Appellate Court Upholds Jury's Unanimous Defense Verdict Received by Burnham Brown Attorneys Cathy Arias and Claudia Leed

On fourteen separate occasions, Plaintiffs allegedly visited two McDonald's restaurants and claimed that they were improperly denied service and therefore their civil rights were violated.  They claimed that they were denied service on the basis of their race and/or disability.  The plaintiffs were accompanied by dogs when they visited the restaurants.  Two plaintiffs claimed post traumatic stress disorder.  One plaintiff claimed emotional distress.  All plaintiffs sought statutory penalties under the Unruh Act.    Plaintiffs demanded $2.5 million before trial and $700,000 during trial.

The defense disputed the quantity and nature of plaintiffs' visits and introduced evidence of at least a dozen lawsuits brought by the plaintiffs against other businesses.  The defense introduced evidence that the refusal to allow dogs in the restaurant was for a valid, non-discriminatory reason.  Namely, the dogs were not identified as service animals, nor were they in fact acting as service animals.  The defendants claimed that the only reason the dogs were brought into the restaurants were to create a claim. 

The jury unanimously rejected all of plaintiffs' claims and the court dismissed plaintiffs' claims for injunctive relief under California Business and Professions Code § 17200 and the defense recieved $500,000 in fees and costs.

Following the trial, plaintiffs appealled and asked for a new trial.  The Appellate Court upheld the jury's verdict and awarded defendants their costs of appeal.  The appellate decision is now final and Burnham Brown's client can now enjoy an ultimate victory.

September 2006