## Facts

- Diane G. Emery had cystic fibrosis, a progressive genetic disease affecting the respiratory and digestive systems; the court found it substantially impaired her major life activity of breathing.
- Medical testimony showed environmental tobacco smoke irritates respiratory tissue, increases lung mucus, and can increase infection risk for people with cystic fibrosis; Emery’s physician advised avoiding smoke as much as possible due to potentially life-threatening effects.
- Patricia L. Young had allergies and asthma, but the court found she “leads a normal life” and her conditions did not substantially impair any major life function.
- Caravan of Dreams, Inc. operated a Fort Worth, Texas music and entertainment venue open to the public and allowed smoking inside.
- The venue designated the first two rows as nonsmoking seating but otherwise permitted smoking in the theater.
- Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief requiring the venue to prohibit smoking in the theater whenever they wished to attend performances.
- Evidence indicated a total smoking ban would significantly harm the business, including effects on patron attendance and the willingness of certain performers to appear at a smoke-free venue.

## Issues

1. Whether each plaintiff had a “disability” under the ADA, defined as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
2. Whether allowing smoking (with limited nonsmoking seating) constituted Title III discrimination by failing to make “reasonable modifications” in policies when necessary to afford access to a public accommodation.
3. Whether the requested modification—banning smoking in the theater during Emery’s attendance—was required as reasonable, or instead was effectively a fundamental alteration or excessive burden on the public accommodation.

## Decision

- Young was not an individual with a disability under the ADA because her allergies and asthma did not substantially limit a major life activity.
- Emery was an individual with a disability under the ADA because cystic fibrosis substantially limited her major life activity of breathing.
- The venue did not violate Title III by refusing to impose a total smoking ban during Emery’s attendance because the requested modification was not a reasonable modification under 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(i) given the nature and economics of the business.
- The court denied injunctive relief and entered judgment for Caravan of Dreams, Inc.

## Legal Principles

- A plaintiff claiming Title III protection must show an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity; medical diagnoses alone are insufficient without substantial functional limitation.
- Title III defines discrimination to include failure to make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, or procedures when necessary to provide individuals with disabilities access to a public accommodation’s goods and services.
- A requested policy change is not required where it is not a “reasonable modification” in light of its effect on the operation and economic viability of the public accommodation.
- Even when a disability-related condition makes exposure to a common environmental condition dangerous, Title III does not necessarily require a public accommodation to restructure core operating practices on a patron-by-patron basis.

## Conclusion

The court found one plaintiff was not disabled and the other was disabled, but it rejected injunctive relief because compelling a performance-by-performance smoking ban was not a reasonable modification under ADA Title III for this entertainment venue.


Emery v. Caravan of Dreams, Inc., 879 F. Supp. 640 (N.D. Tex. 1995)