Although we frequently write about the Americans with
Disabilities Act, we rarely write about Title III of the ADA which
requires places of public accommodation to be barrier-free to
disabled persons. Title III of the ADA can be very complicated to
understand and as a result claims of violations have become a bit
of a cottage industry for some plaintiffs' attorneys.
There are, to be sure, legitimate claims by disabled persons
that they cannot access a building. However, unfortunately business
owners have also discovered that there are certain repeat attorneys
paired with the same plaintiff who file dozens of ADA lawsuits.
I once handled a public accommodation case for a client and
discovered as we were gathering facts that the case filed against
my client was the 82nd lawsuit filed by the plaintiff and his
attorney in less than a year period. Even disability rights
organizations have labeled these claims "drive-by lawsuits," noting that the
filing of such lawsuits
