On our ADA Compliance & Defense Blog, we have written extensively about Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California Unruh Civil Rights Act lawsuits. Many such lawsuits are filed by a small handful of serial plaintiffs and their law firms who actively seek out physical locations and websites of businesses that are allegedly not fully accessible. Once found, the plaintiff will sue the business and/or the landlord for disability discrimination. For example, a plaintiff might sue 3 businesses in a week because the accessible parking slope was above 2.1% or the website was not accessible for blind users’ screen reading software. In such cases, the plaintiff typically seeks injunctive relief (a court order requiring compliance), statutory damages of $4,000 per occurrence, and attorneys’ fees.
There are various defenses to such cases that my team and I explore when defending a client who has been sued. See my recent articles on that topic:
Common Defenses to Unruh Civil Rights Act and ADA Lawsuits (Part 1)
by Stuart Tubis
California Unruh Civil Rights Act Law Basics
by Stuart Tubis
If you or your business has been named as a defendant in such a lawsuit, don’t panic. Take a deep breath and then reach out to me (skt@jmbm.com; 415-984-9622) or other experienced defense counsel soon since there are important deadlines triggered once a case has been filed and served. Complaint letters are sometimes sent before litigation is filed, so it’s best to respond to such letters rather than waiting for a lawsuit to be filed. Don’t ignore pre-litigation ADA demand letters!
For informational purposes, based on information available online, here is a list of law firms and plaintiffs who have or currently do file disability discrimination lawsuits:
Manning Law APC
Attorneys:
- Joseph Manning, Esq., Michael Manning, Esq., Craig Cote, Esq., Phyl Grace, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- James Rutherford, Anthony Bouyer, James Shayler, Carmen John Perri, George Avalos, Suzanne Na Pier, Poupak Barekat, Kayla Reed, Perla Mageno, Jennifer Carbine, Rebecca Castillo, Cesar Cotto, Gabriela Cabrera, Jesus Torres
So. Cal. Equal Access Group
Attorneys:
- Jason Kim, Esq., Jason Yoon, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Leemanuel Weilch, Mister Bailey, Robert Cauley, Deondre Raglin, Colton Bryant, Kimberly Frazier, Ana Ventura, Edmond Neal, Sam Benford, Melanie Delapaz, Korttney Elliot, Hee Soon Park, Latanya Williams, Luz Zendejas, Michael Rhambo, Kee Sook Ahn, Roy Yuin, In Sun Kil, Ignacio Vera, Yeoung Lee, Larry Dunn, Joshua Cuevas, Gabriel Dorsey, Jeremy Holland, Lamar Myers, Maria Garcia, Miguel Hernandez, Oscar Magallanes, Moises Villalobos, Jesus Garcia, Dennis Cooper, Juan Valencia, Nelson Chilin, Miriam Maldonado, Marquise Bailey, Alvaro Orosco, Guri Gonzalez, Yuri Doering, Mario Mendoza