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Boca man targets Keys resorts with ADA lawsuits
BY ANTHONY CAVE acave@keynoter.com
June 17, 2015
http://www.keysnet.com/2015/06/17/503144/boca-man-targets-keys-resorts.html
Howard Cohan apparently sues for a living -- and admits it in court documents.
The Boca Raton man has filed countless lawsuits since 2013 alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at hotels. That law requires access to public accommodations for the disabled.
Lately, he's been targeting Florida Keys hotels, among them the Angelina Guest House on Angela Street, the Key West and the Westin Key West Resort and Marina and Banana Bay in Key West; Caloosa Cove Resort, Casa Morada and the Matecumbe Resort in Islamorada; and the Bayside Inn Key Largo, Holiday Inn Key Largo and Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort in Key Largo.
Such so-called serial ADA litigators are not uncommon.
In his May 20 filing in U.S. District Court against the Angelina, Cohan admits he is a "tester" looking for ADA violations at businesses and "tests all of those barriers to access...."
He then "proceeds with legal action to enjoin such discrimination and subsequently returns to the premises to verify its compliance or noncompliance....."
He wrote that he has "numerous disabilities including spinal stenosis, which causes a restriction to his spinal canal, resulting gin a neurological deficit."
In the Angelina case, he wrote that it failed to "provide access to the swimming pool and parking for disabled persons."
According to Title III of the ADA, places open to the public must remove physical barriers to pools, which usually means a property installing a fixed pool lift. The provision took effect on Jan. 31, 2013.
"The reality of what happens in these cases is that going ahead and correcting the problem is always the only thing you can do," Angelina Guest House lawyer David Paul Horan said.
The guest house has already had a handicapped parking spot repainted and a pool lift is on order. Horan said the property will be in compliance, however, the owners may have to pay attorneys fees and costs despite coming into compliance.
"You can't fight it," Horan said. "The only thing you can do is stop the blood."
The Westin case was settled six weeks after Cohan sued it on April 6.
"We agreed to make the changes that were required," said Maureen Deskins, the lawyer that represented the resort.
Cohan has filed similar lawsuits statewide, including against properties in Delray Beach, Pompano Beach and Bal Harbour. Horan said Cohan cannot collect damages under the ADA.
According to Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office records, Cohan's 7,946-square-foot Boca Raton home has a 2014 market value of $1,208,504. Nonetheless, according to federal court records, he has twice filed for bankruptcy since May 2013.
Mark Cohen, Cohan's lawyer in the case against Angelina Guest House, could not be reached for comment, nor could Cohan.
BY ANTHONY CAVE acave@keynoter.com
June 17, 2015
http://www.keysnet.com/2015/06/17/503144/boca-man-targets-keys-resorts.html
Howard Cohan apparently sues for a living -- and admits it in court documents.
The Boca Raton man has filed countless lawsuits since 2013 alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at hotels. That law requires access to public accommodations for the disabled.
Lately, he's been targeting Florida Keys hotels, among them the Angelina Guest House on Angela Street, the Key West and the Westin Key West Resort and Marina and Banana Bay in Key West; Caloosa Cove Resort, Casa Morada and the Matecumbe Resort in Islamorada; and the Bayside Inn Key Largo, Holiday Inn Key Largo and Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort in Key Largo.
Such so-called serial ADA litigators are not uncommon.
In his May 20 filing in U.S. District Court against the Angelina, Cohan admits he is a "tester" looking for ADA violations at businesses and "tests all of those barriers to access...."
He then "proceeds with legal action to enjoin such discrimination and subsequently returns to the premises to verify its compliance or noncompliance....."
He wrote that he has "numerous disabilities including spinal stenosis, which causes a restriction to his spinal canal, resulting gin a neurological deficit."
In the Angelina case, he wrote that it failed to "provide access to the swimming pool and parking for disabled persons."
According to Title III of the ADA, places open to the public must remove physical barriers to pools, which usually means a property installing a fixed pool lift. The provision took effect on Jan. 31, 2013.
"The reality of what happens in these cases is that going ahead and correcting the problem is always the only thing you can do," Angelina Guest House lawyer David Paul Horan said.
The guest house has already had a handicapped parking spot repainted and a pool lift is on order. Horan said the property will be in compliance, however, the owners may have to pay attorneys fees and costs despite coming into compliance.
"You can't fight it," Horan said. "The only thing you can do is stop the blood."
The Westin case was settled six weeks after Cohan sued it on April 6.
"We agreed to make the changes that were required," said Maureen Deskins, the lawyer that represented the resort.
Cohan has filed similar lawsuits statewide, including against properties in Delray Beach, Pompano Beach and Bal Harbour. Horan said Cohan cannot collect damages under the ADA.
According to Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office records, Cohan's 7,946-square-foot Boca Raton home has a 2014 market value of $1,208,504. Nonetheless, according to federal court records, he has twice filed for bankruptcy since May 2013.
Mark Cohen, Cohan's lawyer in the case against Angelina Guest House, could not be reached for comment, nor could Cohan.