mark handler
SAWHORSE
Serial litigant takes rare loss in SJ County
By Reed Fujii Record Staff Writer Posted Jun 1, 2016 at 6:54 PMUpdated at 9:52 PMScott Johnson, a disabled Carmichael resident who has filed hundreds of disability access lawsuits against businesses in San Joaquin County and elsewhere in recent years, lost at least one case against a Manteca convenience store.In a decision handed down last week in San Joaquin County Superior Court, Judge F. Clark Sueyres ruled that Johnson was not denied access to the business, even though the store’s “handicap space and access were unlawful as surface markings were not blue and the lane contained no written message.”Johnson’s attorney failed to show the bad markings were enough to prevent the disabled man’s entry to the store and that a reasonable person would agree it was an entry barrier.“Plaintiff has failed to prove objectively reasonable deterrence,” Sueyres concluded.Gurenderjeet Sandhu, owner of Manteca Liquor & Food at 890 N. Main St., said he sought justice in taking the case to trial. It was the third time he’d been targeted by a Johnson lawsuit.“My motive was I don’t think it was right,” he said Wednesday. “This person was misusing the law.”The judge’s decision noted that in trial testimony Johnson, after seeing handicapped parking space at Manteca Liquor, said he decided the access was inadequate and remained in his vehicle at a gas pump, while a companion entered the store to make purchases.“That’s what made me really upset,” Sandhu said. “This guy would not even try to come in and shop.”Sandhu’s attorney, Mark Gallagher of Folsom, said he would file a claim with the court seeking reimbursement of legal fees and attorney costs from Johnson.Johnson’s attorney, Mark Potter of San Diego, did not return a phone call seeking comment.Gallagher said amid the legal fights and legislative debates over the Americans with Disabilities Act, and how the federal law is applied in California, one fact often goes overlooked.“There’s a requirement that the violation must actually have an adverse impact on you,” he said.
By Reed Fujii Record Staff Writer Posted Jun 1, 2016 at 6:54 PMUpdated at 9:52 PMScott Johnson, a disabled Carmichael resident who has filed hundreds of disability access lawsuits against businesses in San Joaquin County and elsewhere in recent years, lost at least one case against a Manteca convenience store.In a decision handed down last week in San Joaquin County Superior Court, Judge F. Clark Sueyres ruled that Johnson was not denied access to the business, even though the store’s “handicap space and access were unlawful as surface markings were not blue and the lane contained no written message.”Johnson’s attorney failed to show the bad markings were enough to prevent the disabled man’s entry to the store and that a reasonable person would agree it was an entry barrier.“Plaintiff has failed to prove objectively reasonable deterrence,” Sueyres concluded.Gurenderjeet Sandhu, owner of Manteca Liquor & Food at 890 N. Main St., said he sought justice in taking the case to trial. It was the third time he’d been targeted by a Johnson lawsuit.“My motive was I don’t think it was right,” he said Wednesday. “This person was misusing the law.”The judge’s decision noted that in trial testimony Johnson, after seeing handicapped parking space at Manteca Liquor, said he decided the access was inadequate and remained in his vehicle at a gas pump, while a companion entered the store to make purchases.“That’s what made me really upset,” Sandhu said. “This guy would not even try to come in and shop.”Sandhu’s attorney, Mark Gallagher of Folsom, said he would file a claim with the court seeking reimbursement of legal fees and attorney costs from Johnson.Johnson’s attorney, Mark Potter of San Diego, did not return a phone call seeking comment.Gallagher said amid the legal fights and legislative debates over the Americans with Disabilities Act, and how the federal law is applied in California, one fact often goes overlooked.“There’s a requirement that the violation must actually have an adverse impact on you,” he said.
