Lawsuits Spur Walk to Educate Merchants
Businesses could be hit with fines for ADA non-compliance

by Carol Dimmick

Armed with a grant from the City, small business owners, disability advocates and Supervisors Fiona Ma and Jake McGoldrick walked the streets in the Richmond and Sunset districts in January to educate small business owners who may be vulnerable to disability access lawsuits.

"Sometimes there are a few simple things that can be done to help bulletproof businesses against these expensive suits," said Herb Levine, executive director of the Independent Living Resource Center, an advocacy group for people with disabilities.

Levine's organization joined forces with the SF Small Business Commission and the Small Business Network to form the San Francisco Collaborative after a rash of lawsuits were filed against businesses, primarily retail and restaurant establishments, for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California's disabled access codes under Title 24.

Levine says the majority of the suits are filed by one or two individuals going up and down busy commercial corridors looking for code infractions.

"I call them drive-bys," Levine said.

The lawsuits were brought primarily by two people: Attorney Ted Omholt, who filed on behalf of six plaintiffs, and George Louie, the founder of the non-profit group Americans With Disabilities Advocates.

They filed lawsuits under California's Unruh law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act for everything from soap dispensers that were too high to entrances with steps and no ramps.

Although most disability rights advocates sue as a last resort and demand damages only when the owners fail to comply, Omholt and Louie use the strategy of suing without notice.

For small business owners this usually means that in addition to costly alterations, they end up paying from $10,000 to $20,000 to settle the lawsuit and avoid paying expensive attorney's fees.

Omholt, who recently moved his offices from San Francisco to Los Angeles, did not return telephone calls.

Louie, who is disabled himself and whose nonprofit has offices in three states, insists the money he receives from the suits goes into his organization. He says he has no sympathy for the financial hardship the suits may cause to small business owners, even if it means putting them out of business.

"These are crybaby stories. They've had 35 years to come into compliance with the law," Louie said.

Critics say the lawsuits were filed for financial gain. They point to a state law passed in 2000, when the majority of the lawsuits were filed, that awards each plaintiff $4,000 in damages.

Shortly after the law went into effect, Omholt began to solicit new clients with letters that promised lucrative financial rewards. In one letter, Omholt boasted that his clients enjoy a life of financial independence which includes eating at good restaurants, buying computers and other expensive gifts and taking frequent vacations.

Most Businesses Are Vulnerable to Lawsuits
Most of the buildings along Geary Boulevard and Irving Street would be an easy target, according to Zachary Nathan, an architect who volunteered his time to look at buildings on Geary Boulevard.

"It's hard to find a building in San Francisco that doesn't have a disability access violation," Nathan said.

Levine said that in some cases just simple things like putting up signs, or moving display cases to widen an aisle could be enough to prevent a lawsuit.

But Nathan says that many of the repairs can get expensive.

"Sometimes the problem can be solved by putting in power-assisted door openers. That can be a $3,000 to $4,000 burden," he said.

Both Levine and Nathan cautioned owners not to make the mistake of thinking they are immune to lawsuits because they have disabled clients.

The owner of a small deli on Irving Street, who said he has a customer in a wheelchair, was shocked to learn he had seven easily identifiable code violations.

"I honestly hadn't heard of this before. I'm concerned," he said.

The collaboration is offering to pay owners up to $500 to hire an architect or a contractor of their choice take a look at their buildings for ADA violations.

City Attorney Empowered to Impose Stiff Fines for Violations
Small business owners have an additional incentive to take the collaboration up on its offer because of a new state law that gives local officials the authority to impose stiff civil fines on violators of disability access laws.

Last October, former Gov. Gray Davis signed bill SB 262 into law, which empowers local city attorneys or district attorneys to impose a $2,500 fine for each disability access violation. After 90 days, additional fines between $500 and $2,500 for each violation can be assessed for each day the business is out of compliance with the law.

Small business owners seeking information can call the SF Collaborative at 543-6222.