Turning ADA into an ATM
By: MARK MUSH - For The Californian | ∞
So if I have this correct, Theodore Pinnock is an attorney who takes a weekend trip to Julian and decides to sue 67 businesses for violations of the American Disabilities Act. What, he didn't like the pie and cider?
Pinnock is just another example of the legal breed that goes around exploiting the legal system for their own financial gain. In doing so he not only hurts the businesses that he sues, but the people who pay for the cost of these frivolous lawsuits in the end ---- you and me.
The way Pinnock is doing this is perfectly legal under the ADA: Find a problem as defined by the ADA, threaten legal action in order to rectify the problem, and accept payments by the intended defendants to avoid a trial.
This was very similar to the way the Trevor Law Group operated in Los Angeles. By contending that businesses violated the Unfair Competition Law, Business and Professions Code Section 17200, the Trevor Law Group sued thousands of businesses. The fact that many of the businesses were owned by non-English speaking people translated into many successful settlements for Trevor and untold millions of dollars in legal fees.
Trevor was finally put out of business by the state which, in the ultimate irony, sued Trevor for violating the very same Section 17200.
But unfortunately for those business owners in Julian, there won't be a state attorney general coming to their rescue. In the end they will probably have to pay Pinnock his money or take the chance of being sued. Not even counting legal fees, this can be a costly proposition. In fact Pinnock has already confirmed that 11 businesses have agreed to settle his claims.
Although one can make a case that the ADA has brought a lot of good for disabled people, these lawsuits are the unforeseen byproduct of lousy legislation. The ADA was supposed to open up society to disabled people, not become an ATM for attorneys like Pinnock. But that is exactly what Pinnock has turned the ADA into, regardless of what organizations such as Protection and Access Inc. says.
By filing 67 lawsuits as a result of a weekend visit to Julian, Pinnock is telling me that he is out there trolling for legal business. How many businesses did Pinnock have to visit in order to find these 67 that are in violation of the ADA? This lawyer is certainly not a human rights crusader out there making sure that the disabled are not discriminated against.
Currently Pinnock is suing for what appears to be an average of $2,500 per business. Let's see, 67 times $2,500 gets you $167,500. Settle for one-third and you end up with just more than $50,000. Not bad for a weekend's work.
Somehow with that kind of money involved, my hunch is that Pinnock is out for the cash as opposed to making sure some pie shop has a counter that is not too high or a restaurant's wheelchair ramp is up to code. In the end Pinnock will profit and businesses in California will take another hit.
Mark Mush is a regular columnist for The Californian. E-mail: markwmush@hotmail.com.
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Gail wrote on Jan 3, 2006 8:09 AM:Gee, you know what? If these businesses had been accessible, there would have been no way Pinnock or anyone else could have sued. The ADA was signed July 26, 1990. C'mon, guys, how long should we wait for businesses to comply with this law...or any other law. I would really like to see an article on why it takes so long for businesses to comply with this law of the land.
Carl wrote on Jan 3, 2006 5:37 PM:Mr. Pinnock refused to give any of the businesses a specific list of violations. Instead, he adopted a strategy of "pay me now and negotiate repairs later". If compliance was his goal, why not just send a demand letter without demanding? If the access problems were that serious, why is he allowing some businesses up to 3 years to fully comply? And do you think businesses would be intentionally noncompliant? That doesn't make any sense because compliance would me more potential customers. Further, some of these buildings have been around for 100+ years, so compliance is not always something that can be readily achievable without significant expense.
Laurie wrote on Jan 11, 2006 10:53 PM:Have you taken the time to look at what the ADA requires for compliance? It is EXTENSIVE. I have heard from an ADA attorney that it is almost impossible to be in complete compliance with the ADA. However, there IS a difference between being in gross violation of the ADA and needing to lower the mirror in the bathroom of your restaurant. And there IS a difference between being notified that you are violation of the ADA for a specific item or items with suggestions for correction and being notified that you are in violation of the ADA for a list of items that may not be comprehensive AND you must pay some attorney an amount of money in damages. The only way that you can get this complete list of your ADA violations is to agree to pay an unspecified amount of money. Theodore Pinnock may be within the legal bounds of the law, but his tactics reek of extortion.
gene wrote on Aug 19, 2007 9:55 PM:I am being sued by a new kid on the block... who goes around to places but never goes in he sends someone else to come in with a tape measure and leaves to go to the next place ringing the cash register every time . Right now he has 275 cases under his belt... This guy does not care about handicap people he and his lawyer are just out for the money. The law is a good law but left it wide open for fraudulent people like these who don't care if they destroy somebody's dream of having a small business and work hard to raise a family and just get by but worth it and then be takin away by these sleazy people .
Anna wrote on May 1, 2008 5:35 PM:So I don't understand how far it going to go with this greedy lawyer. why there is no lawsuit against him and his accomplices. And if there is every small business owner would like to know.
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