Which is probably why Jose Martinez, who had filed 41 disability lawsuits in the past, thought he had struck gold. The combination of deep pockets and the most annoying ear- worm ever composed should have made him a millionaire several times over.
Unfortunately, the judge only awarded $8,000, just a handful of billable hours. You would think that the settlement would include the cost of electroshock therapy to remove the song from your head. Half the settlement was for violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, because Disney did not adequately warn disabled passengers that their rides occasionally break down.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/03/27/Disney-on-Trial-It-s-a-Small-Small-Settlement
“Which is probably why Jose Martinez, who had filed 41 disability lawsuits in the past...”
I served on a jury for case involving a professional disability plaintiff, like this chap. In Orange County CA like this case.
And our jury saw through his methods, and he walked away with a big zero.
The plaintiff’s MO is to sue small food service places; Mom & Pop types, with shallow pockets, over accessibility issues. The cases often do not go to trial.
He took on a local Del Taco restaurant. They decided to defend with vigor. Their lawyer was super sharp, whereas the plaintiff had a crappy lawyer.
To the plaintiff and his lawyer, it was merely a numbers game. Roll the dice enough and they win a few.
We had a diverse jury, and at first the seemed to fall for it. But a couple of us went back over the story, and they remembered he was a pro at this.
And they were reminded it was business owners like in their own communities, that were victimized, driving up costs, prices, etc.
The plaintiff in our case was wheelchair bound, from a dirt bike accident as a teen/young adult, riding off road.
He did well enough for extended vacations to Hawaii and a Rolex watch, pointed out be the defense team.
But we said, no—no payoff from this jury.
Very interesting. The guy is a professional parasite who goes places just looking for a lawsuit. I hope he and his corrupt lawyers lost a bundle on this suit.
Oh.... so he's an experienced Professional Claimant. So what we really need is his 'average' take, instead of just the net on this one claim, before we feel sorry for him.