A man says he wasn't able to park his van in a handicap accessible space at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club because van was simply too ugly.
In court documents Joseph Lee, a retired Marine, says for the 20 years his almost daily routine was to park his Ford E250 Supervan in the handicap parking space closest to the entrance. After a long day at the races, he would return to his van rest and take his medications, however, in September 2010 the documents say that came to an end.
Lee says a club employee told him, "that he had to park in the dirt parking lot in the back, distantly located from the front entrance." According to Lee, he met with an investigator from the California Horse Racing Board and to club employees to try to find a solution and failed.
Court documents say "Mr. Lee has heard scuttlebutt that the orders prohibiting him from parking in the handicap parking space came from a Mr. Brubaker ("the boss") who is "cleaning things up" and this was a decision based on aesthetics (his van is ugly)."
Lee suffers from Cervical Myelopathy, spinal cord injuries, nerve and bone damage, partial paralysis on the right side of his body, and other ailments that impair his ability to walk.
Mr. Lee and his attorneys are asking for the club to comply with disability laws and pay damages under the California Disabled Persons Act, which provides a minimum of $4000 in damages, plus pay Mr. Lee's attorneys fees.
The thoroughbred club refused to comment.
