The court of appeals reversed a judgment. The court held that, under the Americans With Disabilities Act, a movie theater operator may be required to provide “auxiliary aids and services” which would allow movies to be enjoyed by visually and hearing impaired patrons.
Frederick Lindstrom, who was functionally deaf, and Larry Wanger, who was functionally blind, sued the operator of a chain of movie theaters for failing to accommodate their disabilities. Lindstrom and Wanger argued that multiple technologies were available to the operator, Harkins Amusement Enterprises, Inc., which, if used, would have permitted deaf and/or blind patrons to attend movies unhindered by their disabilities. These technologies included open and closed captioning for deaf patrons and audio descriptions for blind patrons. Lindstrom and Wanger alleged causes of action for violation of both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Arizonans with Disabilities Act (AzDA).
