Though serial litigant Jarek Molski was barred by a federal judge from future litigation in the seven-county Central District of California, businesses are not necessarily safe from shakedown lawsuits. Plenty of other plaintiffs are following his lead, filing hundreds of lawsuits against businesses under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Thomas Mundy is one of these. He told the Los Angeles Times that he filed more than 150 lawsuits in 18 months demanding damages from small businesses.
But Mundy isn't the only attorney making his living from ADA suits. Lynn Hubbard III of Chico estimates he has filed 1,500 suits over the past decade, settling out of court 95% of the time. The Irvine law firm of Azimy-Nathan has filed at least 400 suits on behalf of six disabled clients over the past five years.
According to the Times, "Suing for ADA noncompliance has become a cottage industry for dozens of disabled Californians who have taken on the role of freelance enforcers of an often ignored federal statute. They secure piecemeal correction of offending premises and often enrich themselves and their lawyers in the process."
"He (Mundy) might as well have had a gun and asked me for $1,000 when he came in," Paul Venetos, owner of Anaheim's Varsity Burgers, said of an April visit that led to a lawsuit over a condiments counter that was half an inch too high.
The Sacramento Bee also has a story on the ADA. It mentions Senate Bill 1608, which became law Thursday, and will improve disability access to public locations and reduce predatory lawsuits by lawyers taking advantage of complex access rules.