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Kintner addresses frivolous ADA lawsuits
http://fremonttribune.com/cass-news...cle_d66ee9c2-b693-5636-899c-3993ebb1c089.html
Opening up a business in today’s regulatory climate can be very difficult. Knowing all the federal, state, county and city regulations and building codes may be overwhelming for a new entrepreneur and surprising even to those in business for many years.
A large portion of employment opportunities are found in small businesses, which is why removing unnecessary obstacles, or preventing new burdens from being placed on the small businesses helps Nebraska economically compete with our neighboring states.
This is why I was concerned when I was contacted recently regarding potential abuse of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by a group of attorneys targeting mom-and-pop stores and other small businesses in Omaha area.
The business owner who contacted me shared media reports on a rash of ADA lawsuits in the Omaha area filed against dozens of small businesses, many in the same neighborhood.
As I looked into the story it seemed that this might be the same type of scheme that even a state like California had to counter with legislation to protect businesses from frivolous ADA lawsuits designed as a money making scheme for unscrupulous lawyers.
A few years ago, in New York City, a federal judge had to severely rebuke a handful of attorneys from New York and Florida who were using the ADA to take advantage of New York’s higher monetary rewards for plaintiffs. The judge had personally taken the unusual step of visiting the businesses in question and found most of the claims that had been lodged against the businesses to be frivolous, if not completely fictitious.
The report out of Omaha describes that dozens of businesses were caught off guard by the ADA lawsuits.
One long standing business owner who was targeted as having an unaccessible building, said her restaurant has always had a wheelchair ramp and disabled parking space, and has never had anyone comment that they couldn’t eat at her restaurant because of wheelchair accessibility.
One attorney reportedly recently filed 15 ADA lawsuits. Five of those cases were filed on behalf of a relative. Six other attorneys had filed multiple ADA claims.
Suspicions of these suits potentially being frivolous were expressed in the report even by the Assistant Omaha Planning Director, Jay Davis, who was quoted as saying, “the way (these lawsuits) have blanketed entire neighborhoods or business districts is of concern to us.”
From the report, and what I have researched so far, is that federal law doesn’t allow disabled customers filing suit against a business to collect monetary rewards, but the law does allow attorneys to collect fees to pay expert witnesses and themselves.
This is where there might be a potential motivation to abuse the intent of the ADA law. In other states this has been the case, and action by the state or judicial system had to be taken to stop unscrupulous lawyers from scamming the system.
Businesses may view paying thousands of dollars to settle a lawsuit as a better option than taking the chance and expense of losing in court on a technicality in the law and having to spend even more money on attorney fees. This is the racket, which doesn’t necessarily fix any of the “perceived” or actual ADA violations, but it can make some fairly quick money, for very little effort, for unscrupulous attorneys.
In fact, this was the case in the New York City lawsuits.
So, what can be done to protect businesses?
If you feel you have already been unfairly targeted for a frivolous ADA violation, you might want to contact the Attorney General’s office and the Nebraska State Bar Association regarding what your options are for filing complaints regarding an attorney who has allegedly filed frivolous ADA lawsuits.
What I plan to do is research the issue further to see if Nebraska can take any legislative action to protect businesses from these type of frivolous lawsuits. The legal balance should always focus on reasonable and feasible solutions for real accessibility issues.
The intent of the ADA was to make public facilities and businesses that are open to the public accessible to those with disabilities. The ADA was never meant to be a money-making law for lawyers.
Running a small business in Nebraska shouldn’t entail the running of a gauntlet of unnecessary regulation nor should there be loopholes in the law where unethical attorneys can make a living extorting businesses that have done nothing wrong.
http://fremonttribune.com/cass-news...cle_d66ee9c2-b693-5636-899c-3993ebb1c089.html
Opening up a business in today’s regulatory climate can be very difficult. Knowing all the federal, state, county and city regulations and building codes may be overwhelming for a new entrepreneur and surprising even to those in business for many years.
A large portion of employment opportunities are found in small businesses, which is why removing unnecessary obstacles, or preventing new burdens from being placed on the small businesses helps Nebraska economically compete with our neighboring states.
This is why I was concerned when I was contacted recently regarding potential abuse of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) by a group of attorneys targeting mom-and-pop stores and other small businesses in Omaha area.
The business owner who contacted me shared media reports on a rash of ADA lawsuits in the Omaha area filed against dozens of small businesses, many in the same neighborhood.
As I looked into the story it seemed that this might be the same type of scheme that even a state like California had to counter with legislation to protect businesses from frivolous ADA lawsuits designed as a money making scheme for unscrupulous lawyers.
A few years ago, in New York City, a federal judge had to severely rebuke a handful of attorneys from New York and Florida who were using the ADA to take advantage of New York’s higher monetary rewards for plaintiffs. The judge had personally taken the unusual step of visiting the businesses in question and found most of the claims that had been lodged against the businesses to be frivolous, if not completely fictitious.
The report out of Omaha describes that dozens of businesses were caught off guard by the ADA lawsuits.
One long standing business owner who was targeted as having an unaccessible building, said her restaurant has always had a wheelchair ramp and disabled parking space, and has never had anyone comment that they couldn’t eat at her restaurant because of wheelchair accessibility.
One attorney reportedly recently filed 15 ADA lawsuits. Five of those cases were filed on behalf of a relative. Six other attorneys had filed multiple ADA claims.
Suspicions of these suits potentially being frivolous were expressed in the report even by the Assistant Omaha Planning Director, Jay Davis, who was quoted as saying, “the way (these lawsuits) have blanketed entire neighborhoods or business districts is of concern to us.”
From the report, and what I have researched so far, is that federal law doesn’t allow disabled customers filing suit against a business to collect monetary rewards, but the law does allow attorneys to collect fees to pay expert witnesses and themselves.
This is where there might be a potential motivation to abuse the intent of the ADA law. In other states this has been the case, and action by the state or judicial system had to be taken to stop unscrupulous lawyers from scamming the system.
Businesses may view paying thousands of dollars to settle a lawsuit as a better option than taking the chance and expense of losing in court on a technicality in the law and having to spend even more money on attorney fees. This is the racket, which doesn’t necessarily fix any of the “perceived” or actual ADA violations, but it can make some fairly quick money, for very little effort, for unscrupulous attorneys.
In fact, this was the case in the New York City lawsuits.
So, what can be done to protect businesses?
If you feel you have already been unfairly targeted for a frivolous ADA violation, you might want to contact the Attorney General’s office and the Nebraska State Bar Association regarding what your options are for filing complaints regarding an attorney who has allegedly filed frivolous ADA lawsuits.
What I plan to do is research the issue further to see if Nebraska can take any legislative action to protect businesses from these type of frivolous lawsuits. The legal balance should always focus on reasonable and feasible solutions for real accessibility issues.
The intent of the ADA was to make public facilities and businesses that are open to the public accessible to those with disabilities. The ADA was never meant to be a money-making law for lawyers.
Running a small business in Nebraska shouldn’t entail the running of a gauntlet of unnecessary regulation nor should there be loopholes in the law where unethical attorneys can make a living extorting businesses that have done nothing wrong.