Kodak Theatre Sued Over Access for Disabled

A federal lawsuit filed Friday against the Kodak Theatre by a group that advocates for the disabled says the opulent 3,500-seat venue for this weekend’s Academy Awards lacks proper design for people in wheelchairs.

Brought by the Western Law Center for Disability Rights on behalf of Elizabeth Bancroft, the suit says the theater’s floor plan has inadequate wheelchair-accessible seating, in violation of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act and California law.

“It’s shocking that it is so bad,” said Eve Hill, director of the nonprofit group.

She said theater officials who took her on a tour of the facility two weeks ago “couldn’t show me a single seat that complied with the law.”

Hill said the suit was not filed to capitalize on publicity surrounding the Academy Awards. “The timing is coincidental--we weren’t holding it,” she said. She did acknowledge, however, that “it is a good opportunity to educate the public and builders that this is an important issue.”

According to the complaint, Bancroft, who is paralyzed below the waist, attended a Melissa Etheridge concert in December and was seated in a cramped, sloped area with poor sight lines, despite her request for a wheelchair-accessible seat.

Bancroft said her view was continually obstructed by other concertgoers standing in front of the two seats she and a friend had purchased.

“It was really frustrating,” Bancroft said. “I paid the same amount as everyone else in [the] orchestra [section].”

The theater, tucked inside the Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex, opened in November. Owned by Canada-based TrizecHahn Corp. and operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, the theater was designed by architect David Rockwell.

A TrizecHahn official said the firm had not seen the lawsuit and would not comment until it did.

Bancroft said she remembers watching last year’s Academy Awards and seeing a nominee who used a wheelchair seated in the rear of the Shrine Auditorium.

“I kept thinking how great it was that they were moving to a new theater,” she said. “It’s a new theater, but nothing has changed.”