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I am amazed at what I am reading here! So we have a law to help some of the most miserable among us and apparently cities like Shallow Alto (land of faux liberal causes) cannot be bothered to enforce it. People over at city hall are too busy securing their double or even triple pensions, apparently. So meanwhile this poor quadraplegic man and presumably some generous donors who are behind him has to do their jobs for them, to make sure that the poor, differently-abled can navigate the city. And this newspaper DARES to criticize him for it? For doing what the city is supposed, but are too lazy to do?! A quadraplegic man?! I can't believe this! When did this newspaper move to the right of Trump? Please cancel my subscription to this useless rag. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
By the way, I think in the future we can expect a lot more of this kind of vigilante action as the the bureaucrats in city hall have proven over and over that they are simply not up to the job. When people were violating the mask laws, they didn't lift a finger. When people were having their catalytic converters stolen they didn't do a thing. If they won't address problems we the people have to take the law into our own hands.

An absolute frivolous shakedown because of the "well intentioned" ADA. There should be no settlement, and at best, a "fixit" ticket to the businesses to try to reasonably comply.

The problem with this law is that the accused does not get a period of time in which to fix the issue. In the case of a table that is the wrong height, that can easily be fixed by getting a new table. But instead, the business owner is immediately hit with an expensive lawsuit that he can't get out of.

What if the restaurant owner immediately replaced the table that is in question? Does this case go to court, does an independent authority come out to check on what the plaintiff has written as the dimensions of the table?

If the plaintiff didn't even try to eat there, then this smacks of a racket to me.

We need to take the financial shakedown motivation out of this. No or minimal spoils for the winning plaintiff and lawyers if the business complies in a reasonable timeframe. We want compliance not legal shakedown.

Cities should provide an ADA compliance approval to all businesses BEFORE they open their business to put these bottomfeeder laywers out of business. ADA compliance is very complicated, there is no way a small business owner is a match for an scumbag attorney well versed in the fine print of ADA compliance. This scam has been going on for years now, (Google "Tanya Moore ADA"). It benefits nobody other than the bottom feeder lawyers. Two years ago Moore's Mission Law attorneys sued multiple small businesses in Mountain View Ava's Market, Blossom True Hardware and Taqueria La Espuela in Mountain View, forcing the businesses to pay a quick settlement or risk a lengthy and expensive trial (AKA EXTORTION) In other areas lawsuits have forced them out of business. Restaurants including the Omelette House in Mountain View, Jason's Cafe in Menlo Park and San Jose's Time Deli each shut down after being hit by an ADA suit. Web Link
And BTW, Tanya Moore's license is STILL ACTIVE Tanya Eugene Moore #206683
Web Link

Unfortunately, there are some people using the ADA as a cash cow. This has been going on for many years and perhaps it is time that the ADA was redrafted to prevent lawsuits designed only to extort money. Of course, disabled individuals deserve to be treated with respect and should have readily accessible facilities. Standard building codes take care of the major issues, such as access to dining rooms, restrooms, height of toilets and hand sinks, etc. but the furnishings are provided by the owners and can fall foul of the law. It is doubtful that this "poor quadriplegic man" is the real victim here but is probably the front for one or more unscrupulous lawyers who offer him a cut of their profits - made at the expense of hard-working restaurateurs, not city hall. And guess what? They probably live in "Shallow Alto".

While it might be a well-intentioned law, this is ABSOLUTELY a shakedown of businesses.

This particular law should have a caveat. If business is ordered to comply by a person who very well may not have actually tried to patronize them (because VERY few business people I have met won't go out of their way to accommodate a disabled person), then, once the violation is corrected, the disabled person bringing the suit should be REQUIRED to patronize said business.

Johnson has been doing this to DOZENS of businesses. One of the businesses I ACTUALLY patronize was hit by one of his lawsuits, yet he hasn't been seen since they had to do $20,000 worth of modifications to their entrance. Never mind that the business is an auto shop and could well have a wheelchair enter through a different door 10 feet away.

Mr. Johnson and the people who think this is a worthy cause likely failed the ethics portion of their law exams. God knows they need remedial work in that area.

Ah.. the good old ADA strikes again.

The only way to remedy this is to get rid of the ADA laws. They don't work as intended and just make businesses vulnerable to lawsuits like we see here.

But good luck with that..

One interesting thing is that this guy has been charged with income tax fraud. Seems he paid no taxes on all these settlements. This is important. The guy's a huckster. We must not discriminate against those with disabilities by assuming they can't also be hucksters. If the guy isn't actually trying to be a customer, that seems like fraud.

This is the same jerk that sued our business in Cupertino a few years ago. He just goes around trying to make a quick buck by claiming restaurants aren’t ADA-compliant. Just look at the number of lawsuits he’s filed. It’s obvious he’s using his handicap to make a quick buck. Sickening and heartless with no soul. I know of a restaurant owner in SF that he put out of business in the Sunset district because their small tiny restaurant could not modify their small 600 sq ft space to accommodate a wheel chair. That business was one of the neighborhood’s favorites for many, many years and this soul-less person took it down. This is an absolute crime.

The article makes it sound like you can't fight back. That's not entirely true. David Wong, an attorney up in Berkeley, has gotten a federal case dismissed against Scott Johnson. Scott Johnson's lawyers tried to keep the case going in federal court but the judge dismissed it. David Wong's number is 415 355 4798.

Perhaps a limit of ten or so businesses that any one disabled person could sue?