452 F.

3d 94

G. David IVERSON and Access with Success, Inc., Plaintiffs,

Appellants,
v.
CITY OF BOSTON, Defendant, Appellee.
No. 05-2697.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard May 31, 2006.
Decided June 30, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED Nicholas S. Guerrera, with whom

Shaheen Guerrera & O'Leary LLC was on brief, for appellants.
Kate Cook, Assistant Corporation Counsel, for appellee.
Before SELYA, LIPEZ and HOWARD, Circuit Judges.
SELYA, Circuit Judge.

This case requires us to decide whether the self-evaluation and transition plan
regulations promulgated by the Attorney General under Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12131-12165, are
enforceable through a private right of action. Two of our sister circuits have
divided over the appropriate answer to this thorny question. Compare Ability
Ctr. of Greater Toledo v. City of Sandusky, 385 F.3d 901, 913-15 (6th Cir.
2004) (holding that the transition plan regulation is not so enforceable), with
Chaffin v. Kan. State Fair Bd., 348 F.3d 850, 857-60 (10th Cir.2003) (holding
that both the self-evaluation and transition plan regulations are enforceable in
that manner). After careful consideration, we conclude that recent Supreme
Court precedent dashes any hope that these regulations are so enforceable. We
also conclude that the plaintiffs' other arguments are unavailing and,
accordingly, affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment in the
defendant's favor.
I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff-appellant G. David Iverson resides in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a

paraplegic who uses a wheelchair in order to move about the city. Paraplegia
qualifies as a disability within the meaning of the ADA. See 42 U.S.C.
12102(2)(A) (defining "disability" for ADA purposes as "a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more ... major life activities").
Plaintiff-appellant Access with Success, Inc. (AWS) is a non-profit group, of
which Iverson is a member, that advocates equal access to public programs,
services, and facilities for disabled persons.

On August 20, 2004, the plaintiffs filed suit in the federal district court alleging
that defendant-appellee City of Boston had failed to provide disabled persons
with equal access to its programs, services, and facilities. The gravamen of the
complaint was that many municipal facilities, including streets, sidewalks, and
public buildings, lacked adequate means of ingress and egress for wheelchairbound persons. The complaint made particular mention of the condition of
municipal sidewalks, charging that they "lack proper curb cuts and/or curb
ramps" and "contain obstacles which block or impede the accessible path of
travel."

The plaintiffs' complaint contained three statements of claim. Count 1 alleged

that the self-evaluation and transition plan regulations promulgated by the
Attorney General under Title II of the ADA, see 28 C.F.R. 35.105,
35.150(d), imposed an affirmative obligation on the City both to evaluate its
conformance with the ADA and to make structural changes to bring its existing
facilities into compliance; that the City failed to satisfy the regulatory mandate
within the allotted time frame; and that the plaintiffs were entitled to remedy
this failure via a private right of action.

Count 2 of the complaint incorporated the allegations contained in count 1 and

charged that the City's default of its regulatory obligations could be corrected
through the instrumentality of a private right of action under section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act. See 29 U.S.C. 794(a) (providing that "[n]o otherwise
qualified individual with a disability ... shall, solely by reason of her or his
disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be
subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal
financial assistance"). The plaintiffs represent that counts 1 and 2 are intended
to be "mirror images" of each other. Since the parties have briefed and argued
this appeal as though the ADA and Rehabilitation Act claims are coterminous,
we construe counts 1 and 2 as presenting a single claim. Cf. Theriault v. Flynn,
162 F.3d 46, 48 n. 3 (1st Cir.1998) (noting that "Title II of the ADA was
expressly modeled after Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and is to be
interpreted consistently with that provision"). For ease in reference, we discuss

that claim in terms of the ADA.

6

Count 3 of the complaint asserted a parallel state-law cause of action under

Mass. Const. art. 114 and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, 103. The district court
dismissed that claim without prejudice for failure to exhaust state
administrative remedies. Inasmuch as the plaintiffs do not fault that dismissal,
we make no further allusion to count 3.

The City moved to dismiss. See Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b). As to counts 1 and 2, the
City proffered three grounds for dismissal: (i) that the plaintiffs failed to allege
any specific injury and, therefore, lacked standing to sue; (ii) that the selfevaluation and transition plan regulations were not enforceable by means of a
private right of action; and (iii) that the claims were time-barred.

The plaintiffs directed their opposition mainly to the standing challenge. In an

attempt to establish that Iverson and other wheelchair-bound persons within
AWS's constituency had suffered concrete injuries as a result of the City's
regulatory noncompliance, the plaintiffs served two affidavits.

