Talks fail between casino, disabled rights group

Thursday, March 23, 2000 | 11:02 a.m.

Disabled Rights Action Committee activists took to the courts against the Rio hotel-casino, saying negotiations with the Las Vegas resort failed to make the hotel-casino retrofit all its shuttle buses in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

After an unsuccessful settlement conference March 2, DRAC made its application on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for a temporary restraining order and an injunction that would limit the Rio to using only wheelchair-accessible buses on its shuttle services.

The hearing for the TRO and preliminary injunction is set for March 27 in U.S. District Court.

DRAC activist Ronald Ray Smith sued the Rio on Aug. 4, 1998, alleging he couldn't board the Rio's shuttle buses in June and July of 1998 because three of its five buses lacked wheelchair lifts and one of the retrofitted buses had a defective wheelchair lift.

J. William Ebert, the Rio's attorney, could not be reached for comment.

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