SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

AND THE OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF

THE LOG CABIN RESTAURANT

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE COMPLAINT NUMBER 202-70-32

BACKGROUND

1. This matter was initiated by a complaint filed under title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-12189, with the United States Department of Justice ("Department") against Kent and Debra Phillips ("Owner/Operator"), the owners and operators of the Log Cabin Restaurant ("Restaurant"), located at 10058 Highway 72, Loudon, Tennessee. The complainant, an individual with a disability, alleges that on September 4, 2002, he was told to leave the Restaurant because he was accompanied by a service animal.
2. The ADA requires that public accommodations make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures to permit the use of service animals by people with disabilities. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii); 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c).
3. The Owner/Operator agrees to modify its policies and practices, as outlined in this Settlement Agreement ("Agreement"), to ensure that individuals who use service animals have an opportunity to use the services provided by the Restaurant that is equal to that of others.

JURISDICTION

4. The Restaurant is an establishment serving food or drink and, as such, is a place of public accommodation. 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)(B); 28 C.F.R. § 36.104. Kent and Debra Phillips own and operate the Restaurant and, as such, are a public accommodation covered by title III of the ADA. 28 C.F.R. § 36.104.
5. The Attorney General is authorized under section 308 of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12188, to investigate complaints and bring a civil action under title III in any situation where a pattern or practice of discrimination is believed to exist or where a matter of general public importance is raised.
6. The parties to the Agreement are the Department and the Owner/Operator of the Restaurant. In light of this Agreement, the parties have determined that Department of Justice complaint 202-70-32 can be resolved without litigation and have prepared and agreed to the terms of this Settlement Agreement.
7. In consideration of the terms of this Agreement, the Attorney General agrees to refrain from undertaking further investigation or filing a civil suit in this matter regarding the areas covered under the Remedial Action section of this Agreement, except as provided in the Enforcement and Implementation sections of the Agreement.

REMEDIAL ACTION

8. As soon as practicable, but in no event more than thirty days (30) from the effective date of the Agreement, the Owner/Operator agrees to do the following:
9. The Owner/Operator shall post the following notice, in 24 font print or larger, in a conspicuous place in the Restaurant:

   "Individuals with disabilities and their service animals are welcome at the Log Cabin Restaurant." (Attached hereto as Exhibit A.)

10. The Owner/Operator shall adopt and distribute to all Restaurant employees the Log Cabin Restaurant Policy Regarding Service Animals for Customers with Disabilities (attached hereto as Exhibit B). The Owner/Operator shall train the Restaurant's current employees as to their obligations under the ADA with respect to service animals so as to ensure that persons with disabilities accompanied by service animals have access to its Restaurant equal to persons without disabilities. Furthermore, during the life of the Agreement, employees hired by the Owner/Operator to work at the Restaurant shall be trained and informed of the Restaurant's service animal policy within 24 hours of hire.
11. The Owner/Operator, within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this Agreement, shall submit a written report with photographs to the Department outlining its compliance with Paragraph 9, above.

ENFORCEMENT

12. If at any time the Owner/Operator desires to modify any portion of this Agreement because of changed conditions making performance impossible or impractical or for any other reason, it will promptly notify the Department in writing, setting forth the facts and circumstances thought to justify modification and the substance of the proposed modification. Until there is written Agreement by the Department to the proposed modification, the proposed modification will not take effect. These actions must receive the prior written approval of the Department, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
13. The Department may review compliance with this Agreement at any time. If the Department believes that the Owner/Operator has failed to comply in a timely manner with any requirement of this Agreement without obtaining sufficient advance written agreement with the Department for a modification of the relevant terms, the Department will so notify the Owner/Operator in writing and it will attempt to resolve the issue or issues in good faith. If the Department is unable to reach a satisfactory resolution of the issue or issues raised within thirty (30) days of the date it provides notice to the Owner/Operator, it may institute a civil action in federal district court to enforce the terms of this Agreement or title III and may, in such action, seek any relief available under law.
14. For purposes of the immediately preceding paragraph, it is a violation of this Agreement for the Owner/Operator to fail to comply in a timely manner with any of its requirements without obtaining sufficient advance written Agreement with the Department for an extension of the relevant time frame imposed by the Agreement.
15. Failure by the Department to enforce this entire Agreement or any of its provisions or deadlines shall not be construed as a waiver of the Department's right to enforce other deadlines and provisions of this Agreement.
16. This Agreement shall be binding on the Owner/Operator, its agents and employees. In the event the Owner/Operator seeks to transfer or assign all or part of its interest in any facility covered by this Agreement, and the successor or assignee intends on carrying on the same or similar use of the facility, as a condition of sale the Owner/Operator shall obtain the written accession of the successor or assignee to any obligations remaining under this Agreement for the remaining term of this Agreement.

