit in another area away from most others to watch a

movie. The disabilities act was intended to break down those barriers.

" It's not about how much worse the line of sight is, but about

segregation, " Kelman said.

Law professor Chai Feldblum of town University in Washington said

providing more equal seating is a reasonable request for theaters.

" If I really care about getting a good seat in a theater, I have the

power to get there early and get a good seat, " said Feldblum, who

helped write the disabilities act. " But if I use a wheelchair, I can

never have the access those who don't use wheelchairs have. "

AMC shares were unchanged Wednesday at $9.70 on the American Stock

Exchange.