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Legal Help: Anyone in Texas get hit with an ADA violation lawsuit from a Florida lawyer?

gaspar

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gaspar

gaspar 117

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We were sent a pre-suit notice threatening a lawsuit in 2 weeks unless we paid some Florida lawyer for this attorneys’ fees for alleged ADA violations at a restaurant. It’s not a huge amount of money, but a nuisance lawsuit threat. Did some digging and the same lawyer has filed 18 lawsuits on behalf of the same plaintiff in Texas this year alone. 

Thoughts or referrals?

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CooterBrown

CooterBrown 18272

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I read an article years ago about a lawyer and handicapped guy that would do this. Handicapped guy would wheel himself into restaurants and measure door widths, bathroom stalls, ramps, etc. for ADA accessibility violations. His buddy would then file suit on the behalf of the client. They made some money and put a few restaurants in central California out of business in the process.

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Bevo

Bevo 13825

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Don't get me started on the ADA. Did you know that a medical office is responsible to provide an interpreter for a patient at its expense regardless of procedure (it could be a post op, check-up or request for refill medication)? In other words, the appointment might be free for a post-op so the physician collects $0 yet it has to pay the cost of an interpreter.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31987

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5 hours ago, gaspar said:

We were sent a pre-suit notice threatening a lawsuit in 2 weeks unless we paid some Florida lawyer for this attorneys’ fees for alleged ADA violations at a restaurant. It’s not a huge amount of money, but a nuisance lawsuit threat. Did some digging and the same lawyer has filed 18 lawsuits on behalf of the same plaintiff in Texas this year alone. 

Thoughts or referrals?

Also, name names.

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conVINCEd

conVINCEd 21477

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1 hour ago, Bevo said:

Don't get me started on the ADA. Did you know that a medical office is responsible to provide an interpreter for a patient at its expense regardless of procedure (it could be a post op, check-up or request for refill medication)? In other words, the appointment might be free for a post-op so the physician collects $0 yet it has to pay the cost of an interpreter.

I used to work for a very large insurance company and we had a language line that people could call if they needed a translator.  It was not cheap and they covered something like 40-50 languages.  What actually happened is that people in the field just used google translate.

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ChickenSandwich

ChickenSandwich 9918

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Think 60mins did a show on this. The ADA handbook is bigger than an 80s yellow pages. Head dude defended all 5 million regulations regardless how tedious or ridiculous. 
 

They showed one lawyer in Florida using Google earth to identify all community/hotel/residential complex pools without a wheel chair crane for access. Hired some poor vets to file suits under. Vets got shit, attorneys made tons from fees etc. Vets of course said they weren’t told everything and felt exploited. 
 

need CBS credentials but think this is it

https://www.cbs.com/shows/60_minutes/video/OeA2xle3sqLiiX_69iq_yoJbeZTJJ_VQ/drive-by-lawsuits/

Edited by ChickenSandwich
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gaspar

gaspar 117

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Agreed. Total scam - they are in it for claiming their attorney’s fees as damages. There are no other damages to the plaintiff. The plaintiff and the attorney MUST have a fee sharing agreement and I don’t see how that’s not unethical. Also, I have no idea how a FL attorney can practice in Texas (even though this would be in Fed court due to ADA) without being registered by the Tx Bar. 

In their letter they sent us a picture of the plaintiff, who was in a wheelchair, as well as his $16 receipt for the food he bought.

This is the attorney’s firm…https://www.schapirolawgroup.com

This same attorney and plaintiff have filed 18 lawsuits in Texas this year. 

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Gatorubet

Gatorubet 30631

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We were sent a pre-suit notice threatening a lawsuit in 2 weeks unless we paid some Florida lawyer for this attorneys’ fees for alleged ADA violations at a restaurant. It’s not a huge amount of money, but a nuisance lawsuit threat. Did some digging and the same lawyer has filed 18 lawsuits on behalf of the same plaintiff in Texas this year alone. 
Thoughts or referrals?

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gaspar

gaspar 117

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18 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:



 

 


You represent the food joint or you ARE the food joint?

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk

 

 

We’re the landlords, the restaurant is the tenant, but we (landlord) are being threatened with the suit. 

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gaspar

gaspar 117

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48 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

That’s the first law firm website I’ve seen where the lawyer bios aren’t front and center. Gotta be a Saul Goodman type working out of his long term Motel 6 rental.

