We've all heard of ADA abuse. Some with disabilities file a mind-numbing number of lawsuits (in certain instances exceeding 1000 or more). These are frequent filers. We've handled many such cases and brought each to a successful conclusion. These frequent filers are:
Chris Langer, Misael Romero, Luis Villegas, James Rutherford, Richard Q. Le, James Zarian, Shirley Lindsay, Nehemiah Kong, Alfred Bernard, Brian Whitaker, Evaristo Cortes, Juan Briseno, Young Hee Park, Samuel Zarian, United African-Asian Abilities Club, Fidel Rodriguez Robles (aka "Fidel Robles"), Robert Elguezabel, Jose Estrada, Jeanette Jaime, Gary Scherer, Stephen Turner, Benito Bautista, Cecil Eugene Shaw, John Weekley, Rafael Arroyo Jr., Andres Gomez, Matthew Verdiglione, Jesus Aparicio, Alfonso Garcia, John Ho, Abacus Heras, Moises Reynoso, Dwain Lammey, Soo Oh, Francisco Duarte, Carmen John Perri, Donna Dugo, Jose Amador Jacobo, Patricia Sue Williams, Hoang Minh Le, Quy Truong, Richard Powell, Robert Sanchez, Thanh Vo, Scott Schutza, Ruben Paul Gonzales, Marco Saavedra, Mario Vasquez, Samuel Love, Jose Acosta, Felipe Antonio, Jesus Ayala, Kathleen Barajas, Alfred Bartosh, Hendrik Blok, Theresa Brooke, Poupak Barekat, John Cheung, Bryon Chapman, Gwendolyne Clouser, Tim Conn, Diane Cross, Ramon Carter, Gabriela Cabrera, Jessie James Davis IV, Edward Davis, Roy Davis-Gash, Alejandro Diaz, Rueben Deanna, Michelle Derakshanian, Dona Dugo, Jose Escobedo, Darryl Eversole, Willie Fantano, Oscar Flores, Priscilla Flores, Patricia Filardi, Alfonso Garibay, Jeffrey Gamble, Orlando Garcia, Marcia Gayla, Duane Goettsch, Manuel Gonzalez, Sean Gorecki, Arthur Gray, Russell Hayes, Darnel Hines, William Hopson, Cynthia Hopson, Terry Hubbard, Dierdre Jacquot, Robert Jacquot, Jerry Jackson, Scott Johnson, Michelle Johnson, Debbie Johnson, Robert Kalani, Robert LaFleur, Rachel Lobato, Daniel Lopez, Michael Lopez, Judy Magana, Perla Mageno, Ralpha Harold Mack, Carlos Marsh, Narbeh Martussian, Chris McAleer, Robert McCarthy, Gilbert McCory, Michael McCune, Alejo Mendez, Katrina Mennell, David Mugridge, Robert Aaron McKissick, Lorenzo Martinez, Anthony Mavarro, Steven Ngo, Dimas O’Campo, Robert Oliver, Arthur Owens, Pedro Perez Pelano, Jose Perez, Brenda Pickern, Donal Peterson, Farah Torkian Rafie, Jose Reyes, Michael Rocca, Kimbra Rollings, Diego Ramirez, Emmanuel Ramirez, Josephina Reyes, Gulliermo Robles, James Rodriquez, Roberta Rogers, Melissa Roe, Jeremy Roe, Roy Rios, Jose Velez, and many others.
The law firms and attorneys who represent these frequent filers are:
Potter Handy (Center for Disability Access) - Ray Ballister Jr., Russel Handy, Phyl Grace, Dennis Price, Advanced Disability Advocates - Kevin Hong, So. Cal. Equal Access Group - Jason Yoon, John Y. Kim, Ross Cornell, Joseph R. Manning, Michael J. Manning, Craig G. Cote, Ascension Law Group - Pamela Tsao, Jong Yun Kim, Richard E. Politiski, Babak Hashemi, Jong Yun Kim and many more.
In our view the preferred way to resolve an ADA lawsuit is to take immediate steps to correct deficiencies where they may exist, and seek a court order for an exemption where correcting deficiencies is not readily achievable. If, for instance, you as a landlord or business owner do not have the means to fully bring the site into compliance because it is likely to be cost prohibitive, you may seek a court order to grant you additional time to make the alterations. This can be done provided in the interim you are able to arrange for alternate ways of serving disabled patrons.
Those interested in learning more about the architectural guidelines can visit https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/buildings-and-sites/about-the-ada-standards/background/adaag.
Beware of attorneys who claim to be able to settle your case for a fixed fee. While you may be able to quickly settle an existing lawsuit for a few thousand, if you do not correct the underlying barriers you may find yourself facing additional lawsuits by the same group of plaintiffs.
Also, beware of attorneys who claim to “understand how to minimize attorney’s fees and costs in defending against ADA lawsuits...” These are the same attorneys who will stoke the flames, antagonize the opposing attorney, and ultimately cost both sides excessive amounts of attorney’s fees for self-serving reasons (we have the evidence to show you). The focus must be on resolving architectural barriers permanently. Only then can subsequent lawsuits be avoided.
The truth is, most deficiencies can be corrected at minimal cost. A compromise may be had with costly alterations - with the court’s approval - provided such compromise is backed by a CA Access Specialist's report.
Q: What should I do now that I’ve been sued?
A: Let’s start with what you should NOT do, and that is a quick settlement thinking that your problems are over. What you should do instead is hire a competent Access Specialist from the State of California List of Access Specialists. You should, in addition, hire a competent attorney who can challenge the plaintiff's claims and resolve the case cost effectively.
Q: What is the difference between a lawsuit filed in District Court versus a Superior Court of California?
A: Claims made under the Americans with Disabilities Act are generally brought in Federal Court and are overseen by Federal Judges. Cases brought in State Court generally involve California law and not Federal Law. The current trend is for frequent filers to file cases in federal courts. In state courts frequent filers are obligated to pay an additional filing fee of $1,000 per case, for every case beyond the first 10 brought within a 12-month period.
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