In the first of these, Iverson chronicled his difficulties in operating his

wheelchair in the area near his home due to the substandard condition of
municipal streets and sidewalks, protested the dearth of accessible parking
spots in the neighborhoods he frequents, and complained of "numerous
obstacles to access" at the Boston Public Library. The second affidavit, from
another AWS member, contained comparable statements. These two affidavits,
the plaintiffs posited, defeated the claim that they lacked standing.

10

As to the second and third proffered grounds for dismissal, the plaintiffs'
opposition reiterated the bald-faced claim that the self-evaluation and transition
plan regulations were enforceable by private rights of action. The opposition
also explained why, in the plaintiffs' view, no applicable statute of limitations
barred the suit. The plaintiffs made no mention ofand no attempt to develop
any alternate theory of municipal liability.

11

While the plaintiffs maintained that the complaint contained sufficient

allegations to establish both standing and a right to relief under Title II, they
invited the district court, in the alternative, either to grant leave to amend the
complaint to incorporate the factual averments contained in the affidavits or to
treat the motion to dismiss as a motion for summary judgment (and, thus, bring
the affidavits into play). The district court accepted the second of these
alternatives and converted the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary

judgment. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

12

The court proceeded to grant summary judgment in the City's favor.

Acknowledging that the plaintiffs had encountered "hindrances" in the use of
public facilities and assuming that the City had failed seasonably to comply
with the self-evaluation and transition plan regulations,1 the court decided the
case on the ground that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated any causal
connection between the City's alleged regulatory noncompliance and the
plaintiffs' alleged injuries.

13

The plaintiffs filed a timely motion for reconsideration, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e),
asseverating that the district court's judgment rested upon two errors of law,
namely, (i) that in finding an absence of causation, the court applied an overly
demanding pleading standard and (ii) that the court had disregarded the
plaintiffs' barrier-removal claim. Following the summary denial of the motion
for reconsideration, this appeal ensued.
II. ANALYSIS

14

On appeal, the plaintiffs' principal position is that the self-evaluation and

transition plan regulations are enforceable via private rights of action and that
they made out a trialworthy issue as to whether the City had complied with
these regulations. Their fallback position is that the case, at the very least,
should have been allowed to proceed on their alternate barrier-removal theory.
Finally, the plaintiffs assign error to the denial of their motion for
reconsideration. After briefly delineating the standard of review, we consider
these points one by one.

A. The Standard of Review.

15

The applicable standard of review is familiar: we assay a district court's entry

of summary judgment de novo. See DePoutot v. Raffaelly, 424 F.3d 112, 117
(1st Cir.2005). In conducting this tamisage, we construe the evidence in the
light most flattering to the nonmovants (here, the plaintiffs) and indulge all
reasonable inferences in their favor. Garside v. Osco Drug, Inc., 895 F.2d 46,
48 (1st Cir.1990). We are not, however, tied to the district court's rationale but
may affirm the judgment on any ground revealed by the record. See Houlton
Citizens' Coal. v. Town of Houlton, 175 F.3d 178, 184 (1st Cir. 1999).

16

Summary judgment is appropriate only where the record, construed in the

manner limned above, discloses "no genuine issue of material fact" and

demonstrates that "the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of

law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). An issue is genuine if "it may reasonably be resolved
in favor of either party" at trial, Garside, 895 F.2d at 48, and material if it
"possess[es] the capacity to sway the outcome of the litigation under the
applicable law," Cadle Co. v. Hayes, 116 F.3d 957, 960 (1st Cir.1997) (citation
and internal quotation marks omitted). The nonmovant may defeat a summary
judgment motion by demonstrating, through submissions of evidentiary quality,
that a trialworthy issue persists. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-24,
106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Garside, 895 F.2d at 48. Withal, a
measure of factual specificity is required; "a conglomeration of `conclusory
allegations, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation' is insufficient
to discharge the nonmovant's burden." DePoutot, 424 F.3d at 117 (quoting
Medina-Munoz v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 896 F.2d 5, 8 (1st Cir.1990)).
B. The Regulatory Noncompliance Claim.
17

Congress enacted the ADA "to provide a clear and comprehensive national
mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with
disabilities." 42 U.S.C. 12101(b)(1). Title I of the ADA proscribes disabilityrelated discrimination in employment matters. See id. 12112. Title III
proscribes disability-related discrimination in the provision of public
accommodations such as hotels, restaurants, and theaters. See id. 12182,
12184. This case involves Title II, which broadly provides that "no qualified
individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from
participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities
of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity." Id.
12132. A "qualified individual with a disability" is

18

an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable modifications to

rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural, communication, or
transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the
essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation
in programs or activities provided by a public entity.

