A state appellate court has affirmed a ruling in favor of an amusement park operator, saying the company was within its rights to not allow a blind man to drive bumper cars alone and to not provide further assistance for him to exit a waterslide ride.
Jose Lopez had filed suit in Clay County Circuit Court against Cedar Fair L.P. in 2017, accusing the company of disability discrimination for failing to provide him with an accommodation when he rode a waterslide and by requiring him to use an accommodation to ride the bumper cars while visiting their Oceans of Fun and Worlds of Fun amusement parks. Lopez sought compensatory and punitive damages under the Missouri Human Rights Act.
The lower court ruled in favor of Cedar Fair. Lopez appealed, raising 11 points.
In its September 17 ruling, Division One of the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District affirmed that decision.
Lopez, his daughter and his assistant and his daughter visited Oceans of Fun in June 2017. He rode the Aruba Tuba waterslide on his own. His daughter helped him exit the pool at the end of the ride.
The next month, the trio visited Worlds of Fun. Lopez wanted to ride the Autobahn, a bumper car ride which features an oval-shaped one-way track. The rider drives a car around the track that includes one-way signs and signs with arrows indicating the direction drivers are to go as well as signs telling riders to avoid head-on collisions.
“Daughter asked if Lopez could ride by himself even though he was blind, and ride operator responded that he could not,” the ruling states. “After being advised of the situation, ride supervisor and park ambassador confirmed that Lopez required a supervising companion to ride the Autobahn. Because neither assistant or daughter could ride with Lopez, park ambassador offered to ride with him. Lopez accepted park ambassador’s officer and drove the bumper car while she accompanied him.”
The following month, Lopez filed a charge of discrimination with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights. He later filed the lawsuit, saying Cedar Fair failed to provide him with a reasonable accommodation at the end of the waterslide attraction by neglecting to help him out of the water and forced him to acquire unnecessary accommodation to ride the bumper car ride.
The appeals court said the lower court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence relating to the safety requirements of the bumper cars ride. It also said Cedar Fair was not required to raise a direct threat affirmative defense to be able to present safety-related evidence.
The court also said Lopez did not suffer prejudice from the exclusion of video evidence during the lower court trial showing other rides on the bumper cars ride, and it says the lower court also did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence relating to the Amusement Ride Safety Act, saying it was relevant.
In addition, the appeals court says the lower court did not abuse discretion by overruling Lopez’s objections during closing argument, also saying Lopez did not demonstrate he suffered prejudice from the admission of evidence showing his assistant was paid by the State of Missouri.
The lower court also ruled Lopez did not suffer prejudice from the trial court’s grant of a directed verdict on his punitive damages claim because the jury ruled in Cedar Fair’s favor on the underlying claim. It also said Lopez suffered no prejudice from the exclusion of evidence he says was relevant to his punitive damages claim.
The 22-page opinion was written by Judge Edward R. Ardini Jr.
Missouri Court of Appeals Western District case number WD85931