Hotel Must Be Allowed Jury Trial in Wheelchair User’s Suit

A hotel being sued by a wheelchair user was wrongly denied its constitutional right to a jury trial, a federal appeals panel ruled Tuesday.

Tsay JBR LLC’s writ of mandamus seeking a jury trial was granted by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Richard R. Clifton said in an opinion. The lawsuit from Theresa Brooke implicates both parties’ rights to have a jury trial since the relief she seeks is legal in nature, triggering the US Constitution’s Seventh Amendment, Clifton said.

Brooke attempted to access the Ramada by Wyndham Burbank Airport hotel in California, owned by ...