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SAWHORSE
Disabled activist hits Lodi with civil rights claim
By Keith Reid
Record Staff Writer
http://m.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110915/A_NEWS/109150318/-1/WAP07&template=wapart&m_section=WAP07
September 15, 2011 - 12:00 AM
A notorious Americans with Disabilities Act litigant from West Sacramento filed a claim against Lodi on Wednesday alleging that his civil rights have been violated on city sidewalks that are inaccessible for wheelchairs, and he is seeking nearly a half-million dollars for his trouble.
George S. Louie is looking to be paid $4,000 for each sidewalk or curb ramp - 123 in Lodi for a total of $492,000 - that he says violates ADA law.
Louie claims Lodi does not have an adequate ADA transition plan that creates more mobility for people using wheelchairs.
Lodi City Attorney Steve Schwabauer said the city will deny the claim.
"The city has an ADA transition plan, and sidewalks are an integral part of the plan. We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to comply with the transition plan, and we're satisfied with it," Schwabauer said.
Louie's claim, filed through his Folsom-based attorney, Keith Cable, states "the city facilities and property is/are rife with architectural barriers violative of the ADA, as well as California's Unruh Civil Rights Act and Disabled Persons Act."
The claim also indicates that the law does not require a claimant to "personally encounter all barriers."
Cable could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Louie has become notorious in California for filing thousands of ADA lawsuits, earning him the nickname "Litigious Louie."
He has won his fair share of suits but has also been listed in a Contra Costa County database as a vexatious litigant, a label attached to people who file lawsuits without merit.
The Marysville Appeal-Democrat reported in May that a lawsuit Louie filed in Yolo County was halted after a creditor issued a bankruptcy action against him in February.
Contact reporter Keith Reid at (209) 546-8257 or kreid@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/lodiblog.
By Keith Reid
Record Staff Writer
http://m.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110915/A_NEWS/109150318/-1/WAP07&template=wapart&m_section=WAP07
September 15, 2011 - 12:00 AM
A notorious Americans with Disabilities Act litigant from West Sacramento filed a claim against Lodi on Wednesday alleging that his civil rights have been violated on city sidewalks that are inaccessible for wheelchairs, and he is seeking nearly a half-million dollars for his trouble.
George S. Louie is looking to be paid $4,000 for each sidewalk or curb ramp - 123 in Lodi for a total of $492,000 - that he says violates ADA law.
Louie claims Lodi does not have an adequate ADA transition plan that creates more mobility for people using wheelchairs.
Lodi City Attorney Steve Schwabauer said the city will deny the claim.
"The city has an ADA transition plan, and sidewalks are an integral part of the plan. We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to comply with the transition plan, and we're satisfied with it," Schwabauer said.
Louie's claim, filed through his Folsom-based attorney, Keith Cable, states "the city facilities and property is/are rife with architectural barriers violative of the ADA, as well as California's Unruh Civil Rights Act and Disabled Persons Act."
The claim also indicates that the law does not require a claimant to "personally encounter all barriers."
Cable could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Louie has become notorious in California for filing thousands of ADA lawsuits, earning him the nickname "Litigious Louie."
He has won his fair share of suits but has also been listed in a Contra Costa County database as a vexatious litigant, a label attached to people who file lawsuits without merit.
The Marysville Appeal-Democrat reported in May that a lawsuit Louie filed in Yolo County was halted after a creditor issued a bankruptcy action against him in February.
Contact reporter Keith Reid at (209) 546-8257 or kreid@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/lodiblog.