The lawyer’s name is Douglas Schapiro. Unique last name. 

link to his FL bar profile…

https://www.floridabar.org/directories/find-mbr/profile/?num=54538

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31987

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9 hours ago, gaspar said:

Agreed. Total scam - they are in it for claiming their attorney’s fees as damages. There are no other damages to the plaintiff. The plaintiff and the attorney MUST have a fee sharing agreement and I don’t see how that’s not unethical. Also, I have no idea how a FL attorney can practice in Texas (even though this would be in Fed court due to ADA) without being registered by the Tx Bar. 

In their letter they sent us a picture of the plaintiff, who was in a wheelchair, as well as his $16 receipt for the food he bought.

This is the attorney’s firm…https://www.schapirolawgroup.com

This same attorney and plaintiff have filed 18 lawsuits in Texas this year. 

Federal cause of action in federal court, so probably isn't an unauthorized practice of law issue.

About all you can do is make a report to the AG.

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31987

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1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

I think the courts have recognized what's going on, and will punish a lawyer who they see abusing the practice, and or bringing frivolous lawsuits.

The problem is, most of these trolls bring a cognizable ADA violation in their suits.  That mostly stops the lawsuit from being frivolous.  Objectively, it completely does.

But then there's a subjective aspect to it:  is this worth bringing a lawsuit at all?  And that one is a bit harder to manage, and an area in which courts are reluctant to act many times.  After 18 chickenshit lawsuits, and Lord knows how many pre-suit settlements, it starts to look more and more "frivolous," which really isn't the right word.  Frivolous means there's no evidence of a violation of law, see, e.g. Kraken lawsuits.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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26 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

The problem is, most of these trolls bring a cognizable ADA violation in their suits.  That mostly stops the lawsuit from being frivolous.  Objectively, it completely does.

But then there's a subjective aspect to it:  is this worth bringing a lawsuit at all?  And that one is a bit harder to manage, and an area in which courts are reluctant to act many times.  After 18 chickenshit lawsuits, and Lord knows how many pre-suit settlements, it starts to look more and more "frivolous," which really isn't the right word.  Frivolous means there's no evidence of a violation of law, see, e.g. Kraken lawsuits.

The vast majority are ridiculous.  An ADA sign that's a half inch low was a favorite one.  

The 60 Minutes piece was pretty good at identifying the game, and the lawsuits that would make you wanna commit bodily harm with a rusty, blunt object to the plaintiffs lawyer. 

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52-80

52-80 19379

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On 8/29/2021 at 4:48 AM, gaspar said:

Agreed. Total scam - they are in it for claiming their attorney’s fees as damages. There are no other damages to the plaintiff. The plaintiff and the attorney MUST have a fee sharing agreement and I don’t see how that’s not unethical. Also, I have no idea how a FL attorney can practice in Texas (even though this would be in Fed court due to ADA) without being registered by the Tx Bar. 

In their letter they sent us a picture of the plaintiff, who was in a wheelchair, as well as his $16 receipt for the food he bought.

This is the attorney’s firm…https://www.schapirolawgroup.com

This same attorney and plaintiff have filed 18 lawsuits in Texas this year. 

share the email address of the lead/mangaging/partner attorney here

 

any time i surf a website with a mailing list sign-up, guess what im gonna do?

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Bevo

Bevo 13825

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On 8/29/2021 at 9:34 AM, Onboard 2.0 said:

The vast majority are ridiculous.  An ADA sign that's a half inch low was a favorite one.  

The 60 Minutes piece was pretty good at identifying the game, and the lawsuits that would make you wanna commit bodily harm with a rusty, blunt object to the plaintiffs lawyer. 

