Woman sues church, Candy Kitchen to put in ramp

A Hampstead woman who uses a wheelchair is suing an owner of Frederick 's Candy Kitchen in federal court for discriminating against her by not allowing her full entrance into the store, she claims in the lawsuit.

Also named as a defendant in the complaint is the Evangelical Reformed Church of Frederick , which owns the building where the Candy Kitchen operates.

Complainant Marilynn Phillips has post-polio syndrome and uses a wheelchair for mobility.

Phillips' lawsuit states that a 31Ú2- to 5-inch step outside the entrance of the store constitutes an architectural barrier to Phillips under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.

By failing to remove the barrier, the lawsuit states that the Candy Kitchen and the Evangelical Reformed Church of Frederick have discriminated against Phillips and others with disabilities by not allowing them the full and equal enjoyment of the store and its services.

The complaint asks in part that the U.S. District Court of the District of Maryland order the Candy Kitchen to alter or renovate the entrance to make it readily accessible by people with disabilities under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Phillips has also asked the court to award attorneys' fees and other litigation costs.

Barbara Kershner Daniel, senior pastor at the Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ, said the church received a summons last week and is working with a lawyer on how to respond to a mid-November deadline.

Phillips said via e-mail that about three years ago on a visit to Frederick , she and her husband wanted to shop at Candy Kitchen.

The only door was not wheelchair accessible, she wrote, but owner John Leos told her he would lift her into the store.

Phillips declined and explained it would be easy to provide a wheelchair ramp. She later filed a complaint of discrimination in a public accommodation with the Maryland Commission on Human Relations.

After years of waiting for the commission to act, Phillips withdrew her complaint and filed suit in federal court. Her lawyer formalized the complaint on Sept. 24, she wrote.

"It is important to underscore that accessibility is a civil rights issue, and that ADA is, in fact, based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (racial equality and equal access to public accommodations for racial minorities)," she wrote.

Kershner Daniel said the church has fully cooperated with the Commission on Human Relations and thought it was going to mediation with Phillips.

She said when the church began looking into compliance regulations, they discovered a ramp with the proper slope would jut into the sidewalk, impeding foot traffic.

Daniel said she was surprised Phillips had filed a lawsuit in federal court.

"We are concerned about hospitality issues, and took this very seriously," she said.

In the meantime, the church plans to install a bell someone could ring to call for assistance and has purchased a portable ramp for entrances to the building, Daniel said.

Copyright 2009 The Frederick News-Post. All rights reserved.