Posted on 11/28/2006 12:52:42 PM PST by SmithL
CORAL SPRINGS -- The bathrooms in the country club were opulent, with marble floors and antique furniture. But months after purchasing the club, the owners gutted them.
The problem: The walls at the Carolina Club were about an inch too narrow under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Robert Cohen and his attorney sued the place in 2003, saying he felt discriminated against, even though he was not a club member and had no interest in joining. He sued the same business in 1998 when it was under different ownership. Cohen has also filed ADA lawsuits against Publix supermarkets, McDonald's, Comfort Suites and others — more than 300 federal lawsuits in Florida over the past several years.
Disabled people are not supposed to receive monetary damages from lawsuits over alleged ADA violations, but their attorneys receive fees. Some court-watchers suspect that some disabled people are getting a cut under the table from their attorneys and that these bursts of lawsuits are nothing but shakedown attempts.
"They're what's called drive-by lawsuits," said David Goldfarb, a Miami-based ADA consultant who testifies for business owners who are being sued. "One plaintiff's attorney and one plaintiff will file 10 lawsuits in the same day on the same street. You throw out 10 and hope eight of them stick."
Cohen is 69 and gets around on a scooter because of arthritis. He bristles at the notion the lawsuits are unethical.
"I have never made five cents or anything. Yes, the lawyers get rich on this, but you know what, what is our choice?" the Coral Springs man said. "If the companies will not voluntarily comply, how are we supposed to get our civil rights?"
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Well intentioned laws often become a cash cow for lawyers.
Bush41's biggest mistake IMO
Sets the stage for "nuisance terrorism" a la John Carry.
Follow the money.....
Cohen is NOT in this for charity.
And Bush43's big failure too -- not pushing, and getting, meaningful tort reform through a Republican congress.
Nah, I would say his 1990 tax hikes rank far worse than this. The problem here is not with the law itself, it is the abuse that is rampant in the civil legal system in the USA. If it was possible to apply 5th Amendment protections to civil suits, as well as require the losers of such suits to compensate the winners, you would not see these kinds of problems.
Poorly written article. I assume that Cohen is wheelchair-bound, which these facilities don't easily accomodate. Better solution: Mr. Cohen getting a narrower wheelchair.
"how are we supposed to get our civil rights?"
What civil right do you have to go to someone else's property to the bathroom and they have to make any changes for you?
The disabled people are getting a cut RIGHT IN FRONT! The "expert" used by the lawyer generally does the bird dogging (acts as runner) and finds the law suit and then collects an expert fee.
There are many ADA "experts" whose only qualification is the fact they are in a wheel chair.
The ADA is an unfunded mandate which is using the lawyers as a defacto government agency paid by the targets. These complaints are generally nit picking. Very few are shocking violations.
A judge should come stock with common sense and should not accept these in court. They should be identified for what they are - a shameless shake down.
Some @sshole who does not belong to a private club has no business forcing it to accommodate him.
I was stuck in a wheelchair for a while. You can narrow the chair several inches to get into and out of the head just by pulling-up on the seat. This sort of legal abuse drives me nuts.
Bush 41 called the ADA the achievement of which he was most proud.
Ah yes, the ADA. Another legacy of the "small government" party. :-/
Handicapped access to a business is now a civil right. Killing your unborn child is now a civil right. Leaking classified information in a time of war is a civil right. Disrupting the funerals of fallen soldiers is a civil right. Being free from offense is a civil right. Having the income of "the rich" given to you is a civil right. Being fed and clothed and housed and doctored and pampered is a civil right.
Some days, our government just makes me physically ill.
Umm... How about patronizing another business?
"Another legacy of the "small government" party. :-/"
LOL! I'll get flamed for it but conservative who still buy that "small government" meme have got to be kidding themselves. "Small government" is like a "jumbo shrimp" or a "fast snail".
I have looked and looked but I have never seen a "small government". In this country, that horse was let out of the barn well over 100 years ago. No turning back, now, I'm afraid. The federal government is the biggest employer in the land. Small governemnt means massive layoffs of people who own their jobs.
In short, there is no such thing as "small governemnt". It would be nice but to get it we would have to break the whole thing and start over.
Where have I heard this one? Oh yeah, the IRS.
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