Settlement reached between veteran with service dog, LexLive

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) — A settlement over an ADA complaint concerning LexLive and a veteran with a service dog has been reached, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

According to the investigation, the attorney’s office received a complaint from a veteran with a disability, who uses a service dog, alleging that a manager at LexLive’s Corner Bar forced her and her friends to leave the bar because she was accompanied by her service animal.

“Under the ADA, restaurants and bars, as public accommodations, are required to ensure proper access to their customers with disabilities,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, in a press release. “This includes allowing service dogs, which are a necessary means for many with disabilities. We remain committed to ensuring that individuals with disabilities have proper access under the ADA, and we are pleased that LexLive has agreed to modify its policies and practices to comply with the Act.”

Under the settlement agreement, LexLive, which is owned by Big Picture Ventures, will adopt and implement a service animal policy; provide training on the service animal policy to employees and managers; post the policy in public areas; pay $1,000 in damages to the veteran; and pay a $500 civil penalty to the United States.

Under federal law, private entities that own or operate places of “public accommodation,” including restaurants and bars, are required to modify their policies, practices, or procedures—such as a no pet policy—to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability. A service animal generally may go wherever the public is allowed, and a public accommodation may not require documentation about the service animal, the attorney’s office added.

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Pond, in coordination with the Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.