Jose Lopez sued Cedar Fair, L.P. in the Circuit Court of Clay County, Missouri, raising claims of disability discrimination in a place of public accommodation under the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA). The circuit court entered judgment in favor of Cedar Fair after a jury trial, and Lopez appealed the decision to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.
Factual Overview
Lopez, who is blind, alleged that Cedar Fair discriminated against him based on his disability on two occasions in the summer of 2017 at their amusement parks, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. The first incident occurred in June 2017 at Oceans of Fun, where Lopez claimed Cedar Fair failed to provide him with an accommodation when he rode the Aruba Tuba waterslide. Lopez alleged that he requested assistance exiting the catch pool but did not receive help from lifeguards.
The second incident took place in July 2017 at Worlds of Fun, where Lopez wanted to ride the Autobahn bumper cars. Cedar Fair required Lopez to have a supervising companion to ride, citing their Ride Admission Policy. When Lopez’s personal assistant and her daughter were unable to accompany him, a park ambassador offered to ride with Lopez, which he accepted.
Lopez filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and subsequently filed this lawsuit, seeking actual and punitive damages. The case proceeded to a four-day jury trial, where the jury ultimately returned a verdict in favor of Cedar Fair.
Legal Analysis
Admission of Safety-Related Evidence: Lopez argued that the trial court erred in admitting evidence related to the safety requirements of the Autobahn ride. The court found no abuse of discretion, ruling that the evidence was relevant to determining whether Lopez had a “disability” as defined by the MHRA, specifically whether he could utilize the Autobahn without a reasonable accommodation.
Exclusion of Videos: The court rejected Lopez’s claim that the trial court erred in excluding three cell phone videos showing individuals riding the Autobahn. The court found that Lopez failed to demonstrate prejudice from the exclusion, as the videos were cumulative to other evidence admitted at trial.
Evidence and Argument Related to the Amusement Ride Safety Act (ARSA): The court found no error in admitting evidence related to ARSA, stating that it provided context for Cedar Fair’s rider criteria and Ride Admission Policy. The court also found no abuse of discretion in overruling Lopez’s objection to Cedar Fair’s closing argument regarding ARSA.
Admission of Evidence Regarding Assistant’s Payment: The court denied Lopez’s claim of error regarding the admission of evidence that his assistant was paid by the state, noting that Lopez failed to demonstrate how this evidence affected the outcome of his trial.
Jury Instructions: The court declined to review Lopez’s claims of instructional error, as they were not preserved due to Lopez’s failure to object to the instructions during the trial.
Punitive Damages: The court found no prejudice resulted from the trial court’s directed verdict on punitive damages or the exclusion of evidence related to punitive damages, as Lopez did not prevail on his underlying claim for actual damages.
The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court in favor of Cedar Fair on all points raised by Lopez.
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