THE DERBY CITY NSCIA NEWSLETTER

Message From the President

Dear Members & Friends-

In lieu of this month's meeting we will have our annual Christmas party at Highland Court apartments; 1720 Richmond Drive at 6:30 on December 20. If you need directions, call Buddy at 458-0233 or David at 589-6620.

January's meeting will be held at Frazier Rehab; 6:30; 4th floor dining hall.

Every article in this issue is from NewMobility.com -ed.

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CRUISE CASE

On September 28 the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that will decide once in for all if cruise ships docking in the U.S. but flying foreign flags must comply with such U.S. laws as the ADA. This dispute began in 1998 when disabled passengers of the Norwegian Cruise Lines were charged extra for accessible cabins only to discover the cabins weren't even accessible.

"It was my very first cruise," says plaintiff Doug Spector, 45, from Houston, TX. "I didn't want to sue. I actually went straight to their top attorney to just express that I felt I was discriminated against because they charged me $900 more than the other passengers because I use a scooter." The cabin had a step up into it. as did the bathroom and even the shower. Other aspects of the ship and cruise were also highly inaccessible. "It put a damper on the whole reason I was going on a cruise anyway. I wanted to relax, not be a contestant on Fear Factor," says Spector, who just wanted his money back initially.

"Right now we're fighting for the right to bring the lawsuit. The Court's going to determine whether we have a right to sue," says Spector's attorney, David George. "Norwegian's saying the cruise industry is exempt from the law because its ships are flagged in foreign countries. Even though the ships are based in Miami, all the people who cruise are Americans, and the ships leave from the U.S. and come back to the U.S., they claim they don't have to follow the laws of the U.S." The decision is expected to come down early next year.