AMC Settles ADA Case

AMC Entertainment has negotiated a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

AMC is the nation’s second-largest movie theatre chain, behind the Philip Anschutz-controlled Regal Entertainment Group.

Regal recently negotiated a similar agreement with the DOJ over accessibility issues for wheelchair-using patrons at its venues.

A federal judge on January 10th ordered AMC to provide access to its tiered seating sections for those using wheelchairs at about 1,200 of its 1,933 stadium-styled theatres, according to the Denver Business Journal. The judge also ordered AMC to add ramps to 360 of them.

Currently, most stadium seating in all but the largest theatres is inaccessible because the tiered seats are on risers and are accessible only by stairs.

AMC also must pay $200,000 in damages to those who contacted the Justice Department about theatre accessibility problems, plus $100,000 in civil penalties for violating the ADA.

A federal court said in 2002 that AMC violated the ADA by failing to provide comparable sight lines for wheelchair patrons as it did for other moviegoers, according to the Business Journal. The next year, it ruled that theatre entrances, exits, bathrooms and concession stands also didn’t meet ADA requirements.