Area Man Suing 'Conan,' 'Dr. Drew' Shows

Lawyers for a San Gabriel Valley man with muscular dystrophy today sued the makers of "Dr. Drew's Lifechangers" and "Conan," alleging the television shows discriminate against people who use wheelchairs.

Emmanuel Ramirez, 36, contends in separate federal lawsuits filed in Los Angeles by the Disability Rights Legal Center that he was denied access to tapings of both talk shows last year.

According to the suit against Time Warner Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Distribution, Ramirez tried to get eight tickets, including one for wheelchair-accessible seating, for a "Lifechangers" taping at Victory Studios in Glendale.

The complaint alleges that Ramirez was refused tickets because the facility isn't wheelchair accessible.

Citing the Americans with Disabilities Act and related California civil rights laws, the lawsuit contends Ramirez was subjected to discriminatory seating policies.

The second complaint, naming Time Warner Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment, contends that Ramirez was unable to attend a Burbank taping of "Conan" because the studio could not fit his wheelchair-accessible van in  the lot's parking structure.

The suit further claims that there were a series of difficulties in placing his wheelchair at the taping.

A Warner Bros. corporate representative declined immediate comment.

"More than 20 years after the enactment of the ADA, violations of the statute's public accommodations title remain, by all accounts, widespread," said Michelle Uzeta, legal director of the DRLC. "Mr. Ramirez's experiences are not unique. He and others like him have been excluded from entertainment venues and recreational opportunities the general public takes for granted."

The lawsuits seek policy changes, general damages and the removal of barriers keeping Ramirez and others with disabilities from joining the shows' audiences.