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"Millionaire" Back in Legal Hot Seat
A federal appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a lawsuit filed in 2000 by a man who claimed the ABC quiz show violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by requiring potential contestants to take a touch-tone phone quiz--one which doesn't accommodate the hearing impaired.
A federal judge tossed out Peter F. Liberti Jr.'s claim back in 2000, claiming the ADA wasn't broad enough to require equal access to a game show's phone-in quiz system.
But this week, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided otherwise, saying Liberti does have a valid claim, and likened the phone qualifying system to other "places of public accommodation" that are covered by the ADA. According to the Associated Press, the panel has ordered the judge to review his original decision.
Of course, by the time the lawsuit does get heard, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire might not even be around anymore. Once a red-hot hit for ABC, the Regis Philbin quizzer struggled this year in the ratings, and the network has pulled the show from its fall lineup. Millionaire will drop off the network's regular schedule following a special 90-minute edition next Thursday.
However, a new syndicated version hosted by The View's Meredith Vieira will debut in September, and ABC still expects to bring back Millionaire for the occasional special.
Liberti filed the lawsuit after writing and emailing ABC (to no avail) asking how a hearing-impaired person could qualify for the show. To qualify for Millionaire, would-be hot-seaters must call the show's 800 number and answer a series of questions.
ABC insisted that the show had, in fact, made accommodations for many disabled potential contestants. Still, Liberti sued, seeking $1 million in damages or a fair tryout using another method.
"He cannot hear things over a telephone, and because of that, the producers have essentially told him there's no place for him on their show," Liberti's attorney, Bruce A. Goldstein, said at the time. "What Mr. Liberti wants is an equal opportunity as guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act."
ABC, meanwhile, sticks by its claims that Millionaire's qualifying process is legally acceptable.
"We are confident that in the end the litigation will show that our practices comply fully with all applicable laws," a network rep told the AP.
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