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Lemoore business hit with ADA lawsuit
Latest complaint filed as Hanford cases wind down, reslove
http://hanfordsentinel.com/news/lemoore/lemoore-business-hit-with-ada-lawsuit/article_7d581bdd-770d-5f8d-ad64-cd9c3b27ba30.html
LEMOORE — As the recent wave of Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits winds down in Hanford, the focus may be shifting to Lemoore.
On Oct. 12, Kings County resident Rachel Lobato filed a lawsuit against Best Buy Market and the surrounding Lincoln Center shopping center at Bush Street and 19th Avenue.
Lobato, who is being represented by the San Jose-based Moore Law Firm, is described as being “substantially limited in her ability to walk, and must use a cane, walker, or wheelchair for mobility.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or ADA, seeks to prohibit discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for disabled people with regards to employment, government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities and transportation.
According to the complaint, Lobato visited Best Buy Market on April 5 and encountered the following obstacles:
•After struggling to find an accessible parking space, which was only “marginally designated” as accessible and “lacked proper signage,” Lobato encountered a curb ramp on her way into the store. The ramp caused her to lose her balance, “making her fearful for her safety and uncomfortable using the ramp.”
•The curb ramp leading up to the store was cracked and uneven, making it difficult for Lobato to maintain her balance.
Skip Nugent, co-owner of Best Buy Market, said he just learned about the lawsuit on Saturday. He said it came as a “complete surprise,” as he’s never received any accessibility complaints about any of Best Buy Market’s three stores.
Nugent said the Lemoore parking lot has been resurfaced and repainted several times since the store opened, and he was not aware that anything might have been out of compliance.
“I just wish they had let us fix it instead of going this route,” Nugent said.
Best Buy Market also has stores in Hanford and Visalia. The Lemoore location, which opened in 2006, is the newest of the three.
The Lemoore Chamber of Commerce sent out an alert Monday in its weekly email notice to warn local businesses about the lawsuit. Chamber CEO Jenny MacMurdo said she wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible to help avoid further lawsuits.
The chamber held an ADA compliance workshop on Sept. 16 after lawsuits were filed against 13 Hanford businesses. MacMurdo said it’s unclear whether the Best Buy Market lawsuit is an isolated incident or if others will follow.
MacMurdo said the chamber may hold another workshop if more businesses are sued.
“If we hear from more people, I think we will,” MacMurdo said.
As of Tuesday, The Sentinel was not able to identify any other ADA lawsuits filed in Lemoore.
Lobato is listed as the plaintiff in two other ADA lawsuits that were also filed on Oct. 12. Those were filed against Bob’s Frosty King in Lindsay and Lupe’s Restaurant in Delano.
Lobato has filed 30 cases with the U.S. Eastern District Court of California so far this year, including two in Corcoran. Eighteen of those cases have been resolved.
More than a dozen ADA lawsuits were filed in Hanford earlier this year by Jose Escobedo, who reportedly requires a cane or walker for mobility, suffers from arthritis and is missing a digit on his dominant hand. Escobedo also filed a lawsuit against the Kwik Break Deli Mart at Highway 41 and Grangeville Boulevard, just north of Lemoore.
According to the court, Escobedo has filed 51 lawsuits this year. Of those, 33 have been resolved.
Escobedo's lawsuit against the Star Restaurant may soon reach a settlement. Eddy Funahashi, who owns the building that includes the Star Restaurant and Ed’s Tick-Tock Jewelers, said the two parties have agreed to terms that have not yet been finalized.
Funahashi said the settlement includes a monetary payment, which he declined to disclose, and a number of accessibility improvements. He said the plaintiff’s attorneys agreed that some of their initial demands could not be met.
“There’s a lot of things that just can’t be done because of the way some of these buildings were made,” Funahashi said.
The Star Restaurant has been at its location on Sixth Street since 1901.
As of this week, lawsuits against at least seven Hanford businesses have been dismissed. Those include:
•Cisneros Taqueria
•Donut Country
•Frosty King
•Hanford Shell (gas station)
•R-N Market
•Tacos y Mariscos Colima
•Bangar’s Texaco (gas station)
Julie Griffiths, Central California regional director for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, said ADA lawsuits typically cost at least $40,000 to fight in court. The hefty price tag precludes most small business owners from even trying. Griffiths said most attorneys will advise their clients to settle if the settlement is less expensive than the cost of having their day in court.
“Usually if it’s ‘dismissed,’ it means they agreed to a settlement,” Griffiths said.
Tanya Moore, the attorney representing Escobedo and Lobato, told The Sentinel earlier this year that lawsuits are the only means of enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act. Although her clients are often vilified by the business community, Moore said, businesses have been required to comply with ADA for more than two decades.
