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South Florida leads nation in controversial disability lawsuits
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bro...,4586435.story
By Amy Shipley and John Maines, Sun Sentinel
11:06 p.m. EST, January 11, 2014
South Florida has become the runaway national leader in federal disabled-access lawsuits that some say are accomplishing little more than providing quick cash to attorneys.
More than one of every five such claims filed in the United States in 2013 originated in the Southern District of Florida, where cases often end in hasty settlements that ensure attorneys get paid and make the lawsuits disappear — but fail to correct the violations they are supposed to address.
Local business owners say they are being extorted by a handful of serial-filing lawyers more concerned with turning profits than helping the disabled
"They don't care if you fix it or not," said Darcy L. Tyson, a Delray Beach code enforcement officer. The businesses "pay between $5,000 and $12,000 and it goes away ... People are taking complete advantage. It's a moneymaker. It has nothing to do with compliance."
The suits, which allege violations ranging from wheelchair ramps that are too steep to paper-towel dispensers perched too high, now hit South Florida's federal courts more than twice a day and have swelled by 500 percent in the last five years. The rise in local cases has significantly outpaced the national average, which has seen cases nearly double during that time.
Just five attorneys and a handful of plaintiffs brought almost two-thirds of the nearly 700 disabled-access suits in Florida's southern district in 2013. They say they are performing a public service by pressuring reluctant business owners to meet accommodation standards laid out in the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act.
"The only people who enforce the ADA are these few plaintiffs and their attorneys," said Thomas B. Bacon, a Cooper City attorney who has represented plaintiffs in more than 300 disabled-access cases.
Though the U.S. government also files occasional lawsuits, the Act was designed to empower private citizens to bring claims so the Department of Justice would not have the burden of chasing down every mom-and-pop operation in violation.
Only the attorneys, not the plaintiffs, stand to profit from the suits. The Act does not provide for damages, but it was designed to give citizens incentive to bring the lawsuits by allowing them to recover what they pay for attorneys and court fees. The financial risk of paying the bills for two sets of attorneys motivates many businesses to settle rather than go to court.
But the law provides no such incentive for plaintiffs and their attorneys to ensure that promised improvements are made once the checks clear.
"About 80 percent of the [businesses] don't ever do the changes or do a minimal amount of changes, and that defeats the whole purpose of the ADA," said Bob Cohen, the head of Access for the Disabled, a not-for-profit in Coral Springs that has been a party in more than 375 such lawsuits.
Neighborhoods from Palm Beach to Miami-Dade counties have been hit by the recent waves of lawsuits. Eight eateries along a lively third-of-a-mile stretch of Delray Beach's Atlantic Avenue — including Buddha Sky Bar, City Oyster & Sushi Bar, Carpe Diem, Scuola Vecchia Pizza e Vino and the now-closed Paddy McGee's — were named in suits from a single plaintiff during a one-month filing blitz just over a year ago.
One Palm Beach restaurant owner confided to the Sun Sentinel that he agreed in a settlement to pay more than $12,000 in plaintiff's attorney's fees, but didn't have enough cash after forking over those costs to fix all of the violations in his establishment. The owner declined to be named. So far, he said, nobody's come back to check.
"What I've seen out there is almost zero enforcement of previous settlement agreements," said Douglas Steven Schapiro, a Boca Raton attorney who has both sued and defended businesses in ADA cases. "Which is really sad."
Dangerous door mats
Before he was served with a lawsuit in October, Sergio do Rosario said he had not received a single complaint about access to his strip mall in Pompano Beach.
The suit alleged at least nine violations. Among them: Do Rosario's disabled parking space was not large enough to accommodate a disabled-access van, and door mats at store entrances represented dangerous obstacles.
Do Rosario said he and his business partner could have improved the property if given notice before a lawsuit was filed. Now, he said, they have additional costs to bear.
"I not only have to pay for a [new] ramp, I have to pay some lawyer $500 per hour," do Rosario said.
