Articles Posted in Litigation

So Cal Equal Access Group (So Cal) files ADA lawsuits almost on a daily basis. By and large, these lawsuits filed in Federal Court focus on the lack of accessible parking, inaccessible paths of travel to the building entrances, inaccessible entry doors, transaction counters that are excessively high and bathrooms that fail to comply with the ADA and the California Building Code (CBC). Lately, the firm has set its sights on the auto repair industry in the greater Los Angeles area. The law firm has filed suits on behalf of Larry Dunn, Jardine Gougis, Cesar Acevedo and Moses Villalobos, among others.

These lawsuits are typically filed against building and business owners related to properties built long before the ADA was enacted in 1991. Under the ADA both building owners and business operators are jointly and severally liable to the disabled plaintiff which means the plaintiff can sue either the business owner or building owner or both. Of course, landlords typically place responsibility on the tenant for indemnification for violations of law in the operation of their business through their leases. However, this legal chestnut is of little moment to the plaintiff’s lawyers who sue both the landlord and business operator. They typically sue the landlord who may have no idea that these ADA and CBC violations exist. Landlords typically tender the defense and indemnification to the tenant which only works if the tenant has the wherewithal to pay to defend both parties. Continue ›

California Senate Bill 585 (SB 585) seeks to achieve a balance between ensuring accessibility for individuals with disabilities and protecting small businesses from exploitative litigation. The draft bill proposes a “right to cure” period, allowing businesses with 50 or fewer employees 120 days to rectify alleged construction-related accessibility violations before facing statutory damages, attorney’s fees, or costs.

Background

Under existing California law, businesses found in violation of construction-related accessibility standards can be subject to minimum statutory damages starting at $4,000 per violation, along with attorney’s fees. This framework has led to a surge in lawsuits, particularly in California where statutory damages under the Unruh Civil Rights Act incentivize high levels of litigation. See Unruh Civil Rights Act Basics. Many of these lawsuits have targeted small businesses for minor infractions, resulting in significant financial burdens.

Provisions of SB 585

SB 585 introduces several key measures that would apply to business with 50 of fewer employees anytime in the past 3 years:

• Notice Requirement: Plaintiffs must serve a letter to the business detailing each alleged violation of accessibility standards before filing a lawsuit; and
• 120-Day Cure Period: Upon receiving the letter, businesses have 120 days to correct the specified violations before the plaintiff can file a lawsuit.
• Limitation on Liability: If the business remedies the violations within the cure period, it is not liable for statutory damages, plaintiff’s attorney’s fees, or costs related to those violations.
• Prevention of Circumvention: Plaintiffs cannot bypass these provisions by seeking general discrimination damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if the claim is based on physical accessibility standards under California law.

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Peter Strojnik (AKA P. Kristofer Strojnik) is an attorney based out of Phoenix, Arizona who files many accessibility lawsuits on behalf of his client, Theresa Brooke. According to publicly filed litigation documents, the office is located on East Camelback Road in Phoenix. Peter Strojnik has years of experience filing these types of cases against businesses and landlords regarding alleged violations of the California Unruh Civil Rights Act and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Each lawsuit generally includes a summons as a cover page informing you that you have been sued and must respond. It also contains the “VERIFIED COMPLAINT” with “Jury Trial Demanded,” which generally looks something like this:

The complaints usually state in the first paragraph that “Plaintiff Theresa Brooke is a married woman. Plaintiff is legally disabled, and is therefore a member of a protected class under the ADA.”

It might further state under the “Allegations” section that “Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s hotel does not have a compliant access aisle at the passenger loading zone adjacent to the hotel lobby in violation of Sections 209 and 503 of the 2010 Standards.”

There are specific accessibility requirements applicable to most businesses and places open to the public as outlined in the ADA and California law. These are provided in detail within the 2010 ADA Standards published by the Department of Justice (DOJ). A passenger loading zone is not always required under the ADA. Where passenger loading zones are provided, at least one accessible passenger loading zone is required in every continuous 100 linear feet of loading zone or fraction thereof. Compliance is required only where areas are specifically designed or designated for passenger loading, such as those at airports, many hotels, and convention centers. But it’s important to note that not all areas designated for a brief stop constitute passenger loading zones. There are specific measurements and details applicable when accessible passenger loading zones are required. Continue ›

The Reddy Law Firm LLC is a relatively new law firm that started filing accessibility lawsuits on behalf of various plaintiffs alleging violations of the California Unruh Civil Rights Act and California Disabled Persons Act. Though a relatively new ADA plaintiff’s lawyers, the firm is an offshoot of Potter Handy, from San Diego.  The lawsuits generally reference the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well.

Generally, each of these lawsuits are filed on behalf of one of several serial plaintiffs, who file many similar cases each year. Some serial ADA plaintiffs in California have been known to file hundreds, sometimes thousands of lawsuits each against various businesses.

The Reddy Law Firm has filed Unruh litigation on behalf of these plaintiffs:

• Meryl Pomponio
• Orlando Garcia
• Brian Whitaker

These lawsuits show no signs of stopping. Each lawsuit includes a summons as a cover page informing you that you have been sued and must respond. It also contains the complaint itself, which generally looks something like this: Continue ›

So. Cal. Equal Access Group is a law firm based in Los Angeles, CA that files a large number of physical accessibility lawsuits against businesses and landlords. The attorneys who are part of the law firm include Jason J. Kim, Jason Yoon, and Kevin Hong. Their lawsuits generally allege violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act and California’s Disabled persons Act.

Generally, the lawsuits are filed on behalf of serial plaintiffs, who file dozens or hundreds of nearly identical lawsuits. So. Cal. Equal Access Group often files each lawsuit on behalf of one of the plaintiffs listed below:

• Lamar Myers
• Maria Garcia
• Ignacio Vera
• Miguel Hernandez
• Oscar Magallanes
• Colton Bryant
• Moises Villalobos
• Michael Rhambo
• Ana Ventura
• Jesus Garcia
• Dennis Cooper
• Juan Valencia
• Nelson Chilin
• Miriam Maldonado
• Yeong Lee
• Marquise Bailey
• Alvaro Orosco
• Luz Zendejas
• Jeremy Holland
• Guri Gonzalez
• Yuri Doering
• Joshua Cuevas
• Sam Benford
• Deondre Raglin

Each lawsuit will generally allege that one of the above plaintiffs is physically disabled, that he or she visited the property on a certain date (often several months before filing the lawsuit), and that he or she encountered accessibility barriers that prevented full and equal access at the property. Common barriers alleged include the following: Continue ›