SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND
BLAKE I. WINOKUR, DMD, P.C. d/b/a ROLLING HILLS DENTISTRY
AND 53 NORTH STREET, LLC
DJ # 202-14-279

The parties to this agreement (“Agreement”) are the United States of America and Blake I. Winokur, DMD, P.C. (the “Winkokur Practice”), doing business as Rolling Hills Dentistry, and 53 North Street, LLC (“53 North”). The parties hereby agree as follows:

1. BACKGROUND AND JURISDICTION
   1. 53 North is the owner of the building and premises located at 53 North Street, Danbury, Connecticut.  The Winokur Practice rents space for its dental practice from 53 North.  Dr. Blake I. Winokur is the controlling member of both the Winokur Practice and 53 North.
   2. The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, a component of the United States Department of Justice (“United States”), opened an investigation of the Winokur Practice pursuant to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§12181-12189, and its implementing regulations, 28 C.F.R. pt. 36.  The United States initiated its investigation upon the receipt of a complaint from an individual that the entrance to the Winokur Practice was not accessible.
   3. The United States is authorized to investigate alleged violations of Title III of the ADA.  Moreover, the United States is authorized, where appropriate, to use alternative means of dispute resolution, including settlement negotiations to resolve disputes.  If resolution is not achieved, the United States may bring a civil action in federal court in any case where the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that a pattern or practice of discrimination exists or where the case raises an issue of general public importance.  42 U.S.C. §§ 12188(b), 12212; 28 C.F.R. §§ 36.502, 36.503, 36.506.
   4. Title III of the ADA mandates that “[n]o individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation by any person who owns, leases (or leases to), or operates a place of public accommodation.”  42 U.S.C. § 12182(a).
   5. Both the landlord who owns the building that houses a place of public accommodation and the tenant who owns or operates the place of public accommodation are public accommodations subject to the requirements of the ADA.  28 C.F.R. § 36.201(b).  The Winokur Practice office location is a place of public accommodation within the meaning of Title III because it is a “professional office of a health care provider.”  42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)(F); 28 C.F.R. § 36.104(6).  53 North, as the landlord of the Winokur Practice location, and the Winokur Practice that owns, operates and leases the location, are both public accommodations subject to the requirements of Title III of the ADA.  28 C.F.R. § 36.104.
   6. The United States reviewed information provided by the Winokur Practice and 53 North, including original blueprints, blueprints of the altered toilet rooms, photographs of the exterior of the facility owned by 53 North, and photographs of the interior of the Winokur Practice facility and the common elements of the facility owned by 53 North.  The United States used the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, including the 1991 Standards defined at 28 C.F.R. Part 36, Appendix D, and the 2010 Standards defined at 28 C.F.R. § 36.104, to identify ADA violations, which were shared with the Winokur Practice and 53 North.
   7. The Winokur Practice facility is an existing facility originally constructed prior to the effective date of the ADA.  In 1995, a designated accessible toilet room was added inside the office space now occupied by the Winokur Practice.  Because the Winokur Practice’s facility was altered before March 15, 2012, elements that complied with the ADA’s requirements in the 1991 Standards are safe harbored.
2. REMEDIAL ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY 53 NORTH AND THE WINOKUR PRACTICE:
1. The Winokur Practice will make the following modifications to remedy violations of the ADA Standards in the toilet room of its dental office:
8. Within six months of the execution of this agreement, the Winokur Practice shall ensure that:
1. the mirror above the lavatory is installed with the bottom edge of the reflecting surface 40 inches maximum above the finish floor or a full length mirror is installed with the bottom edge of the reflecting surface 35 inches maximum above the finish floor in accordance with the 2010 Standards §§ 213.3.5 and 603.3;
2. the cup dispenser outlet is positioned so that it has a high side reach of 48 inches maximum and a low side reach of 15 inches minimum above the finish floor in accordance with the 2010 Standards §§ 213.2, 213.3, and 308.3.1; and
3. there is a coat hook with a high side reach of 48 inches maximum and a low side reach of 15 inches minimum above the finish floor in accordance with the 2010 Standards §§ 213.2, 213.3.7, 603.4, and 308.3.1.
2. 53 North will make the following modifications to barriers to physical accessibility in its medical office building:
9. Within eighteen months of the execution of this Agreement, in accordance with the 2010 ADA Standards § 206.7, 53 North shall install two platform lifts that fully comply with the 2010 ADA Standards § 410 in its interior stairways.  One lift shall permit access to the lower level of the facility and one lift shall permit access to the upper level of the facility.
3. Alterations
10. Any future alterations, as defined in 42 U.S.C. § 12183 and 28 C.F.R. § 36.402(b), made to the Winkour Practice facility or the 53 North facility and not described in this Agreement shall comply in all respects with the ADA, its implementing regulations, and the 2010 Standards.
11. If an alteration affects or could affect the usability of or access to an area of the facility that contains a primary function, that alteration shall be made so as to ensure that, to the maximum extent feasible, the path of travel to the altered areas are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs, unless the cost and scope of such alterations is disproportionate to the cost of the overall alteration.  42 U.S.C. § 12183(a); 28 C.F.R. § 36.403. 
3. IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF AGREEMENT
12. In consideration of the terms of this Agreement, the United States agrees to refrain from filing a civil suit based on the allegations raised in DJ# 202-14-279, except as provided in paragraph 15.
13. The United States does not assert that this Agreement or the modifications contemplated herein will bring the Winokur Practice or 53 North into compliance with all aspects of the ADA, and nothing in this Agreement is intended to constitute an interpretation of the legal requirements of the ADA by the United States.  Rather, the parties enter into this Agreement for the purpose of compromising disputed claims and avoiding litigation.  This Agreement is a compromise and it shall not be used or introduced into evidence in any other case or proceeding other than between the parties to this Agreement.
14. The United States may review compliance with this Agreement at any time.  Upon reasonable advance notice to the Winokur Practice and 53 North, the Winokur Practice and 53 North shall permit the United States and any person acting on its behalf unlimited access to the Winokur Practice facility and the 53 North facility to review compliance with the ADA and this Agreement.
15. If the United States believes that the Winokur Practice and/or 53 North has violated this Agreement or any requirement thereof, it agrees to notify Dr. Blake Winokur, in writing of the specific violation(s) alleged.  The Winokur Practice and/or 53 North shall have 30 days from its receipt of the notice to cure and/or respond in writing to the United States the alleged violation(s).  If the United States is unable to reach a satisfactory resolution of the issue or issues raised within 30 days of the date it provides notice to the Winokur Practice and/or 53 North, 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.
16. The Winokur Practice and 53 North shall provide certifications to the United States every six months until full compliance with this Agreement is achieved, in the form of a narrative report and photos showing that the items within this Agreement that each has agreed to correct have been so corrected.  The Winokur Practice shall include as an exhibit copies of any complaint, whether formal or informal, received during the reporting period alleging that the Winokur Practice facility did not comply with the ADA or that individuals with disabilities at the facility were subject to discrimination on the basis of disability.  The parties expressly agree that providing such certifications is essential to the enforcement of this Agreement, and that a failure to provide the certifications required by this paragraph constitutes a breach of this Agreement.
17. All notices, demands, reports or other communication to be provided to the United States pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing and delivered by U.S. mail or electronic mail to the following:

