PGA TOUR, Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 661, 28 (2001)

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688

PGA TOUR, INC. v. MARTIN

Opinion of the Court

walk, often to relieve stress or for other strategic reasons.49

As NIKE TOUR member Eric Johnson testified, walking allows him to keep in rhythm, stay warmer when it is chilly, and develop a better sense of the elements and the course than riding a cart.50

Even if we accept the factual predicate for petitioner's argument—that the walking rule is "outcome affecting" because fatigue may adversely affect performance—its legal position is fatally flawed. Petitioner's refusal to consider Martin's personal circumstances in deciding whether to accommodate his disability runs counter to the clear language and purpose of the ADA. As previously stated, the ADA was enacted to eliminate discrimination against "individuals" with disabilities, 42 U. S. C. § 12101(b)(1), and to that end Title III of the Act requires without exception that any "policies, practices, or procedures" of a public accommodation be reasonably modified for disabled "individuals" as necessary to afford access unless doing so would fundamentally alter what is offered, § 12182(b)(2)(A)(ii). To comply with this command, an individualized inquiry must be made to determine whether a specific modification for a particular person's disability would be reasonable under the circumstances as well as necessary for that person, and yet at the same time not work a fundamental alteration. See S. Rep. No. 101-116, at 61; H. R. Rep. No. 101-485, pt. 2, at 102 (public accommodations "are required to make decisions based on facts applicable to individuals"). Cf. Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U. S. 471, 483 (1999) ("[W]hether a person has a disability under the ADA is an individualized inquiry").

49 That has been so not only in the SENIOR PGA TOUR and the first two stages of the Q-School, but also, as Martin himself noticed, in the third stage of the Q-School after petitioner permitted everyone to ride rather than just waiving the walking rule for Martin as required by the District Court's injunction.

50 App. 201. See also id., at 179-180 (deposition testimony of Gerry Norquist); id., at 225-226 (trial testimony of Harry Toscano).

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