| Warning to Socal Businesses: More ADA Abuse from the scumbags Jon Carpenter and Mark Potter. Carpenter has in the past filed hundreds of these lawsuits claiming he has been harmed. Word has it that he and lowlife Attorney Mark Potter are at it again suing more businesses in the area. They usually go after mom & pop type companies who cannot defend themselves and have to settle with them. Pretty sad that nobody can stop even though it is widely known they are practicing this type of extortion. |
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 spgGrrrr
join:2001-10-31
NOT Texas! | Or, knowing that this is a possible outcome for not complying with a law that has been in place for years, they could retrofit and be done with it.
This is nothing new that couldn't have been budgeted over the years. Self inflicted wounds.
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Do not trifle with dragons; for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup! |
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 FutureMonKeep your Mitts off RMoneyPremium,ExMod 2002-05
join:2000-10-05
Seaside, CA | I find it interesting that the building owner isn't the one being sued. I mean, nowadays don't most businesses lease buildings from a property management company?
Just because you decided to rent a shop that happens to not have ramp access to it, is that YOUR fault? no it's (a) the Developer of the property, and (b) the owner of the property - not the lessee.
- FM
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This just in from the department of redundancy department... |
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 JamesonPremium
join:2004-05-28
Fallbrook, CA
kudos:1 | reply to spg
said by spg:Or, knowing that this is a possible outcome for not complying with a law that has been in place for years, they could retrofit and be done with it.
This is nothing new that couldn't have been budgeted over the years. Self inflicted wounds.
Yea, oookkkk..  |
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spgGrrrr
join:2001-10-31
NOT Texas! | said by Jameson:said by spg:Or, knowing that this is a possible outcome for not complying with a law that has been in place for years, they could retrofit and be done with it.
This is nothing new that couldn't have been budgeted over the years. Self inflicted wounds.
Yea, oookkkk.. Can you expand?
Come on, this law is no surprise to anyone anymore. We just ignore the ones we don't like? I agree these jokers are abusing this law that was originally enacted for real victims to prosecute, but we live in the world we have, not the one we want. Right now this law is in place and the ADA has been in place for YEARS. You can't play checkers when you're surrounded by chess players. If you leave yourself exposed to a lawsuit, don't be surprised when someone sues you.
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Do not trifle with dragons; for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup! |
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| reply to Heads up
What do you know about Jon Carpenter? Just been served today with a lawsuit by Jon Carpenter. He is claiming that the building does not provide van accessible parking space with 8 foot access on the passenger side and that he needs it to deploy his lift. There is parking for disabled people on the premises. Carpenter is being represented by the Center for Disability Access, attorneys Raymond Ballister, Jr. and Mark Potter. |
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 shortcktWatchen Das Blinken LightsPremium
join:2000-12-05
Tenant Hell | reply to Heads up
If these ADA claim plaintiffs really wanted to effect change for the greater benefit of disabled people, they would settle their cases for terms that provided for installing the ADA required access and some reasonable attorney fees. But that's not what they are doing. I've read thru a number of these ADA based cases all filed by the same small group of plaintiffs represented by the same attorneys, and in a majority of those, the parties settle only for a lump sum payment of damages to the plaintiff and nothing more. Which indicates to me that those plaintiffs and their attorneys are no more than blackmailers, using the ADA for personal profit... pay our protection and we will leave you alone. From what I can find, most of the time the ADA access issue that spawned the civil case against the small business is never repaired.
I don't know why the small businesses that are targeted don't come together and create a defense fund, hire legal counsel, and plan a strategy for when that kind of claimant comes calling. (I don't know, they might have, thru e.g. a trade group or the local chamber of commerce.) There are ways to put the brakes on this kind of frivolous suit, but it takes a lot of work, a lot of time, and good, knowledgeable attorneys. Instead each of these small businesses are now standing alone and don't have the resources to fight a lawsuit, so they are easy pickings for the ADA protection racketeers who will leave them alone for a four or five figure "settlement."
In some of the cases the judge's comments showed that the court is well aware of the plaintiff's abuse of the legal system. In a few cases the plaintiffs were eventually deemed vexatious because they had filed many, many of these cases and enough defendants fought back and won, but that only stopped them for awhile, soon the same plaintiffs were back in court with new counsel, extorting small businesses as before. |
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 TimePremium
join:2003-07-05
 ·Cox HSI
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Is this the same attorney?
»members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member···l/111282
Just curious, I'm not familiar with anything the Bar does, but this looks odd:
quote:
Administrative Actions
9/16/2004 Admin Inactive/MCLE noncompliance Not Eligible To Practice Law
Seems to be a 100% crook, even though it looks like they overturned their decision.
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"If it can't be done with brains, it can't be done with hours" - Clarence "Kelly" Johnson |
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| said by Time:Is this the same attorney?
»members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member···l/111282
Just curious, I'm not familiar with anything the Bar does, but this looks odd:
quote:
Administrative Actions
9/16/2004 Admin Inactive/MCLE noncompliance Not Eligible To Practice Law
Seems to be a 100% crook, even though it looks like they overturned their decision. He didn't get his continuing education requirements in time. Lazy, perhaps, or just an oversight, but not as bad as it sounds. |
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shortcktWatchen Das Blinken LightsPremium
join:2000-12-05
Tenant Hell | reply to Heads up
One example of how ridiculous it can get:
said by KABC-TV :Undocumented, disabled serial plaintiff sues SoCal businesses on taxpayer dime
Meet Alfredo Garcia. He's a three-time convicted felon who's now had his record expunged. He's lives in the United States illegally.
And he's filed more than 600 lawsuits against Southern California businesses, claiming they are not accessible for the disabled.
But in at least one of his many, many cases, Garcia was caught in a lie. Oh, and did we mention? Your tax dollars are paying for his lawsuits. »abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?secti···=8433580 |
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| reply to annie
Just FYI, "accessible parking" and "van accessible parking" are two different things. Google ADA checklist and you'll see a PDF doc that gives the details. It's not just for here in Texas, but the whole country. |
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| reply to Heads up
Do you really not know how the ADA works? My brother's in a wheelchair and we've encounter problems all the time. Businesses just sit on their butts and do nothing about wheelchair access until they're sued. And by the way, that's the ONLY way businesses are compelled to become accessible. There's no official "ADA Complaince" office that oversees accessibility or anything like that. Wheelchair users individually have to sue businesses to make them become compliant with a law that's over 20 years old -- it's not like it's some big surprise there are specific codes all businesses have to comply with. Don't be angry with someone that's making you do what you should have already done. |
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