MANHATTAN, N.Y., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal District Court in Manhattan reinstated a breach of contract action against ABC Bus Inc. for selling buses equipped with wheelchair lifts that do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and were manufactured by Los Angeles-based Ricon Corporation, a subsidiary of global Wabtec, Inc. (NYSE: WAB).

"Because of Ricon's and ABC's refusal to fix the problem specifically identified by two government agencies with jurisdiction over ADA issues, Fung Wah Bus Transportation really had no choice but to bring the lawsuit. These companies' refusal to do the right thing is particularly troubling since we believe that ADA non-compliant chair lifts have been installed on tens of thousands of buses operating in the United States," said Robert Y. Lewis of Freeman Lewis LLP, attorneys for plaintiff based in New York City.

The Ricon wheelchair lifts installed in buses sold by ABC and others have a platform that lifts a wheelchair and its disabled rider from the ground to bus level. A portion of the floor of the Ricon "Baylifts" in the buses purchased by plaintiff Fung Wah Bus Transportation, based in New York City, is without side barriers as required by the ADA to prevent the wheelchair from rolling off the platform, despite assurances made by both Ricon and ABC that the lifts were fully ADA compliant.

During an ADA compliance review of Fung Wah, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) noted the absence of the side barriers on the Baylift. Fung Wah purchased a number of buses from ABC with ADA non-compliant lifts between July 2005 and January 2007. After learning of the defect, Fung Wah, at the direction of the DOJ, asked both ABC and Ricon to fix or replace the lifts, but both companies refused in breach of their express and implied warranties. But on their websites both Ricon and ABC boast that the lifts are fully ADA compliant.

Lewis' investigation reveals that the government has determined that another style of Ricon lifts known as the "Mirage", found on the buses of the Pueblo, Colorado, Transit Authority, does not comply with the ADA for the same reason that the Baylift is non-compliant.

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SOURCE Freeman Lewis LLP