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Home My WebLink AboutR-2004-102 Lorraine Lanes vs Access Now Settlement • RESOLUTION NO. 2004-102 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA, APPROVING A SETTLEMENT OF ALL CLAIMS OF LORRAINE LANES AND ACCESS NOW, INC., A FLORIDA NON-PROFIT CORPORATION; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; FURTHER, PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Lorraine Lanes and Access Now, Inc., a Florida non-profit corporation filed a lawsuit against the City pertaining to issues of accessibility to City buildings, facilities and programs by disabled persons (Lorraine Lanes vs. City of Dania Beach, Case No. 02- 61203-CIV-Marra, United States District Court, Southern District, Ft. Lauderdale Division); and WHEREAS, insurance counsel for the City and the claimants have agreed to settle the claims in exchange for implementation by the City of a"Transition Plan"for accessibility improvements to be made that comply with the federal Americans with Disability Act ("ADA"); and WHEREAS, the settlement is in the best interest of the City and citizens of Dania Beach; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, FLORIDA: Section 1. That the settlement of all claims of Lorraine Lanes and Access Now, Inc., a Florida non-profit corporation in exchange for implementation of the City ADA Transition Plan is approved and the appropriate City officials are authorized to execute all documents deemed necessary by the City Attorney to effectuate the intent of this resolution. 1 RESOLUTION NO. 2004-102 • Section 2. That all resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict with this resolution are repealed to the extent of such conflict. Section 3. That this resolution shall be in force and take effect immediately upon its passage and adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED on June 8, 2004. C.K. MCELYEA�/ MAYOR — COMSSIONER ATTEST: ROLL CALL: COMMISSIONER ANTON - YES COMMISSIONER CHUNN- YES LOUISE STILSON COMMISSIONER FLURY— YES CITY CLERK VICE-MAYOR MIKES - YES MAYOR MCELYEA - YES APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: BY: TH M� J. ANSBRO CITY ATTORNEY 2 RESOLUTION NO. 2004-102 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA Fort Lauderdale Division CASE NO. 02-61203-CIV-MARRA LORRAINE LANES, and ACCESS NOW, INC., a Florida not-for-profit corporation, Plaintiffs, VS. THE CITY OF DANIA BEACH, a Florida Municipal Corporation, Defendant. JOINT STIPULATION FOR VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE Plaintiffs,LORRAINE LANES and ACCESS NOW,INC.,and Defendant,CITY OF DANIA BEACH, by and through their undersigned attorneys,pursuant to Rule 4.1(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,hereby stipulate to the dismissal of the above-styled action ,vi*', prejudice upon the f:;llo:�ing tei��s: a. Defendant, CITY OF DANIA BEACH, agrees to follow and abide by the guidelines and mandates set forth in the Americans With Disabilities Act Self Evaluation and Transition Plan ("Transition Plan") dated December 4, 2003. Defendant will file a copy of the Transition Plan with the Court; • b. Defendant, CITY OF DANIA BEACH, will implement each item of the Program Access Implementation Plan (pages 58-68 of the Transition Plan) no later than the end of the implementation year accompanying each specific item; C. Defendant,CITY OF DANIA BEACH,will permit Plaintiffs and/or their legal representative, upon reasonable notice, to inspect premises not otherwise open to the public to verify Defendant's compliance with the Transition Plan. Defendant will, in addition, respond within a reasonable time to written inquiries submitted by Plaintiffs and/or their legal representative which inquire as to compliance with the Transition Plan's mandates concerning services, activities and programs; d. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida will retain jurisdiction to enforce the terms of this Stipulation, and to award attorney's fees and costs to Plaintiffs, if any, if the parties are unable to agree on same. JOHNSON, ANSELMO, MURDOCH, ROTHSTEIN, ROSENFELDT, DOLIN & BURKE, PIPER & McDUFF, P.A. PANCIER, P.A. Attorneys for Dania Beach Attorneys for Plaintiffs 2455 E. Sunrise Boulevard, Suite 1000 300 Las Olas Place, Suite 860 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 300 S.E. 2nd Street (954) 463-0100 (Telephone) Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (964) 463-2444 (Facsimile) (954) 522-3456 (Telephone) (954) 527-8663 (Facsimile) By: BY: _ RICHAPD H. McDiJFF STUART A. ROSENFELDT Florida Bar No. 724671 Florida Bar No. 316113 SCOTT D. ALEXANDER Florida Bar No. 057207 • - 2 - • • CITY OF DANIA BEACH MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and Commissioners Ivan Pato, City Manager Ken Koch, Building Official Louise Stilson, City Clerk CC: Scott D. Alexander, Esq. FROM: Thomas J. Ansbro, City Attorney DATE: May 27, 2004 RE: Settlement of "ADA" Litigation; Lorraine Lanes and Access Now, Inc. vs. City of Dania Beach; Case No. 02-61203-CIV-Marra, United Sates District Court • (Southern District, Ft. Lauderdale Division) Attached you will find a "Joint Stipulation for Voluntary Dismissal with Prejudice" and a related Resolution pertaining to the referenced lawsuit. The City Commission adopted a "Transition Plan" earlier this year, under which the City committed to implement certain improvements to assist disabled people with access to City buildings, facilities and programs. The settlement document recognizes that the Transition Plan will accomplish the goals sought by the Plaintiffs in the lawsuit. In addition, the attorneys' fees for the Plaintiffs (to which they are entitled under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), in the amount of $14,000.00) will be paid by the Florida League of Cities, which also provided the City its legal defense at no additional cost under the City's former insurance policy. The Resolution is ready for adoption by the City Commission to formally end the lawsuit. 566.028 TJA:slw Attachments