Prolific ADA lawsuit filer Tanya Moore is back in the news for continuing to extort small businesses up and down California for alleged violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
About a week ago ABC 30 highlighted the often unfair tactics that ADA plaintiff’s attorneys use to obtain settlements from unsuspecting business owners and landlords.
Specifically, the news report uncovers what many in the ADA community have suspected all along: plaintiff’s lawyers direct their clients to visit specific businesses with the sole intent of later suing that business. Of course the Plaintiff’s lawyers deny this practice, but enough has been uncovered over the years to support this outrageous claim.
The “private right of action” in the original ADA law was intended to allow aggrieved disabled people to force business owners to comply with disability access laws. California legislators have taken the ADA one step further by enacting California-specific laws that automatically award $4,000 to an ADA plaintiff — wether or not the disabled person was actually injured or not.
It is this automatic award of $4,000 in damages that has spawned thousands upon thousands of these ADA lawsuits throughout the state. Until the Legislature acts to remove these unjustified monetary penalties, businesses will continue to be plagued by these lawsuits.
ADA plaintiff’s lawyers are unapologetic about their role in the system. They can point to specific points of law that have been upheld numerous times by California appellate courts validating their strategy. Just like everybody else, they are out to make money — and they have discovered a specific law that lets them earn millions of dollars per year in settlements.
There are ways to fight back against these greedy ADA attorneys. The most important step that you can take is to ensure that your property is 100% ADA complaint. After all, the ADA is the law of the land.
If you have been served with a notice of an ADA lawsuit, don’t delay. Please contact my office at (916) 333-2222 and I will be happy to discuss your options for dealing with ADA litigation.