19

Id. 12131(2). The term "public entity" includes "any State or local
government" as well as "any department, agency, special purpose district, or
other instrumentality of a State or States or local government." Id. 12131(1)
(A)-(B). The City does not dispute that Iverson is a qualified individual with a
disability or that it is a public entity.

20

The clear purport of Title II is to guarantee that qualified disabled persons

enjoy meaningful access to public services, programs, and activities. See

Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509, 531-32, 124 S.Ct. 1978, 158 L.Ed.2d 820
(2004). To this end, the ADA authorizes the Attorney General to promulgate
regulations implementing its provisions. See 42 U.S.C. 12134(a).
21

Promulgated under this authority, the self-evaluation regulation directed all

public entities, by April 5, 1994, to "evaluate [their] current services, policies,
and practices, and the effects thereof" for compliance with Title II. 28 C.F.R.
35.105(a). If this self-evaluation indicates the need for modification of a public
service, policy, or practice in order to achieve Title II compliance, the public
entity is directed to make the modification. See id.

22

A second regulation addresses a public entity's responsibilities vis--vis

"existing facilities," a phrase that includes "all or any portion of [its] buildings,
structures, sites, complexes, ... roads, walks, [and] passageways" that were in
existence at the time of the ADA's enactment. Id. 35.104. Consistent with
Title II's emphasis on "program accessibility," the regulatory scheme generally
does not require public entities to retrofit their existing facilities. See Lane, 541
U.S. at 532, 124 S.Ct. 1978; see also 28 C.F.R. 35.150(a)(1). Rather, the
regulations permit a public entity to select among a number of alternatives for
accomplishing program accessibility, including the relocation of services, the
reassignment of personnel, and the structural modification of existing facilities.
See 28 C.F.R. 35.150(b)(1). In all events, public entities are excused from
undertaking any compliance measures that "impose an undue financial or
administrative burden, threaten historic preservation interests, or effect a
fundamental alteration in the nature of the service." Lane, 541 U.S. at 532, 124
S.Ct. 1978 (citing 28 C.F.R. 35.150(a)(2)-(3)).2

23

If structural changes to existing facilities are to be undertaken to accomplish

program accessibility, the transition plan regulation directs a qualifying public
entity to "develop, within six months of January 26, 1992, a transition plan
setting forth the steps necessary to complete such changes." 28 C.F.R.
35.150(d)(1). Public entities with responsibility over streets, roads, or
walkways bear an additional burden; the regulation requires those entities to
craft, in their transition plan, "a schedule for providing curb ramps or other
sloped areas where pedestrian walks cross curbs, giving priority to walkways
serving... State and local government offices and facilities, transportation,
places of public accommodation, and employers." Id. 35.150(d)(2). And,
finally, the transition plan regulation mandates that any structural changes to
existing facilities "be made within three years of January 26, 1992, but in any
event as expeditiously as possible." Id. 35.150(c).

24

It is beyond peradventure that, in certain aspects, Title II creates a private right

of action against noncompliant public entities. See 42 U.S.C. 12133; see also
Lane, 541 U.S. at 517, 124 S.Ct. 1978. Here, howeverwith the exception of
their fallback argument, to which we shortly shall returnthe plaintiffs do not
claim a direct violation of Title II; instead, they claim violations of, and
concomitant rights to enforce, the self-evaluation and transition plan
regulations. As we explain below, this is an important distinction.
25

An implementing regulation may under certain circumstances be enforced

through the private right of action available under the organic statute that it
implements. See Alexander v. Sandoval, 532 U.S. 275, 284-85, 121 S.Ct. 1511,
149 L.Ed.2d 517 (2001). Under Sandoval, however, a private plaintiff may not,
merely by referencing the organic statute, enforce regulations that interdict a
broader swath of conduct than the statute itself prohibits. After all, the power to
create a private right of action, like the power to create positive federal law
itself, lies exclusively with Congress. See id. at 286, 121 S.Ct. 1511; Bonano v.
E. Carib. Airline Corp., 365 F.3d 81, 84 (1st Cir.2004). Accordingly, a private
right of action may be conceived only by a statute that clearly evinces
congressional intent to bestow such a right. See Sandoval, 532 U.S. at 286-87,
121 S.Ct. 1511.

