October 3, 2019 – Sacramento, CA – Rena Wyman, a resident of Willows, CA who has a physical disability and travels to events in a wheelchair, has settled the action brought in Sacramento federal court in 2018 against High Times Productions, Inc. (“High Times”) and California Exposition and State Fair (“Cal Expo”) alleging that events at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds and events organized and hosted by High Times, including the annual Cannabis Cup, were not fully accessible to people with disabilities.
Ms. Wyman and her attorneys, Ernest Galvan and Cara Trapani of Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld in San Francisco, negotiated changes in policies, practices, and procedures with Cal Expo and High Times to improve access to their events for people with disabilities.
“I am very pleased that Cal Expo and High Times have committed to implementing changes that will make their events more fully accessible to people with disabilities,” said Ms. Wyman. “It was shocking to me to find that they were so unapproachable – other major venues have established best practices for disability access long ago – so it’s gratifying to see them coming into compliance with the law and making the effort to provide people with disabilities with equal access.”
High Times and Cal Expo have agreed to extensive efforts to improve disability access at their events. Based on the terms of the settlement, Cal Expo has agreed to provide more detailed information about disability access on its website, including a 24-hour help number for people with disabilities, and create an Equal Access Guide similar to that provided by other venues in California such as the Orange County Fair, Los Angeles County Fair, and Coachella. High Times has agreed to implement enhanced channels of communication about disability access, provide accessible restroom facilities, accessible routes through event grounds, accessible viewing areas for concerts, as well adopting a more robust accessibility policy for all its events.
These improvements will not only benefit Ms. Wyman, but will also help to ensure that all individuals with disabilities realize their right to live in the world on equal footing—a standard Ms. Wyman has dedicated much of her life to upholding.
The case was Wyman v. High Times, Inc., United States District Court, Eastern District of California, Case No. 2:18-cv-02621-TLN-EFB. The public settlement agreements are available here:
Wyman v. High Times Notice of Settlement and Stipulation of Dismissal of Case, 09-30-2019
Wyman v High Times Order Granting Stipulated Request to Dismiss Case, 09-30-2019