By Joyce Hanson

Law360 (July 10, 2020, 4:54 PM EDT) -- The parents of several children with disabilities such as autism sued three Pittsburgh-area amusement parks in Pennsylvania federal court on Friday, claiming their mandatory mask policies related to COVID-19 violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Led by Janine Wood, mother of a minor child with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the plaintiffs allege that their children's medically diagnosed disabilities prevent them from wearing masks, yet park company Palace Entertainment turned them away and told them it wouldn't make an exception to the corporate mask policy after they had bought season passes for Kennywood Park, Sandcastle Waterpark and the Idlewild and Soakzone park.

Wood claims that she has physical and mental conditions including anxiety disorder that limit her ability to think and breathe. On July 7, when she attempted to enter Idlewild with her disabled daughter, who also suffers from anxiety disorder as well as autism and ADHD, park staff refused to let them in unless they agreed to wear masks, Wood said.

"Plaintiffs were told they could not enter, or stay in the park, without wearing masks," according to the complaint. "Janine Wood explained that her daughter cannot wear a mask because of her autism. Idlewild security guards prevented entry and screamed at the child, causing her to have a mental breakdown and to break out in hives due to anxiety."

When the coronavirus pandemic struck Pennsylvania this spring, Gov. Tom Wolf on April 15 announced that Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of the state's Department of Health, would issue an order effective April 19 authorizing businesses to take disease control measures to protect employees and the public from the spread of infection, according to the suit.

The suit said that while Levine's order requires customers to wear masks, it also provides that individuals who can't wear a mask due to a medical condition "may enter the premises and are not required to provide documentation of such medical condition."

But the three Western Pennsylvania-based parks, which are all owned and operated by Newport Beach, California-based Palace Entertainment, have mistakenly adopted a corporate policy requiring all guests to wear masks when they enter the parks, with no exceptions, the suit said.

"Kennywood, Sandcastle and Idlewild's mask requirements are in direct contradiction to the order of the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, Pennsylvania Department of Health guidelines and the guidelines published by the United States Center for Disease Control," according to the suit. "Plaintiffs have each been denied full and equal access to the parks in violation of Title III of the ADA."

Also named as plaintiffs in the suit are Jackie Webber, the parent of a disabled 5-year-old who is nonverbal and autistic; Lisa Mazzoni, a wheelchair-bound mother with muscular dystrophy whose nonverbal 7-year-old son suffers from autism and sensory issues that prevent him from tolerating head coverings; and Ryan Walsh, an adult individual who has a medical diagnosis of anxiety and a doctor's excuse saying that he should not wear a mask.

The suit asserts violations of the ADA, retaliation and coercion related to threats made by park staff and negligence and reckless conduct. It seeks a court award of injunctive relief to force the parks to accommodate the plaintiffs' disabilities and compensatory and punitive damages for pain and suffering, anxiety and humiliation, loss of the ordinary pleasures of life and emotional distress.

Representatives for Wood and Palace did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment.

Wood is represented by Thomas B. Anderson of Thomson Rhodes & Cowie PC.

Counsel information for Palace Entertainment was not available.

The case is Wood et al. v. Palace Entertainment, case number 2:20-cv-01029, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

--Editing by Jay Jackson Jr.

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