Ken Barnes: Gray continues to lead fight against professional ‘victims’
Re “ADA lawsuits haven’t let up against area shops, eateries” (Front page, March 5): Thank you for highlighting the insidious abuse of the Americans with Disabilities Act for personal gain. The example in the article of a business being sued for thousands of dollars due to a quarter-inch error on the font size of their disabled parking sign is a perfect representation of the thousands of ADA lawsuits being filed.
The thousands of “drive-by” lawsuits where plaintiffs claim a barrier to access due to technical violations of the ADA would be laughable it not for the serious consequences. In addition to the legislative proposals of years past, Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, has introduced a bill to confront serial filers. AB-913 goes after extremely high-frequency litigants, forcing lawyers who file hundreds of shakedown lawsuits to justify their legitimacy.
Business owners who intentionally disregard the ADA should be held accountable for ignoring the law. However, hard-working, diligent business owners who make a minor mistake shouldn’t be sent to bankruptcy court, have their life savings drained or be forced to give their children’s college savings account to a greedy lawyer. Unfortunately, that’s the reality of what is happening to good people all across California.
Ken Barnes, Executive Director, California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, Sacramento
This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Ken Barnes: Gray continues to lead fight against professional ‘victims’."