Minimizing ADA Liability for Public Access To Businesses

"Sue, settle and move on to the next suit." That is how one federal judge in California described the "modus operandi" of a wheelchair-bound man who had brought no less than 156 ADA lawsuits in just the past year, all with the aid of the same law firm. For nearly 15 years, disabled individuals have been able to bring private lawsuits seeking an injunction to require a business that is open to the public to take reasonable actions to remove barriers to access for the disabled. That part of the ADA enjoys widespread support. Like most civil rights statutes, however, to ensure that private enforcement actually occurs, the ADA allows prevailing plaintiffs to recover reasonable attorney’s fees. Therein lies the problem that has given rise to a cottage industry, populated by a network of mostly small law firms cranking out cookie cutter complaints (sometimes comically identical, even down to the typos) on behalf of professional plaintiffs ready to rack up "frequent courthouse miles."