Jessica H. Soufer
Assistant U.S. Attorney
U.S. Attorney’s Office
157 Church Street, 25th Floor
New Haven, CT 06510
email: jessica.soufer@usdoj.gov

18. This Agreement is a public document.  A copy of this document or any information contained in it may be made available to any person.
19. Failure by the United States to enforce this entire Agreement or any provision thereof with regard to any deadline or any other provision herein shall not be construed as a waiver of its right to do so with regard to other deadlines and provisions of this Agreement.
20. This Agreement 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, shall be enforceable.  This Agreement is limited to the facts set forth herein and it does not purport to remedy any other potential violations of the ADA, including violations of the alterations or new construction provisions of the ADA, or any other Federal law.  This Agreement does not affect the continuing responsibility of the Winokur Practice and 53 North to comply with all aspects of the ADA.
21. If any provision of this Agreement is determined by any court to be unenforceable, the other terms of this Agreement shall nonetheless remain in full force and effect, provided, however, that if the severance of any such provision materially alters the rights or obligations of the parties, the United States, the Winokur Practice, and 53 North shall engage in good faith negotiations in order to adopt such mutually agreeable amendments to this Agreement as may be necessary to restore the parties as closely as possible to the initially agreed-upon relative rights and obligations.
22. A signor of this document in a representative capacity for an entity represents that they are authorized to bind such entity to this Agreement.
23. In the event the Winokur Practice or 53 North seeks to transfer or assign all or part of its interest or lease the premises, as a condition of sale, assignment, or lease, the Winokur Practice and/or 53 North shall obtain the written accession of the successor, assignee, or lessee, to any obligations remaining under this Agreement for the remaining term of the Agreement.
24. The Effective Date of this Agreement is the date of the last signature below. This Agreement shall remain in effect for two years from the Effective Date.

FOR THE UNITED STATES:

JOHN H. DURHAM
United States Attorney for the
District of Connecticut

By:/s/
JESSICA H. SOUFER
Assistant United States Attorney
157 Church Street, 25th Floor
New Haven, CT 06510

Dated: 4/29/20

FOR BLAKE I. WINOKUR, DMD, PC:

By: /s/
Blake I. Winokur
Member

FOR 53 NORTH STREET, LLC:

By:/s/
Blake I. Winokur
Member

Dated: 4/29/20