Tampa, FL – Today, the Social Justice Law
Collective (SJLC) announced the filing of a federal lawsuit against the
LEGOLAND Florida Resort in Polk County, Florida (LEGOLAND), for repeated violations
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Florida Civil Rights Act. The lawsuit challenges LEGOLAND’s policy of
denying access to significant portions of its resort to children and other
guests who use prosthetic devices, even when such restrictions are not required
by reasonable safety concerns. The
lawsuit alleges that these discriminatory restrictions ignore the extraordinary
capabilities of such individuals and result in the denial of access to more
than half of LEGOLAND’s attractions for thousands of children and families from
around the world.
Polk
County residents Josias and Sarahy Suarez have brought this lawsuit on behalf
of themselves as well as their nine-year old son, Isaias, who was forced to
undergo through-knee amputations on both of his legs when he was only one-year
old. A true inspiration, Isaias refuses
to let his disability define him, using various-length prosthetics to play
baseball, soccer and flag football with his friends and to enjoy camping and
hiking with his family.
These
abilities are ignored, however, whenever the Suarez Family visits LEGOLAND Florida
Resort. Despite careful planning and
communication with LEGOLAND, the Suarez Family has been repeatedly denied
access to attraction after attraction at the resort, solely because of Isaias’s
prosthetics, with LEGOLAND staff continually singling out and confronting
Isaias and his family because of his disability, providing no explanation other
than that LEGOLAND policy requires it.
LEGOLAND’s
discriminatory treatment of Isaias seems particularly apparent when compared to
his treatment at similar amusement parks, including SeaWorld and Walt Disney
World Resort in nearby Orlando, Florida, at which Isaias was never asked about
his prosthetics and was able to participate in every attraction for which he
met the height and ability-based requirements.
Meanwhile, LEGOLAND has repeatedly turned Isaias away from attractions
that are designed for infants and toddlers.
“I can’t ride the rides that my family, even my little brother, are riding,
even though I’m able to ride them,” said Isaias when describing his treatment
by LEGOLAND, “I used to love going to LEGOLAND, now it makes me sad just to
think about it.”
“Individuals
who use prosthetic devices climb mountains, compete in competitive sports, and
otherwise excel at a broad array of physical activities,” said SJLC attorney Shawn
Heller, “in 2019, there is simply no excuse for a large amusement park – one
designed for children, no less – to enforce such discriminatory and
exclusionary policies.”
For further information, please
contact Social Justice Law Collective attorneys Shawn Heller or Josh Glickman
at media@sjlawcollective.com or (202) 709-5744.
Visit SJLC's website here »
See the Press Release here » 