PHILADELPHIA – The owners of a Frankford Avenue business in Philadelphia are facing a lawsuit by a Florida man who is a wheelchair user over allegations the property has barriers that prevent him from enjoying its goods and services.
Owen Harty filed a complaint Nov. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Shelly Forman and Phyllis Forman alleging violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The suit states the defendants own Shelley's Plaza. Harty, who is a tester for civil rights monitoring of ADA compliance, claims he "has encountered architectural barriers at the subject property which discriminate against him on the basis of his disability and have endangered his safety."
Harty seeks a court order for reasonable modifications to be made at the defendants' property and all other just relief. He is represented by John Ward in Wayne and Thomas Bacon in Mount Dora, Florida.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case number 2:19-CC-05268-JS