26

Sandoval itself aptly illustrates this point. Citing the tenet described above, the
Sandoval Court held that an implementing regulation, on its own, cannot create
a private right of action. See id. at 291, 121 S.Ct. 1511; see also Bonano, 365
F.3d at 84.

27

To be sure, this holding does not foreclose all private regulatory enforcement.
Although a regulation "may not create a right that Congress has not," it "may
invoke a private right of action that Congress through statutory text created."
Sandoval, 532 U.S. at 291, 121 S.Ct. 1511. Thus, while it is vecordious to
speak in terms of a cause of action to enforce an implementing regulation
separate and apart from its organic statute, a regulation that simply effectuates
an express mandate contained in the organic statute may nonetheless be
enforceable through the private right of action available under the statute itself.
See id. at 284, 121 S.Ct. 1511. In contrast, a regulation that announces an
obligation or a prohibition not imposed by the organic statute may not be
enforced under the aegis of a statutory right of action. See id. at 284-85, 121
S.Ct. 1511. So viewed, the dispositive question is whether the regulation either
forbids conduct that the statute allows or imposes an obligation beyond what
the statute mandates. If that question produces an affirmative answer, the
regulation is not privately enforceable. See id.

28

Applying these principles, the Sixth Circuit has held that the transition plan

regulation is not enforceable through the instrumentality of Title II's private

right of action. See Ability Ctr., 385 F.3d at 913-15. Although the development
of a transition plan "may ultimately facilitate compliance with Title II," the
court explained, "there is no indication that a public entity's failure to develop a
transition plan [seriously] harms disabled individuals" or that a public entity
cannot make its services, programs, or activities accessible to qualified disabled
persons without first developing a transition plan. Id. at 914. In short, the
transition plan regulation imposes an obligation beyond the statutory mandate
and, therefore, is not privately enforceable. Id.
29

We embrace this reasoning. We add, moreover, that it also dooms the plaintiffs'
attempt to enforce the self-evaluation regulation through a private suit. Nothing
in the text of Title II requires public entities to conduct self-evaluations, let
alone to do so by the date prescribed in the regulation. Conducting a selfevaluation may well facilitate compliance with the strictures of Title IIbut a
municipality's failure to self-evaluate does not in and of itself render municipal
services, programs, or activities inaccessible to disabled persons. Put another
way, it is altogether conceivable that a public entity may be in full compliance
with Title II without observing the commands of the self-evaluation regulation.
Given this state of affairs, we hold that the self-evaluation regulation imposes a
burden on public entities not imposed by Title II itself and, therefore, is not
enforceable through the instrumentality of Title II's private right of action.3

30

In an effort to blunt the force of this reasoning, the plaintiffs note that the Tenth
Circuit has held that the self-evaluation and transition plan regulations, along
with several other regulations promulgated under Title II, are enforceable
through a private suit. See Chaffin, 348 F.3d at 856-60. In our view, the Chaffin
court misconstrued Sandoval and, thus, the decision is simply incorrect.
Although the court appropriately recognized that "regulations may not create a
private cause of action where no such right was intended by Congress in the
statute authorizing promulgation of such regulations," id. at 857, it inexplicably
disregarded Sandoval's corollary rule that regulations which impose an
obligation beyond the statutory mandate are not enforceable through the
statutory right of action, see id. at 857-58. In light of this error, we elect to align
ourselves with the Sixth Circuit, see Ability Ctr., 385 F.3d at 913-15, and to
reject the position of the Tenth Circuit, see Chaffin, 348 F.3d at 856-60.

31

To recapitulate, the self-evaluation and transition plan regulations impose

obligations on public entities different than, and beyond, those imposed by the
ADA itself. Consequently, those regulations may not be enforced through the
instrumentality of the private right of action available under Title II. On this
basis and without reaching the causation issue that the district court found

dispositive we uphold the entry of summary judgment for the City on the
plaintiffs' regulatory noncompliance claim.
C. The Barrier-Removal Claim.
32

The plaintiffs' fallback position is that even if they have no private right of
action to enforce the self-evaluation and transition plan regulations, the district
court nonetheless erred in neglecting to address an alternate theory of liability:
that the City's failure to remove barriers to access at existing facilities
constitutes disability-based discrimination. This plaint cannot withstand
scrutiny.

