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Professional litigant Louie defends suits against small Vallejo firms
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
Posted: 08/01/2011 01:00:54 AM PDT
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_18592799
George Louie says the dozen or so Vallejo businesses he's suing should have complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act rules if they didn't want to end up in court.
The lawyer for several of those businesses says the cases are bogus.
In any case, Louie said those he's suing would be better off not fighting him, because he plans to "burn their a--" once he gets his name removed from a statewide "vexatious litigant" list. He said he expects to walk away with at least $60,000 from this round of suits.
Often, business owners sued by Louie and other professional litigants choose to settle out of court to save time and money.
Under the law, vexatious litigants are those who file too many frivolous lawsuits. Inclusion on the list means needing permission from a county's presiding judge to file any more. Louie recently made the list, but not before filing a slew of lawsuits against Vallejo businesses.
Louie said he's suing to be removed from the list and is confident he will be. And then, he's going after the Vallejo business owners.
"It's like in 2003, (when several Louie-targeted Vallejo business owners here held meetings to discuss their options)," Louie said. "They were trash-talking, but they all paid. Every last one of them. None of them got off for free."
Recently released from the hospital after a bout with pneumonia, Louie said he's confident he'll prevail again because right is on his side.
"How can you lose when you have the regulations there, and the photos of the violations?" he said. "They think they can buck the system, but they're wrong."
Louie disputes detractors who say he seeks out businesses to sue.
"I don't go looking for (ADA violations), that would be outrageous," he said. "They just seem to find me."
The lawyer for several of the local defendants, Hussein Saffouri, said he thinks the vexatious litigant designation will stand. But even if it does, his clients might not benefit because those suits were filed days before Louie was named to the list. But Saffouri says he's prepared for either eventuality.
"His cases against my clients have no merit and that's all that matters here," he said.
Louie, who says he's a crusader for equal access to society for the disabled, said he zeroed in on Vallejo twice in eight years because he has "a lady friend" here. But he said he has some 200 lawsuits going in various cities at any given time.
"They should have taken care of this over the past 20 or 30 years," Louie said. "They can't say they didn't know."
Each ADA violation is worth $4,000 to a disabled person allegedly harmed by it. Louie said he has gained at least $500,000 from suing thousands of businesses, large and small, statewide. Since losing his leg to diabetes about a decade ago, Louie has made a life suing companies, and for a time, working with others with disabilities through a now-defunct nonprofit advocacy group.
"We made holiday baskets for whole families, and we had a fleet of vans to take people to medical appointments, but the attorney general shut us down for co-mingling funds, four or five years ago," he said.
Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com.
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
Posted: 08/01/2011 01:00:54 AM PDT
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/news/ci_18592799
George Louie says the dozen or so Vallejo businesses he's suing should have complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act rules if they didn't want to end up in court.
The lawyer for several of those businesses says the cases are bogus.
In any case, Louie said those he's suing would be better off not fighting him, because he plans to "burn their a--" once he gets his name removed from a statewide "vexatious litigant" list. He said he expects to walk away with at least $60,000 from this round of suits.
Often, business owners sued by Louie and other professional litigants choose to settle out of court to save time and money.
Under the law, vexatious litigants are those who file too many frivolous lawsuits. Inclusion on the list means needing permission from a county's presiding judge to file any more. Louie recently made the list, but not before filing a slew of lawsuits against Vallejo businesses.
Louie said he's suing to be removed from the list and is confident he will be. And then, he's going after the Vallejo business owners.
"It's like in 2003, (when several Louie-targeted Vallejo business owners here held meetings to discuss their options)," Louie said. "They were trash-talking, but they all paid. Every last one of them. None of them got off for free."
Recently released from the hospital after a bout with pneumonia, Louie said he's confident he'll prevail again because right is on his side.
"How can you lose when you have the regulations there, and the photos of the violations?" he said. "They think they can buck the system, but they're wrong."
Louie disputes detractors who say he seeks out businesses to sue.
"I don't go looking for (ADA violations), that would be outrageous," he said. "They just seem to find me."
The lawyer for several of the local defendants, Hussein Saffouri, said he thinks the vexatious litigant designation will stand. But even if it does, his clients might not benefit because those suits were filed days before Louie was named to the list. But Saffouri says he's prepared for either eventuality.
"His cases against my clients have no merit and that's all that matters here," he said.
Louie, who says he's a crusader for equal access to society for the disabled, said he zeroed in on Vallejo twice in eight years because he has "a lady friend" here. But he said he has some 200 lawsuits going in various cities at any given time.
"They should have taken care of this over the past 20 or 30 years," Louie said. "They can't say they didn't know."
Each ADA violation is worth $4,000 to a disabled person allegedly harmed by it. Louie said he has gained at least $500,000 from suing thousands of businesses, large and small, statewide. Since losing his leg to diabetes about a decade ago, Louie has made a life suing companies, and for a time, working with others with disabilities through a now-defunct nonprofit advocacy group.
"We made holiday baskets for whole families, and we had a fleet of vans to take people to medical appointments, but the attorney general shut us down for co-mingling funds, four or five years ago," he said.
Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com.