Coronado v. Cobblestone Village Community Rentals, L.P

In Coronado v. Cobblestone Village Community Rentals, L.P. (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 831, plaintiff Coronado sued Cobblestone Village, the apartment complex where Coronado resided. Coronado claimed the existence of a raised curb rather than an access ramp on the path outside his apartment leading to the parking lot was a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Disabled Persons Act. (Coronado, at p. 835.) "The apartments and common areas around the Cobblestone Village apartments are reserved for use by tenants and guests of tenants only, although other persons might enter the complex since defendants' employees do not patrol the grounds. Vehicles are able to enter the apartment complex by means of a private driveway that connects with a public street and winds through the interior of the complex." (Id. at p. 836.) The Coronado trial court, on its own motion during trial, dismissed the Unruh Civil Rights Act and Disabled Persons Act claims, explaining that the residential areas of the apartment complex (not including the leasing office) were not public accommodations. (Coronado, at p. 838.) The Coronado appellate court affirmed after finding the sidewalk/parking lot common area outside Coronado's apartment was not a public accommodation under the ADA and was not an area used by the general public subject to the structural access standards of Health and Safety Code section 19955 et seq. and Government Code section 4450 et seq. (Coronado, supra, 163 Cal.App.4th at pp. 845-851.) Of note to the dispute here, the Coronado court explained: "The ADA should be reasonably construed and applied in accordance with this intent. This means that, where there is a multiuse facility in which there is a commercial office open to the general public but also residential and common areas that are not open to the general public, it is appropriate to consider the particular area in question when attempting to determine the applicability of ADA structural access standards or other ADA requirements." (Id. at p. 851.)