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Disabled access lawsuits pricey for Barstow businesses
City offers seminar on regulations
http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/barstow-12517-disabled-lawsuits.html
March 02, 2012 3:58 PM
By SAM PEARSON, Staff Writer
BARSTOW • The city of Barstow’s March 13 seminar to teach businesses about the Americans With Disabilities Act is intended to put an end to stories like Donna Ray’s.
Ray, owner of Idle Spurs Steakhouse in Barstow, received a letter two years ago from a disabled Victorville man who had visited the business alleging a string of violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act at the restaurant.
Ray said it was the first time anyone had complained about the issues, which included a lack of handicapped parking spaces, doors from the bar to the patio that were not wide enough and other primarily technical concerns.
Ray said she fixed the issues after receiving the letter. The next day, the man sued her in federal court.
Idle Spurs is one of several Barstow businesses to face ADA complaints in recent years, Planning Commission Chair Mike Lewis said. Lewis, who owns Quigley’s restaurant and a local Foster’s Freeze franchise, said most businesses opt to settle the allegations rather than risk the expense of going to court and losing the case.
Lewis said that attorneys and their clients sometimes target small businesses because they believe their owners are more likely to settle, or will not know how to defend themselves.
Ray, though, refused to settle. The additional issues, like the width of doors, could not easily be fixed because it was a structural issue with the building, which was built in the 1950s, Ray said.
Court records show that Randy Kyabu, the plantiff in the case, filed at least nine similar lawsuits in 2010, and continued filing in 2011.
Ultimately, Ray’s case went to a jury trial. Ray hired a private investigator who filmed hidden camera footage at the Victorville Swap Meet showing Kyabu walking, stooping and lifting without the cane or oxygen equipment he had used at the restaurant, Ray’s attorney, James Link, said.
Court records show that the jury found in Nov. 2011 that Kyabu did not “have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his major life activities,” and thus was not entitled to damages.
While Ray won her case, General Manager Brenda Comb said it still cost thousands of dollars to defend the business against Kyabu’s suit.
Kyabu’s attorney, Jason Singleton, could not be reached for comment Friday. A message left for Kyabu was not returned.
State law requires cities to have staff who are trained in disabled access issues in their building departments, but does not require them to take any action to make sure businesses are following the law, Link said.
Essentially, because there is no money budgeted for the government to enforce the law, plantiffs take it into their own hands, Link said. The Sacramento Bee reported in 2006 that of the 910 ADA lawsuits filed in California’s four federal court districts in 2005, nearly 80 percent were handled by 10 lawyers or law firms.
“They’ve left it up to lawyers to enforce,” Link said, “which is always a bad idea as far as I’m concerned. It can lead to abuse.”
Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4126 or spearson@desertdispatch.com
Americans With Disabilities Act Workshop
When: March 13, 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Hampton Inn, 2710 Lenwood Road
Advance registration recommended; the registration deadline is March 9.
City offers seminar on regulations
http://www.desertdispatch.com/news/barstow-12517-disabled-lawsuits.html
March 02, 2012 3:58 PM
By SAM PEARSON, Staff Writer
BARSTOW • The city of Barstow’s March 13 seminar to teach businesses about the Americans With Disabilities Act is intended to put an end to stories like Donna Ray’s.
Ray, owner of Idle Spurs Steakhouse in Barstow, received a letter two years ago from a disabled Victorville man who had visited the business alleging a string of violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act at the restaurant.
Ray said it was the first time anyone had complained about the issues, which included a lack of handicapped parking spaces, doors from the bar to the patio that were not wide enough and other primarily technical concerns.
Ray said she fixed the issues after receiving the letter. The next day, the man sued her in federal court.
Idle Spurs is one of several Barstow businesses to face ADA complaints in recent years, Planning Commission Chair Mike Lewis said. Lewis, who owns Quigley’s restaurant and a local Foster’s Freeze franchise, said most businesses opt to settle the allegations rather than risk the expense of going to court and losing the case.
Lewis said that attorneys and their clients sometimes target small businesses because they believe their owners are more likely to settle, or will not know how to defend themselves.
Ray, though, refused to settle. The additional issues, like the width of doors, could not easily be fixed because it was a structural issue with the building, which was built in the 1950s, Ray said.
Court records show that Randy Kyabu, the plantiff in the case, filed at least nine similar lawsuits in 2010, and continued filing in 2011.
Ultimately, Ray’s case went to a jury trial. Ray hired a private investigator who filmed hidden camera footage at the Victorville Swap Meet showing Kyabu walking, stooping and lifting without the cane or oxygen equipment he had used at the restaurant, Ray’s attorney, James Link, said.
Court records show that the jury found in Nov. 2011 that Kyabu did not “have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his major life activities,” and thus was not entitled to damages.
While Ray won her case, General Manager Brenda Comb said it still cost thousands of dollars to defend the business against Kyabu’s suit.
Kyabu’s attorney, Jason Singleton, could not be reached for comment Friday. A message left for Kyabu was not returned.
State law requires cities to have staff who are trained in disabled access issues in their building departments, but does not require them to take any action to make sure businesses are following the law, Link said.
Essentially, because there is no money budgeted for the government to enforce the law, plantiffs take it into their own hands, Link said. The Sacramento Bee reported in 2006 that of the 910 ADA lawsuits filed in California’s four federal court districts in 2005, nearly 80 percent were handled by 10 lawyers or law firms.
“They’ve left it up to lawyers to enforce,” Link said, “which is always a bad idea as far as I’m concerned. It can lead to abuse.”
Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4126 or spearson@desertdispatch.com
Americans With Disabilities Act Workshop
When: March 13, 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Where: Hampton Inn, 2710 Lenwood Road
Advance registration recommended; the registration deadline is March 9.