Settlement of Title III Case Against Publix Supermarkets

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Final approval of a compliance agreement has been reached in U.S. District Court on a federal class-action suit against Publix Super Markets Inc. The suit was filed by people with disabilities, and resulted in changes being made in Publix stores.

Lakeland-based Publix has agreed to pay up to $160,000 in lawyer fees, costs and litigation expenses for the disabled plaintiffs, spokeswoman Maria Brous said, and up to $100,000 to cover any additional fees during the six-year period it has to implement the terms of the settlement.

Brous said in May the chain already had reached 85 percent compliance in the 1998 suit, and Monday added that the percentage has increased. She said Publix has made changes over the years in parking lots, restrooms and at ATMs. The chain has more than 850 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The suit, Brous said previously, originated over issues found at five or six stores in the Miami-Dade County area. An agreement was reached between the plaintiffs and Publix to involve all the stores in the settlement.