Joe Houston, who requires a wheelchair to get around and has limited use of his hands, disputed the assertion that businesses would willingly comply with federal law if only they knew they were in violation.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bro...,4586435.story
By Amy Shipley and John Maines, Sun Sentinel
11:06 p.m. EST, January 11, 2014
South Florida has become the runaway national leader in federal disabled-access lawsuits that some say are accomplishing little more than providing quick cash to attorneys.
More than one of every five such claims filed in the United States in 2013 originated in the Southern District of Florida, where cases often end in hasty settlements that ensure attorneys get paid and make the lawsuits disappear — but fail to correct the violations they are supposed to address.
Local business owners say they are being extorted by a handful of serial-filing lawyers more concerned with turning profits than helping the disabled
"They don't care if you fix it or not," said Darcy L. Tyson, a Delray Beach code enforcement officer. The businesses "pay between $5,000 and $12,000 and it goes away ... People are taking complete advantage. It's a moneymaker. It has nothing to do with compliance."
The suits, which allege violations ranging from wheelchair ramps that are too steep to paper-towel dispensers perched too high, now hit South Florida's federal courts more than twice a day and have swelled by 500 percent in the last five years. The rise in local cases has significantly outpaced the national average, which has seen cases nearly double during that time.
Just five attorneys and a handful of plaintiffs brought almost two-thirds of the nearly 700 disabled-access suits in Florida's southern district in 2013. They say they are performing a public service by pressuring reluctant business owners to meet accommodation standards laid out in the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act.
"The only people who enforce the ADA are these few plaintiffs and their attorneys," said Thomas B. Bacon, a Cooper City attorney who has represented plaintiffs in more than 300 disabled-access cases.
Though the U.S. government also files occasional lawsuits, the Act was designed to empower private citizens to bring claims so the Department of Justice would not have the burden of chasing down every mom-and-pop operation in violation.
Only the attorneys, not the plaintiffs, stand to profit from the suits. The Act does not provide for damages, but it was designed to give citizens incentive to bring the lawsuits by allowing them to recover what they pay for attorneys and court fees. The financial risk of paying the bills for two sets of attorneys motivates many businesses to settle rather than go to court.
But the law provides no such incentive for plaintiffs and their attorneys to ensure that promised improvements are made once the checks clear.
"About 80 percent of the [businesses] don't ever do the changes or do a minimal amount of changes, and that defeats the whole purpose of the ADA," said Bob Cohen, the head of Access for the Disabled, a not-for-profit in Coral Springs that has been a party in more than 375 such lawsuits.
Neighborhoods from Palm Beach to Miami-Dade counties have been hit by the recent waves of lawsuits. Eight eateries along a lively third-of-a-mile stretch of Delray Beach's Atlantic Avenue — including Buddha Sky Bar, City Oyster & Sushi Bar, Carpe Diem, Scuola Vecchia Pizza e Vino and the now-closed Paddy McGee's — were named in suits from a single plaintiff during a one-month filing blitz just over a year ago.
One Palm Beach restaurant owner confided to the Sun Sentinel that he agreed in a settlement to pay more than $12,000 in plaintiff's attorney's fees, but didn't have enough cash after forking over those costs to fix all of the violations in his establishment. The owner declined to be named. So far, he said, nobody's come back to check.
"What I've seen out there is almost zero enforcement of previous settlement agreements," said Douglas Steven Schapiro, a Boca Raton attorney who has both sued and defended businesses in ADA cases. "Which is really sad."
Dangerous door mats
Before he was served with a lawsuit in October, Sergio do Rosario said he had not received a single complaint about access to his strip mall in Pompano Beach.
The suit alleged at least nine violations. Among them: Do Rosario's disabled parking space was not large enough to accommodate a disabled-access van, and door mats at store entrances represented dangerous obstacles.
Do Rosario said he and his business partner could have improved the property if given notice before a lawsuit was filed. Now, he said, they have additional costs to bear.
"I not only have to pay for a [new] ramp, I have to pay some lawyer $500 per hour," do Rosario said.
Joe Houston, who requires a wheelchair to get around and has limited use of his hands, disputed the assertion that businesses would willingly comply with federal law if only they knew they were in violation.
