Justice Thomas's Unintentionally Ironic Concurrence in the Self-Appointed Tester Case
The Supreme Court's first decision of the Term in a case on its plenary docket was mostly a snooze. Nonetheless, Acheson Hotels v. Laufer produced an interesting--and unintentionally ironic--separate opinion by Justice Thomas. Let me explain. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines disability discrimination to include failure to make reasonable accommodations . A federal regulation found at 28 CFR § 36.302 (e)(1)(ii) further states that hotels and motels must "[i]dentify and describe accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms offered through its reservations service in enough detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets his or her accessibility needs." Deborah Laufer (who uses a wheelchair) scours the Internet for hotel and motel listings that do not comply with the reg. She then sues them, sometimes settling for thousands of dollars. She grounds her ability to bring suit