33

We have held, with echolalic regularity, that theories not squarely and timely
raised in the trial court cannot be pursued for the first time on appeal. See, e.g.,
Boston Beer Co. Ltd. P'ship v. Slesar Bros. Brewing Co., 9 F.3d 175, 180 (1st
Cir. 1993); United States v. Slade, 980 F.2d 27, 31 (1st Cir.1992); Teamsters
Union, Local No. 59 v. Superline Transp. Co., 953 F.2d 17, 21 (1st Cir.1992);
McCoy v. Mass. Inst. of Tech., 950 F.2d 13, 22 (1st Cir.1991); Clauson v.
Smith, 823 F.2d 660, 666 (1st Cir.1987). This prophylactic rule requires
litigants to spell out their legal theories face-up and squarely in the trial court; if
a claim is "merely insinuated" rather than "actually articulated," that claim
ordinarily is deemed unpreserved for purposes of appellate review. McCoy, 950
F.2d at 22 (citation omitted).

34

So it is here. While the plaintiffs' complaint at one point decried the condition
of city streets and sidewalks, it contained few factsand even fewer allegations
that so much as hinted at a barrier-removal claim. District judges are not
expected to be clairvoyantsand this was too inscrutable a reference to state a
barrier-removal claim.

35

Let us be perfectly clear. A pleading states a claim upon which relief can be
granted only when it contains "factual allegations, either direct or inferential,
respecting each material element necessary to sustain recovery under some
actionable legal theory." Berner v. Delahanty, 129 F.3d 20, 25 (1st Cir.1997)
(quoting Gooley v. Mobil Oil Corp., 851 F.2d 513, 515 (1st Cir.1988)); see
Educadores Puertorriqueos En Accin v. Hernndez, 367 F.3d 61, 67-68 (1st
Cir.2004) (emphasizing that the notice pleading requirements of Fed. R.Civ.P.
8(a)(2) incorporate this principle). At a minimum, then, the plaintiffs were
required to plead (i) that Iverson (or some other member of AWS) is a qualified
individual with a disability; (ii) that such an individual was either excluded
from participation in or denied the benefit of some public services, programs, or
activities; and (iii) that such exclusion, denial of benefits, or other

discrimination was by reason of the individual's disability. See Parker v.

Universidad de Puerto Rico, 225 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.2000). The plaintiffs'
complaint offered no meaningful explanation as to howif at allthe
conditions of municipal streets and sidewalks deprived Iverson (or anyone else)
of access to any public service, program, or activity. For that reason alone, the
plaintiffs' barrier-removal claim fails as a matter of pleading.
36

To cinch matters, the plaintiffs made no mention of a barrier-removal claim in

their opposition to the City's dispositive motion. As we wrote in a comparable
case, "[c]ourts are entitled to expect represented parties to incorporate all
relevant arguments in the papers that directly address a pending motion."
McCoy, 950 F.2d at 22 n. 7. This branch of the raise-or-waive rule serves the
salutary purpose of preventing litigants from gaming the system by seeding
complaints with Delphic references in the hope of facilitating an escape should
the district court's ruling on their advertised claims fail to suit. See id. at 22.
Applying that principle, we conclude that the plaintiffs' failure to mentionlet
alone adequately to developthe barrier-removal theory in their opposition to
the City's dispositive motion defeats their belated attempt to advance the theory
on appeal.4

37

Of course, appellate courts retain a modicum of discretion to relax the raise-orwaive rule in order to prevent miscarriages of justice. See Slade, 980 F.2d at 31.
But this authority is to be used sparingly and only in exceptional casescases
in which "the previously omitted ground is `so compelling as virtually to insure
appellant's success.'" Id. (quoting Hernandez-Hernandez v. United States, 904
F.2d 758, 763 (1st Cir.1990)). The case at hand does not come close to
satisfying this rigorous criterion.

38

Neither the self-evaluation and transition plan regulations nor Title II itself
imposes a duty on a public entity to make structural changes to existing
facilities. This fact largely explains the plaintiffs' inability to articulate how the
City's alleged failure to comply with the regulations caused the injuries of
which they complain; after all, the City, once it conducts a self-evaluation
and it may already have done so, see supra note 1may elect to achieve Title
II compliance through methods other than the modification of existing
facilities. See 28 C.F.R. 35.150(a)(1), (b)(1). Moreover, the plaintiffs have
pointed to nothing in the record to buttress their conclusory contention that the
City's ostensible failure to remove structural barriers emanated from some
disability-based animus. See Ability Ctr., 385 F.3d at 910 ("[A] plaintiff can
prevail under [Title II] either by showing `discrimination' or by showing `denial
of the benefits' of public services.") (quoting Henrietta D. v. Bloomberg, 331
F.3d 261, 276 (2d Cir.2003)); cf. Forestier Fradera v. Municipality of

