mark handler
SAWHORSE
Now it is the turn of smaller businesses in older buildings.
FYI La Habra Business Owners
http://www.lhj90631.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1881&Itemid=26
La Habra Journal
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
— Shortly before going to print the editor received a call from Paul Mori****a who, along with his wife, Annie, owns M Flowers. Their store on Harbor has become the focus of an American Disability Act suit brought by, as they understand it, an individual and a lawyer who make a living filing ADA complaints.
Paul said, “ADA has become a major deal in La Habra. We are all not compliant and probably will soon be the object of a law suit.” He has been threatened with such a suit because his parking lot was not ADA compliant. He expects there will be other issues after that one is fixed.
There now exists a category of consultant a business can hire called a State Certified ADA Specialist who is able to design corrections to the ADA issues in each building and a business owner who has taken steps to solve the problem has 30 days to comply.
As Mori****a finished describing his problems, he suggested the editor contact the attorney with whom he is dealing. That was David Warren Peters in the San Diego area.
Peters said there have been 35,000 ADA cases in California in the last few years. He said, “40% of the ADA cases are filed in California. which has a unique combination of laws which makes it profitable.”
He said it is not unusual for disabled persons and an attorney to go through a city, hitting older strip malls and shopping areas and filing complaint after complaint.
He also pointed out there is justifiable frustration among the disabled as only about 2% of the businesses and institutions in California are compliant.
Originally the big stores were targeted after the ADA laws were passed in 1992, but they have made all the changes needed and redesigned their older stores to comply and designed the ones built since to meet the requirements. They also, Peters pointed out, had the money to challenge those suing them if the complaints became outrageous.
Now it is the turn of smaller businesses in older buildings.
His advice was slightly different than Mori****a’s. Peters urged store owners or those with professional offices to contact a lawyer specializing in ADA suits before contacting a Certified Access Specialist.
To do that he advised checking out the website ADAlawsuits.com and clicking on "Being Sued." That will provide a list of lawyers with, Peters said, proven records.
That lawyer will then be able to assess which state-certified Access Specialist would be appropriate for the business.
And there is good reason to do that other than to maintain attorneys’ incomes. Peters pointed out if the specialist did an inspection, compiled a complete report on ADA violations and turned it in to a lawyer, it becomes protected information and subject to attorney/client privilege.
The plaintiff’s attorney then cannot demand the report. Peters ended by saying, “There is nothing like compliance to reduce these claims. It is not impossible to make any building comply, with enough money.”
FYI La Habra Business Owners
http://www.lhj90631.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1881&Itemid=26
La Habra Journal
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
— Shortly before going to print the editor received a call from Paul Mori****a who, along with his wife, Annie, owns M Flowers. Their store on Harbor has become the focus of an American Disability Act suit brought by, as they understand it, an individual and a lawyer who make a living filing ADA complaints.
Paul said, “ADA has become a major deal in La Habra. We are all not compliant and probably will soon be the object of a law suit.” He has been threatened with such a suit because his parking lot was not ADA compliant. He expects there will be other issues after that one is fixed.
There now exists a category of consultant a business can hire called a State Certified ADA Specialist who is able to design corrections to the ADA issues in each building and a business owner who has taken steps to solve the problem has 30 days to comply.
As Mori****a finished describing his problems, he suggested the editor contact the attorney with whom he is dealing. That was David Warren Peters in the San Diego area.
Peters said there have been 35,000 ADA cases in California in the last few years. He said, “40% of the ADA cases are filed in California. which has a unique combination of laws which makes it profitable.”
He said it is not unusual for disabled persons and an attorney to go through a city, hitting older strip malls and shopping areas and filing complaint after complaint.
He also pointed out there is justifiable frustration among the disabled as only about 2% of the businesses and institutions in California are compliant.
Originally the big stores were targeted after the ADA laws were passed in 1992, but they have made all the changes needed and redesigned their older stores to comply and designed the ones built since to meet the requirements. They also, Peters pointed out, had the money to challenge those suing them if the complaints became outrageous.
Now it is the turn of smaller businesses in older buildings.
His advice was slightly different than Mori****a’s. Peters urged store owners or those with professional offices to contact a lawyer specializing in ADA suits before contacting a Certified Access Specialist.
To do that he advised checking out the website ADAlawsuits.com and clicking on "Being Sued." That will provide a list of lawyers with, Peters said, proven records.
That lawyer will then be able to assess which state-certified Access Specialist would be appropriate for the business.
And there is good reason to do that other than to maintain attorneys’ incomes. Peters pointed out if the specialist did an inspection, compiled a complete report on ADA violations and turned it in to a lawyer, it becomes protected information and subject to attorney/client privilege.
The plaintiff’s attorney then cannot demand the report. Peters ended by saying, “There is nothing like compliance to reduce these claims. It is not impossible to make any building comply, with enough money.”
