Is there any defense against a frivolous ADA Scam lawsuit?

Question

The business I work for is a small Mom and Pop auto parts store. They are being sued by a group of attorney's that sue for a fictitious Disabled Plaintiff being discriminated against at our business. They served 100 small businesses in my area for exactly the same thing. All of our court papers are exact duplicate charges for all of the folks we have compared papers with. When we talked with others we found out that our businesses were targeted by drive by and photos by the attorneys investigator. We were never even visited by a disabled person. We also found out that 6 months ago the same law firm sued 100 or so other small businesses in the next city from here.

We are very handicap friendly here and have a handicap parking with access.

But we are in California and the specs for Disabled compliance apparently allows them to find fault with 99% of all locations no matter how compliant you have tried to be.

The clincher is that attorney's are willing settle out of court for cash.

What we have been told is this is a form of legal extortion!

Oh and we have already checked fixing all of the violations will not protect us from the civil damage award we will still have to pay.

Is there anyway for a small business owner to fight this unjust attack?

Oh also the legal fees to represent us in this matter will exceed the $5000 hush money the attorney's are willing to settle for.

Answer 1

If in fact, the courts are included to rule in favor of the plaintiff, you may just have to pay up.  I hate to say that because it is such an injustice.  You have to be realistic and weigh the cost of settling against the cost of a long, drawn out battle.  Then look for a group that is fighting against this type of fraud, join them and help put an end to it.

Answer 2

    Another good example why lawyers are not considered very trustworthy. And the ADA is filled with so many holes it should never been passed and never signed into law.No piece of legislation in years has ever been clear and to the point.ADA, the tax code, etc.,etc.,are too long, too complicated and virtually unfathomable to ordinary citizens.Hence,lawyers, accountants, lobbyists and the like, make huge sums of money shaking down the public with little or no justification.Having battled the EEO Commission I sympathize with your dilemma.I should like to know the name of the firm handling this so I never have any business with them. Good luck. And yes, it will cost you more to defend then the "hush" money and chances are you'll still have to pay, and maybe more.

Answer 3

There's no public enforcement of disability access laws, so it's up to private citizens.  There are lots of access lawsuits because violations are still widespread.  Most businesses that complain about being sued are, in fact, not in compliance.

That said, this problem is being addressed by a bill that made it out of the California Legislature after 2 years of negotiations and is now going to the Governor.  It is supported by businesses (including CalChamber) and most disability rights advocacy groups.  It will provide a mechanism for early resolution of many of these lawsuits with businesses that get inspections by certified access specialists.  If you are concerned with this issue, you should write the Governor and urge him to sign SB 1608.

Answer 4

You have a right to face your accuser. What you do is all show up at the court together and demand the person who was discriminated against be there. If he does not show the court should dismiss the claims and then you ask the court to disbar the attorney.

Answer 5

Its a shame. A number of high profile movie stars, studios, and others have been sued by these creeps. And so have I.

These guys go around town here with a truck. It has a pole mounted in the back with a camera. They pull up in front of old buildings, snap photos of the front, and then sue the owners and tenants alike.

The process server goes up and down the street with a shopping cart and stops by each business and serves the lawsuit on them.

They clog up the federal courthouse with these lawsuits and one federal judge now requires them to show that they first attempted to bring the alleged violation in conformity with the ADA before they can sue.

The last one that did this that I know of consisted of a private investigator with a corn on her foot (qualifying her for temporary disabled permit) and a shady lawyer.

Eventually the corn on the foot lady sued her own lawyer for ADA violations when he wouldn't split his fees with her.

Animals the whole lot of them.

The answer however is simple. If your business was in compliance, then there may be no damages. The issue is whether or not the alleged violation deprive the disabled person of access to the premises. If they did not, then there is no damage. Though fees can still be earned, if the violations are more perceived than real, there may be nothing.

Personally, its just extortion and the lawyers who bring these suits are simply taking advantage of a loophole.

Best cure: sue the lawyer for ADA violations. When he's got to pay up like the rest, he might think twice.