Mayagz, 440 F.3d 17, 22-23 (1st Cir.2006) (holding that a showing of delay in
a municipality's accommodation of a plaintiff's disability, without more, was
insufficient to establish the disability-based animus required for actionable
discrimination under Title II). In light of these considerations, there is no reason
here to deviate from the raise-or-waive rule.
D. The Motion for Reconsideration.
39

The plaintiffs' objection to the lower court's denial of their motion for
reconsideration need not detain us. As said, see supra Part II(C), the plaintiffs
failed properly to develop the barrier-removal theory in either their complaint or
their opposition to the City's dispositive motion. It follows, a fortiori, that there
was no abuse of discretion in the district court's refusal to address that theory on
a motion for reconsideration. See Aybar v. Crispin-Reyes, 118 F.3d 10, 16 (1st
Cir.1997) (explaining that Rule 59(e) "does not provide a vehicle for a party to
undo its own procedural failures [or] allow a party [to] advance arguments that
could and should have been presented to the district court prior to judgment"
(citation and quotation marks omitted)); see also Tell v. Trs. of Dartmouth
Coll., 145 F.3d 417, 420 (1st Cir.1998). The presentation of a previously
unpled and undeveloped argument in a motion for reconsideration neither cures
the original omission nor preserves the argument as a matter of right for
appellate review. See Tell, 145 F.3d at 420.

40

In all events, the motion for reconsideration contained scant elaboration of the
barrier-removal theory and offered no analysis of how the statute, regulations,
or relevant case law supported such a theory on the facts of this case. That, in
itself, was a fatal flaw.5 See United States v. Zannino, 895 F.2d 1, 17 (1st
Cir.1990) (stating that "issues adverted to in a perfunctory manner,
unaccompanied by some effort at developed argumentation, are deemed
waived").
III. CONCLUSION

41

We need go no further. The self-evaluation and transition plan regulations

impose obligations different than, and beyond, those imposed by Title II of the
ADA. Accordingly, they are not enforceable through the instrumentality of the
private right of action available under that statute. That ends the matter: as
explicated above, the plaintiffs neither pleaded nor preserved (and, thus,
waived) their claim that the City's failure to remove structural barriers at its
existing facilities constituted disability-based discrimination. For these reasons,
we affirm the judgment below.

42

Affirmed.

Notes:
1

The City asserts that it did, in fact, conduct the obligatory self-evaluation and
develop the requisite transition plan within the allotted time span. Our
resolution of this case renders this factual dispute immaterial

The regulations governing a public entity's construction of new facilities and its
voluntary alteration of existing facilities are far more demanding. When a
public entity undertakes such an endeavor, it must, to the maximum extent
feasible, ensure that the newly constructed or renovated facility "is readily
accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities." 28 C.F.R.
35.151(a)-(b). With respect to newly constructed or altered streets and
sidewalks, the regulations require the installation of curb cuts or comparable
means of ingress and egress for disabled personsSee id. 35.151(e)(1)-(2).

At the expense of carting coal to Newcastle, we add that the regulations at issue
here do not actually require the City to undertake the measures sought by the
plaintiffs. The complaint prays for structural changes to existing facilities,
including the installation of curb cuts and the creation of accessible parking
spaces. But, the self-evaluation regulation requires public entities to evaluate
and modify only "services, policies, and practices," not facilities, where needed
to achieve Title II compliance. 28 C.F.R. 35.105(a). Similarly, the transition
plan regulation requires public entities to set schedules for effectuating
structural changes to existing facilities only where structural changes to
facilities will be undertaken to comply with Title IISee id. 35.150(d). This
formulation begs the question of whether the public entity has chosen structural
changes to existing facilities as a method for achieving Title II compliance. See
id. 35.150(a)(1), (b)(1).

Even if the plaintiffs had pleaded and preserved their nascent barrier-removal
claim (which they did not), that claim would fail on appeal. The district court,
at the plaintiffs' urging, converted the motion to dismiss to a motion for
summary judgment. The two affidavits filed by the plaintiffs (which are the
only materials of evidentiary quality in the summary judgment record) do not
contain facts sufficient to make out a trialworthy issue on the barrier-removal
claimSee Parker, 225 F.3d at 5 (enumerating the elements of such a claim).

Since our decision, unlike that of the district court, does not rest on a lack of
causation, it is unnecessary for us to address the other ground raised in the

plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration