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New legislation targets predatory ADA lawsuits
http://www.modbee.com/news/local/article5657631.html
By Garth Stapley - gstapley@modbee.com
01/08/2015 6:42 PM
Yet another San Joaquin Valley lawmaker has introduced state legislation to dampen predatory lawsuits against businesses brought in the name of greater access for disabled people.
Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Manteca, this week unveiled Senate Bill 67 to “reduce the profit incentive to file frivolous lawsuits based on minor and technical deficiencies,” she said in a press release.
A wave of lawsuits claiming bias and based on the federal Americans with Disabilities Act has been washing over the Valley, hitting about 60 businesses in Stanislaus and Merced counties alone. The latest targets include Gervasoni’s restaurant in downtown Modesto, and International House of Pancakes and Donut King in Merced.
Suing Gervasoni’s is Robert McCarthy, a pedophile from Arizona who has been steadily going after hundreds of California companies over 14 years, except while incarcerated on child pornography and fraud convictions. He has sued 14 businesses in Modesto, Ceres and Turlock and four in Atwater, Merced and Los Banos, The Modesto Bee and Merced Sun-Star revealed in a September series focused on ADA lawsuits.
Former owner Gary Gervasoni sold the property last month to the state, which intends to build a courthouse on the block bounded by G, H, Ninth and 10th streets in a land deal accommodated by Modesto City Hall. Gervasoni’s intends to move in December, co-owner Serena Sisson said Thursday, although a new location has not been decided on.
Other eateries, including the Barnwood in Ripon and Ming’s in Los Banos, blamed predatory lawsuits when they closed for good in recent months.
All lawsuits detected by The Bee and the Sun-Star were filed by four plaintiffs working independently with separate sets of lawyers. Aside from McCarthy, the plaintiffs are Aurora Cervantes of Atwater, and Cecil Shaw and Juan Moreno, both of Southern California and both of whom have filed hundreds of ADA lawsuits throughout the state. Moreno died soon after the McClatchy series was published in September, while Shaw has filed 16 more since then.
Cervantes targeted the Merced IHOP in December and Donut King on Tuesday, claiming “difficulty finding the proper designated disabled parking space for vans,” with identical wording, in both complaints. She suffers from lupus, say her lawsuits, which have been centered in Merced County and Turlock.
Last month, on the first day of a new legislative session, Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Riverbank, and Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, introduced companion bills addressing the same issue. Gray’s AB 52 would give small businesses six months to fix ADA violations, and Olsen’s AB 54 would give companies two months if claimed violations are based on standards that changed in the previous three years.
Galgiani has hosted public workshops aimed at helping business owners learn how to avoid such lawsuits by complying with the law. She had joined a host of Valley legislators from both political parties who signed on to support the two December bills; others include Republican Sens. Tom Berryhill of Twain Harte and Anthony Cannella of Modesto.
Galgiani’s SB 67, which has no co-authors, would require that those suing prove they have suffered “actual harm” when visiting a business instead of simply spotting violations such as mirrors too high for wheelchairs or signs of the wrong size or color. It also would allow businesses four months to fix problems after receiving a complaint.
Like Olsen and Gray, Galgiani said the ADA’s intent – making life easier for the disabled – is good, but that professional victims and unscrupulous attorneys have abused the law to extort money from hardworking business owners.
“The law was not designed to be a get-rich-quick scheme for predatory lawyers,” Galgiani said. She wants to “limit these shakedown lawsuits and protect California business from exploitation.”
Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at gstapley@modbee.com or (209) 578-2390.
A seminar helping business owners comply with laws requiring access for the disabled will be held Jan. 29 at the State Theatre in downtown Modesto. Early registration costs $25; tickets at the door will be $30. Details are available at the Disability Resource Agency for Independent Living, (209) 521-7260.
http://www.modbee.com/news/local/article5657631.html
By Garth Stapley - gstapley@modbee.com
01/08/2015 6:42 PM
Yet another San Joaquin Valley lawmaker has introduced state legislation to dampen predatory lawsuits against businesses brought in the name of greater access for disabled people.
Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Manteca, this week unveiled Senate Bill 67 to “reduce the profit incentive to file frivolous lawsuits based on minor and technical deficiencies,” she said in a press release.
A wave of lawsuits claiming bias and based on the federal Americans with Disabilities Act has been washing over the Valley, hitting about 60 businesses in Stanislaus and Merced counties alone. The latest targets include Gervasoni’s restaurant in downtown Modesto, and International House of Pancakes and Donut King in Merced.
Suing Gervasoni’s is Robert McCarthy, a pedophile from Arizona who has been steadily going after hundreds of California companies over 14 years, except while incarcerated on child pornography and fraud convictions. He has sued 14 businesses in Modesto, Ceres and Turlock and four in Atwater, Merced and Los Banos, The Modesto Bee and Merced Sun-Star revealed in a September series focused on ADA lawsuits.
Former owner Gary Gervasoni sold the property last month to the state, which intends to build a courthouse on the block bounded by G, H, Ninth and 10th streets in a land deal accommodated by Modesto City Hall. Gervasoni’s intends to move in December, co-owner Serena Sisson said Thursday, although a new location has not been decided on.
Other eateries, including the Barnwood in Ripon and Ming’s in Los Banos, blamed predatory lawsuits when they closed for good in recent months.
All lawsuits detected by The Bee and the Sun-Star were filed by four plaintiffs working independently with separate sets of lawyers. Aside from McCarthy, the plaintiffs are Aurora Cervantes of Atwater, and Cecil Shaw and Juan Moreno, both of Southern California and both of whom have filed hundreds of ADA lawsuits throughout the state. Moreno died soon after the McClatchy series was published in September, while Shaw has filed 16 more since then.
Cervantes targeted the Merced IHOP in December and Donut King on Tuesday, claiming “difficulty finding the proper designated disabled parking space for vans,” with identical wording, in both complaints. She suffers from lupus, say her lawsuits, which have been centered in Merced County and Turlock.
Last month, on the first day of a new legislative session, Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Riverbank, and Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, introduced companion bills addressing the same issue. Gray’s AB 52 would give small businesses six months to fix ADA violations, and Olsen’s AB 54 would give companies two months if claimed violations are based on standards that changed in the previous three years.
Galgiani has hosted public workshops aimed at helping business owners learn how to avoid such lawsuits by complying with the law. She had joined a host of Valley legislators from both political parties who signed on to support the two December bills; others include Republican Sens. Tom Berryhill of Twain Harte and Anthony Cannella of Modesto.
Galgiani’s SB 67, which has no co-authors, would require that those suing prove they have suffered “actual harm” when visiting a business instead of simply spotting violations such as mirrors too high for wheelchairs or signs of the wrong size or color. It also would allow businesses four months to fix problems after receiving a complaint.
Like Olsen and Gray, Galgiani said the ADA’s intent – making life easier for the disabled – is good, but that professional victims and unscrupulous attorneys have abused the law to extort money from hardworking business owners.
“The law was not designed to be a get-rich-quick scheme for predatory lawyers,” Galgiani said. She wants to “limit these shakedown lawsuits and protect California business from exploitation.”
Bee staff writer Garth Stapley can be reached at gstapley@modbee.com or (209) 578-2390.
A seminar helping business owners comply with laws requiring access for the disabled will be held Jan. 29 at the State Theatre in downtown Modesto. Early registration costs $25; tickets at the door will be $30. Details are available at the Disability Resource Agency for Independent Living, (209) 521-7260.
