ADA Compliance and Defense Blog
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
Pacific Trial Attorneys
Attorneys:
- Scott Farrell, Esq., Dave Reid, Esq., Victoria Knowles, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Rusty Rendon, Drew Hunthausen, Roy Rios, Walter Mitchell, Luis Licea, Brittney Mejico, Anita Ogletree, Ismael Herrera, Dominick Martin, Cheryl Thurston, Isabel Rendon, Walter Michell
Apex Trial Law
Attorneys:
- Ryan Ferrell, Esq., Thomas Kohler, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Michael Sandoval, Thomas Dorobiala, Sonny Hernandez
Law Offices of Hakimi & Shahriari
Attorneys:
- Anoush Hakimi, Esq., Peter Shahriari, Esq., Cody Cooper, Esq., Frederick Chernoff, Esq,
Plaintiffs:
- Deloris Robbie Hurtado, Douglas Sed, Daniel Duran, Richard Silva, Teresa Esquivel, Eric Cleveland, Ed Hull, Lasandra Price, Dee Anne Evans, Michelle Bartick, George Jones, Teresa Hicks, Todd Williamson, John Irizawa, Amber Machowski, Vivik Shah,
Brodsky & Smith, LLC
Attorneys:
- Evan J. Smith, Esq., Ryan P. Cardona
Plaintiffs:
- Rosaura Navara, Donny Macias, Richard Bell, Kirby Velasco, Lee Mercado, Eddie Mack
The Reddy Law Firm LLC
Attorneys:
- Prathima Reddy Price, Esq., Aaina Duggal, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Orlando Garcia, Brian Whitaker, Jose Luis Mendoza,
Seabock Price APC
Attorneys:
- Amanda Seabock, Esq., Dennis Price, Esq., Christopher Seabock, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Rafael Arroyo, Dolores Lara-Fierro, Christopher Langer, Raul Uriarte Limon, Dwain Lammey, Martin Vogel, Anthony R. Gandara, Breanna Ballard, Jose Madriz, Tonia Sartin
Custodio & Dubey
Attorneys:
- Miguel Custodio, Jr., Esq., Vineet Debey, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Jose Casillas, Rick Moran
All Access Group
Attorneys:
- Irakli Karbelashvili, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Debra Volle, Tina Bouri, Samer Bouri, Bandali Bouri, Andrew Rovles, Malisa Robles, Daniel Robles, James Alger
Beverly Hill Trial Attorneys
Attorneys:
- Azar Mouzari, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Aderiyike Lawal
Law Office of Peter Kristofer Strojnik
Attorneys:
- Peter Strojnik, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Theresa Brooke
Lightning Law APC
Attorneys:
- David C. Wakefield, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- United African Asian Abilities Club, James Lee, Anna Marie Wiggin, Robert Aaron McKissick, Jessie James Davis IV, Anna marie Wiggins, Robert Aaron McKissick
Law Office of Daniel J. Malakauskas
Attorneys:
- Daniel J. Malakauskas, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Meryl Pomponio, Frank Singh, Stephen Hopson
Law Office of Morse Mehrban
Attorneys:
- Morse Mehrban, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Darryl Parker, Felix Rodriguez, Alejandro Diaz
Law Office of Ross Cornell
Attorneys:
- Ross Cornell, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Bryan Estrada, Bryan Williams
The Wilshire Law Firm
Attorneys:
- Thiago Coelho, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Crystal Redick, Valerie Brooks, Flor Jimenez, Portia mason, Thuy Thanh Alonzo, Vivian Salazar
Ascension Law Group
Attorneys:
- Pamela Tsao, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Hoang Minh Le, John Ho, Kevin Ho, Ngoc Lam Che, Michael C. Keo, Quy Troung, Stephen Turner, Quy Troung
Law Offices of Jong Yun Kim
Attorneys:
- Jong Yun Kim, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Lorraine Perez
Law Office of Rick Morin, PC
Attorneys:
- Rick Morin, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Lee Dozier, David Robinson, Heather Kalyn Evans
Rein & Clefton
Attorneys:
- Aaron Clefton, Esq., Paul Rein, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Jennifer Short, Pamela Ball, James Alger, Garett Box
Law Office of Richard MacBride
Attorneys:
- Richard MacBride
Plaintiffs:
- Richard Sepulveda
Moore Law Firm, P.C.
Attorneys:
- Tanya Moore, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Cameron Shaw, Craig Crandall, Francisca Moralez, Gerardo Hernandez, Hendrick Block, Jose Escobedo, Jose Trujillo, Richard Gambord
Disability Access Center
Attorneys:
- Faud Haghighi, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Michael Harrison, Ruben Paul Gonzales, Adam Ghadiri
Shahbaz Law Group
Attorneys:
- Jacob Shahbaz, Esq., Ralph Ayala, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Julianna Garcia
Law Offices of Olga Nazimova
Attorneys:
- Olga Nazimova, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Edward Davis, Ronald Chism
Law Office of Michael Taibi
Attorneys:
- Michael Taibi, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Robert Best
Law Office of Brian C. Andrews
Attorneys:
- Brian C. Andrews, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Robert Best, Donald Bowman, Anthony Navarro, Lawrence Gay, Jesse Jones, Marvin Barnett, Aaron Murphy,
Calhoun & Associates
Attorneys:
- Eric G. Calhoun, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Luis Calderon, Patrice Duren
Tauler Smith LLP |
Attorneys:
- Robert Tauler, Esq.
Plaintiffs:
- Drew Hunthausen
For more on ADA and Unruh defense, see our recent articles here:
JMBM Wins Second ADA Lawsuit for Zarco Hotels, Bringing Total Defense Awards to $113K
by Stuart Tubis