U.S. Justice Department Allowed To Join Michigan Stadium Suit

Justice Department To Join Lawsuit Over Handicap -Accessible Seats At Michigan Stadium

U.S. District Judge Sean Cox last Wednesday granted a request by the U.S. Justice Department to join a lawsuit against the Univ. of Michigan (UM) over the number of handicap-accessible seats at Michigan Stadium, according to Marisa Schultz of the DETROIT NEWS. Cox also “cleared the way for a thorough inspection of [the stadium] before a $226[M] renovation project gets under way,” The decision “essentially pits the U.S. government against the university” in litigation over the seats. Federal architects will begin their inspection of the stadium tomorrow, and they will “take measurements and photographs of [UM’s] alleged violations of federal accessibility laws before the university begins demolition for the renovation project” (DETROIT NEWS, 11/22). The Michigan chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America first filed suit against UM “to try to force the school to create 1,080 wheelchair accessible seats.” The parties are at odds “over whether the construction is significant enough to trigger the federal requirement that 1% of the 108,000 seats be wheelchair accessible” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 11/22).