Taco Bell Drive-Thru Discriminates Against Hearing-Impaired, Lawsuit Alleges

A deaf consumer has filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell Corp. and two
franchisees alleging the company discriminated against her by refusing
to allow her to order from the drive-through window. Cirrincione v. Taco
Bell Corp., No. 33-0001 (D.N.J., filed July 13, 2016). At one location, the
plaintiff alleges she wrote her order on a piece of paper and handed it to
a Taco Bell employee at the drive-through window, and a manager then
“berated Plaintiff for utilizing the drive through and for placing her order
at the ‘pick-up’ window” because it “interfered with the desired flow of
business.”

At another location, the plaintiff asserts she again wrote her order and
handed it to an employee, then “the note was slipped back through the
drive-through window,” the window was shut and the order was not
processed, “and no Taco Bell employee communicated with Plaintiff in
any way, leaving Plaintiff humiliated, frustrated, and confused.” She
alleges she then entered the store and “attempted to get the attention
of the employees therein, but each and every one of them simply
ignored her. She left without being served.” For alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and New Jersey Law Against
Discrimination, the plaintiff seeks an order compelling Taco Bell “to
develop, implement, promulgate, and comply with a policy prohibiting
future discrimination” and a training program as well as damages and
attorney’s fees.

Issue 611