Disabled vet files dozens of ADAlawsuits
Created: 07/27/2011 12:31:08 AM PDT
Vallejo business owner Joseph Kish calls it blackmail. Others have called it extortion. The state of California officially calls it "vexatious litigation."But George Louie, a 64-year-old disabled veteran who has filed possibly thousands of lawsuits statewide over Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, has called it an equal rights crusade. Louie is believed to reside in West Sacramento, though he did not return calls for comment Friday.
The professional litigant filed some two dozen lawsuits in Vallejo last month, mostly against small businesses over alleged insufficient handicap parking. Louie has said he's on a mission to make business owners comply with rules making access easier for those with disabilities.
Louie has reportedly also filed lawsuits in Woodland as well as elsewhere in Yolo County.
Louie filed dozens of lawsuits in Solano County in 2003, also, mostly about access to buildings, ADA-compliant signs and similar matters. At that time, Louie said he and his organization -- Oakland-based Americans With Disabilities Advocates -- had filed more than 800 suits nationwide, and claimed to have lost only one.
In 2003, Louie said his crusade began after he lost a leg to diabetes in 1996. In 1999, he founded his nonprofit organization and set out to sue businesses he found out of compliance with the ADA. He is quoted in earlier reports saying he and his organization only go after large companies.
"We are not suing the moms and pops or
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Sutter spokesman Russell Sy Neilson said the company is unconcerned because it's already made arrangements with the courts which prevents anyone suing while improvements are under way.
"In 2008, Sutter Health entered into a Consent Decree as part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit and adopted comprehensive plans for improved access under the ADA.," Neilson said. "I understand Mr. Louie is filing complaints for alleged parking lot violations, (but) the plan approved by the courts includes parking lot improvements that are currently being made."
Nine of the more than 20 Vallejo business owners sued by Louie in June have hired Hussein Saffouri to represent them.
The lawyer says he believes his clients have a good chance of having their cases dismissed because Louie made the state's vexatious litigants list at the end of June. He made the list after filing a slew of lawsuits in Contra Costa County in 2008 prompting the city and its businesses to push back. Louie now must get permission to file lawsuits, Saffouri said.
"But he snuck the Vallejo suits in under the wire," just days before the ruling, he said.
Saffouri said he's arguing that Louie's Vallejo suits are covered, anyway.
By law, non-compliance with ADA regulations -- even minor infractions like improperly placed signs -- can generate a $4,000 fine. Many small business owners can't afford a protracted legal battle, so they capitulate and pay off the complainant.
Saffouri calls this latest round of lawsuits inappropriate and improper harassment and means to make sure "it never happens again."
"These are local small businesses and this sort of thing is huge in a struggling economy," he said. "And he just comes along and tries to suck them dry."
Kish, against whom Louie filed suit June 6, said he has no intention of paying. He's going to fight, instead.
"He says I have no handicap parking, but I have no parking at all," Kish said. "It's an auto repair place, and anyone can drive in anywhere. You can drive right into the shop, if you want to. Besides, I'm not equipped to work on specialty handicap vehicles, plus, I work on foreign cars and (Louie's) is an American car.
"(Louie) was not trying to become a customer," Kish added. "It's blackmail, and he needs to be stopped."
The result of Saffouri's legal filing will determine what happens next, he said.
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