IMPLEMENTATION

17. The effective date of this Agreement is the date of the last signature below.
18. This Agreement, including Exhibits A and B, constitutes the entire Agreement between the parties on the matters raised herein, and no other statement, promise, or agreement, either written or oral, made by either party or agents of either party, that is not contained in this written Agreement, will be enforceable under its provisions.
19. This Agreement is limited to the facts set forth above and does not purport to remedy any other potential violations of the ADA or any other Federal law.
20. This Agreement does not affect the Owner/Operator's continuing responsibility to comply with all aspects of title III of the ADA. In particular, title III imposes an obligation to make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or procedures, when the modifications are necessary to afford goods, services, and facilities to individuals with disabilities. This obligation must be continuously re-visited, particularly where the financial resources available to a public accommodation may improve over time.
21. A copy of this document or any information contained in it will be made available to any person by the Owner/Operator or the Department upon request.
22. This Agreement will remain in effect for two (2) years from the effective date of this Agreement.
    
23. The person signing this document for the Owner/Operator represents that he/she is authorized to bind the Owner/Operator to this Agreement.
    

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND THEIR
SERVICE ANIMALS
ARE WELCOME AT
THE LOG CABIN RESTAURANT

LOG CABIN RESTAURANT POLICY REGARDING SERVICE ANIMALS FOR CUSTOMERS WITH DISABILITIES

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Log Cabin Restaurant is committed to permitting the use of service animals by its customers with disabilities.  Service animals play an important role in ensuring the independence of people with disabilities, and it is therefore our policy to welcome any animal that is individually trained to assist a person with a disability into our restaurant. 

Service animals are trained to provide assistance to persons with disabilities.  Service animals, which are often but not always dogs, come in all breeds and sizes.  They may be trained either by an organization or by an individual with a disability, need not be certified or licensed, and provide a wide range of services that may or may not be identifiable, including but not limited to: (1) assisting persons with mobility impairments by balancing, carrying, and recovering dropped or mislaid belongings, as well as other functions; (2) assisting people with hearing impairments by alerting them to sounds, obstacles, and the presence of others; (3) assisting people with vision impairments by alerting them to danger, guiding them, and performing other related functions; and (4) assisting people susceptible to seizures by alerting them to the onset of a seizure, cushioning their fall, reviving them, keeping other people at a safe distance, and mitigating any possible injury.

If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability.  However, you must not ask a customer with a disability for proof of his or her disability, nor may you require proof or certification of the animal's training or vaccination.  Service animals do not always have a sign or symbol indicating they are service animals.  The Log Cabin Restaurant does not require its customers with service animals to pay any surcharge or deposit.

In the event that a particular service animal's behavior poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others, the Log Cabin Restaurant has the right to exclude the animal from its facility at that time, but may not refuse service to that individual with a disability when he or she is not accompanied by a service animal.  Moreover, the Log Cabin Restaurant will not exclude a particular animal based on past experience with other animals.  Each situation will be considered individually.

Please handle any customer inquiries or complaints about this policy in accordance with our usual procedures by contacting one of the owners of the Log Cabin Restaurant, Kent Phillips or Debra Phillips.

October 09, 2008