WE WON!!!

ADAPT of WV would like to congradulate the members who were involved in the Yellow Cab Case, this is a great victory for the disability community.   This is an excelent example of what can happen when we assert our rights.  We would like to thank Michael Sharley, our Official ADAPT of WV Civil Rights Lawyer.

We Will Ride!!!

On September 9, ADAPT WV held a demonstration on the coarthouse square in Morgantown, Attorneys for The Yellow Cab Co. were attempting to have the case thrown out because there were no damages. ADAPT wants everyone to know that ACCESS IS A CIVIL RIGHT!, and WE WILL RIDE!

People with disabilities have a long history of problems with the Yellow Cab Co.  Since they are the only option many of us have after 5:00 p.m. we put up with it.  The time has come to kick some ass!  On September 29 the Yellow Cab Co. denied three ADAPT members a ride...MISTAKE!!!     An article from the Dominion Post a local newspaper;

Disabled riders sue taxi firm
Say Yellow Cab driver refused
service because of wheelchairs
BY ERINN HUTKIN
The Dominion Post
    Three wheelchair-bound Morgantown residents who say a Yellow Cab driver refused to give two of them a ride are suing the company for $100,000.
    Mickey Finn, Vicki Shaffer and Christopher Sunseri say they were targets of discrimination.  They filed their complaint Thursday in Monongalia County Circuit Court.
    They allege the driver refused to take Shaffer and Finn from Morgantown Mall to their homes because the pair, who have cerebral palsy, are confined to wheelchairs.
    Yellow Cab Manager Ron Simpkins said Thursday the driver no longer works for the company.  But an attorney for the three said they plan to follow through with their suit to make a point about a lack of transportation for the disabled.
    According to their complaint, the group was shopping at the mall Sept. 29. Shortly before the mall's 9 p.m. closing time, Finn asked a Carmike Cinemas employee to call for a taxi that could accommodate two people in wheelchairs.
    When the taxi arrived, Sunseri, Shaffer's aide, approached the driver and asked if he could open the trunk so the wheelchairs could be placed inside.
    According to the complaint, the driver said, "I'm not taking those kids in wheelchairs."  Sunseri said he knew the trunk was working because he had been in the same cab on Sept. 28 with another wheelchair user.
    The driver left without them and Yellow Cab did not send another cab when the three called back.  Eventually a friend picked them up.
    It was nearly 11 p.m. before the three returned to their homes.
    All three are members of Adapt, a national organization that deals with disability rights.  They contacted the West Virginia organizer of the group, Ken Ervin.
    Ervin said he phoned the company's owner, Bobby King, Sept. 30, but did not get a response.  Ervin said the driver's actions were a "blatant violation" of Title 3 of the Americans with Disabilibies Act.
    This portion of the act states: "Private entities providing taxi and limousine service may not discriminate on the basis of disability in providing that service.  For example, it is a violation of the ADA for a taxi to refuse to pick up a person because of his or her disability, or because the driver does not want to lift a wheelchair into the trunk or back seat of a taxi."
    Simpkins explained that Yellow Cab drivers lease taxis on a daily basis.  He said he revoked the driver's lease the day after Ervin complained.
    Ervin said the three will continue with their suit.  Revoking the driver's lease, he said, "is all well and good, but it doesn't solve the problem.  The larger issue is that drivers are not understanding that people with disailities need transportation getting from point A to point B."
    ervin said taxis are the only means of public transportation in Morgantown after 5 p.m.  He explained that going out after dark is often risky for disabled persons.
    "There are times when I'm not picked up, I'll be sitting there waiting and a taxi will drive right by me," he said.
    Morgantown lawyer Michael Sharley, who's representing Finn, Shaffer and Sunseri, said the defendants - the company, King and the driver - have 30 days to file a response to the complaint.
    Although the defendants are asking for $50,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages, Sharley said the complaint was filed to make a point about the lack of accessible transportation at night.
    Sharley said he feels his clients deserve compensation, however, for being left stranded.
    Shaffer, 26, said she hopes this will never happen again.
    "My mother went out and bought a pager in case I ever get stuck again," she said.  "I can't believe a cab company would do something like this."
 

   Because we didn't want to change anything at all about the way the artical was written we didn't change things like wheelchair-bound and confined to wheelchairs, although if there is any confusion Mickey Finn and Vicki Shaffer are neither wheelchair-bound nor are they confined to a wheelchair.  If anyone is upset at the lack of person-first language of the Dominion Post please respond to them. We plan to.