Latest complaint filed as Hanford cases wind down, reslove
http://hanfordsentinel.com/news/lemoore/lemoore-business-hit-with-ada-lawsuit/article_7d581bdd-770d-5f8d-ad64-cd9c3b27ba30.html
LEMOORE — As the recent wave of Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits winds down in Hanford, the focus may be shifting to Lemoore.
On Oct. 12, Kings County resident Rachel Lobato filed a lawsuit against Best Buy Market and the surrounding Lincoln Center shopping center at Bush Street and 19th Avenue.
Lobato, who is being represented by the San Jose-based Moore Law Firm, is described as being “substantially limited in her ability to walk, and must use a cane, walker, or wheelchair for mobility.”
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or ADA, seeks to prohibit discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for disabled people with regards to employment, government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities and transportation.
According to the complaint, Lobato visited Best Buy Market on April 5 and encountered the following obstacles:
•After struggling to find an accessible parking space, which was only “marginally designated” as accessible and “lacked proper signage,” Lobato encountered a curb ramp on her way into the store. The ramp caused her to lose her balance, “making her fearful for her safety and uncomfortable using the ramp.”
•The curb ramp leading up to the store was cracked and uneven, making it difficult for Lobato to maintain her balance.
Skip Nugent, co-owner of Best Buy Market, said he just learned about the lawsuit on Saturday. He said it came as a “complete surprise,” as he’s never received any accessibility complaints about any of Best Buy Market’s three stores.
Nugent said the Lemoore parking lot has been resurfaced and repainted several times since the store opened, and he was not aware that anything might have been out of compliance.
“I just wish they had let us fix it instead of going this route,” Nugent said.
Best Buy Market also has stores in Hanford and Visalia. The Lemoore location, which opened in 2006, is the newest of the three.
The Lemoore Chamber of Commerce sent out an alert Monday in its weekly email notice to warn local businesses about the lawsuit. Chamber CEO Jenny MacMurdo said she wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible to help avoid further lawsuits.
The chamber held an ADA compliance workshop on Sept. 16 after lawsuits were filed against 13 Hanford businesses. MacMurdo said it’s unclear whether the Best Buy Market lawsuit is an isolated incident or if others will follow.
MacMurdo said the chamber may hold another workshop if more businesses are sued.
“If we hear from more people, I think we will,” MacMurdo said.
As of Tuesday, The Sentinel was not able to identify any other ADA lawsuits filed in Lemoore.
Lobato is listed as the plaintiff in two other ADA lawsuits that were also filed on Oct. 12. Those were filed against Bob’s Frosty King in Lindsay and Lupe’s Restaurant in Delano.
Lobato has filed 30 cases with the U.S. Eastern District Court of California so far this year, including two in Corcoran. Eighteen of those cases have been resolved.
More than a dozen ADA lawsuits were filed in Hanford earlier this year by Jose Escobedo, who reportedly requires a cane or walker for mobility, suffers from arthritis and is missing a digit on his dominant hand. Escobedo also filed a lawsuit against the Kwik Break Deli Mart at Highway 41 and Grangeville Boulevard, just north of Lemoore.
According to the court, Escobedo has filed 51 lawsuits this year. Of those, 33 have been resolved.
Escobedo's lawsuit against the Star Restaurant may soon reach a settlement. Eddy Funahashi, who owns the building that includes the Star Restaurant and Ed’s Tick-Tock Jewelers, said the two parties have agreed to terms that have not yet been finalized.
Funahashi said the settlement includes a monetary payment, which he declined to disclose, and a number of accessibility improvements. He said the plaintiff’s attorneys agreed that some of their initial demands could not be met.
“There’s a lot of things that just can’t be done because of the way some of these buildings were made,” Funahashi said.
The Star Restaurant has been at its location on Sixth Street since 1901.
As of this week, lawsuits against at least seven Hanford businesses have been dismissed. Those include:
•Cisneros Taqueria
•Donut Country
•Frosty King
•Hanford Shell (gas station)
•R-N Market
•Tacos y Mariscos Colima
•Bangar’s Texaco (gas station)
Julie Griffiths, Central California regional director for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, said ADA lawsuits typically cost at least $40,000 to fight in court. The hefty price tag precludes most small business owners from even trying. Griffiths said most attorneys will advise their clients to settle if the settlement is less expensive than the cost of having their day in court.
“Usually if it’s ‘dismissed,’ it means they agreed to a settlement,” Griffiths said.
Tanya Moore, the attorney representing Escobedo and Lobato, told The Sentinel earlier this year that lawsuits are the only means of enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act. Although her clients are often vilified by the business community, Moore said, businesses have been required to comply with ADA for more than two decades.