Fun story. I wanted an addition for general anesthesia for special needs patients. The ADA had a grant for vaguely similar activities. I contacted the lead administrator who put me in touch with the local ADA administration for Texas. So, I contacted the ADA representative in Houston about grants for such purposes. She starts telling me that the building needs to be ADA compliant. I said that it was but the facility was small and built in the 70s and the anesthesiologist had difficulty moving his bulky equipment through the building. No one in Austin or Central Texas was willing to see these patients and they had to travel to San Antonio for treatment. I was doing it as a service to the community. She states that equal access means that the wheelchair patients need to be able to enter through the front just like anyone else. I said that they could but some of the motorized wheelchairs could be an issue and repeated what I said about anesthesiology. She starts asking me about the width of the doors and hallways. I said again that the reason I was calling was to see about grants for ADA purposes. She said that that was the cost of doing business and that if I needed to tear down the whole facility and rebuild it then that is what I needed to do. I said that it would be a lot easier to just not do the addition and have the patients continue to travel 2 hours plus for treatment. She said condescendingly, "That's a shame. What is your facility's name, again?" Click.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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3 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Fun story. I wanted an addition for general anesthesia for special needs patients. The ADA had a grant for vaguely similar activities. I contacted the lead administrator who put me in touch with the local ADA administration for Texas. So, I contacted the ADA representative in Houston about grants for such purposes. She starts telling me that the building needs to be ADA compliant. I said that it was but the facility was small and built in the 70s and the anesthesiologist had difficulty moving his bulky equipment through the building. No one in Austin or Central Texas was willing to see these patients and they had to travel to San Antonio for treatment. I was doing it as a service to the community. She states that equal access means that the wheelchair patients need to be able to enter through the front just like anyone else. I said that they could but some of the motorized wheelchairs could be an issue and repeated what I said about anesthesiology. She starts asking me about the width of the doors and hallways. I said again that the reason I was calling was to see about grants for ADA purposes. She said that that was the cost of doing business and that if I needed to tear down the whole facility and rebuild it then that is what I needed to do. I said that it would be a lot easier to just not do the addition and have the patients continue to travel 2 hours plus for treatment. She said "That's a shame. What is your facility's name, again?" Click.

Yeah, there are extreme dumb asses everywhere.  My recollection of ADA compliance on pre ADA construction was a % of cost of renovations dictated what you had to do. Basically no good deed goes unpunished.

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South Austin

South Austin 53154

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Despite my cynicism about the judicial system's willingness to sanction frivolous litigation, some of you might recall that in 2017 Austin attorney Omar Rosales was suspended from practicing in the Western District for three years due to filing bad faith ADA cases and sanctioned over $176,000.

Quote

Local attorney Omar Weaver Rosales, who filed hundreds of lawsuits against local small businesses alleging technical violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, has been suspended from practicing law in the Federal Western District for three years, according to an order filed Tuesday.

The court order appears to be the bookend to a saga of ADA lawsuits and litigation brought by Rosales and a single client, John Deutsch, who uses a wheelchair. The duo began filing lawsuits in 2015 and ultimately sued 385 Austin businesses in about a year.

. . .

The duo created a veritable ADA cottage industry in Austin. Defendants sued by Deutsch and Rosales said they were never initially asked to fix the incremental ADA violations that were noted in the lawsuits. Typically, the lawsuits pointed out problems with the height of wheelchair signage in parking lots, the width of handicap parking spaces and the height of the thresholds at the entrance of a business’ door, according to a KXAN review of hundreds of the lawsuits.

According to demand letters obtained by KXAN, Rosales would ask for $7,000 to drop the lawsuit, but the settlement was negotiable. The letters warned defendants that if they fought the lawsuits the cost of litigation could rise over $100,000. Many businesses settled quickly, court records show.

KXAN link

I had a client call me after getting sued by Rosales.  He clearly had no appetite to litigate, he knew Rosales' endgame, and ended up just paying him off without having to fix any of the minor violations. 

Contrast that with another ADA lawsuit I handled for an owner of several car washes in Austin.  The plaintiff and his lawyer were not serial litigants, and there were several areas on the properties that legitimately needed some ADA adjustments.  We arranged for a tour of the facilities with the plaintiff, he pointed out what he wanted to be done, the client agreed to fix those items, and we got the case resolved without a lot of legal expenses.

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Onboard 2.0

Onboard 2.0 9083

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3 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Despite my cynicism about the judicial system's willingness to sanction frivolous litigation, some of you might recall that in 2017 Austin attorney Omar Rosales was suspended from practicing in the Western District for three years due to filing bad faith ADA cases and sanctioned over $176,000.

KXAN link

I had a client call me after getting sued by Rosales.  He clearly had no appetite to litigate, he knew Rosales' endgame, and ended up just paying him off without having to fix any of the minor violations. 

Contrast that with another ADA lawsuit I handled for an owner of several car washes in Austin.  The plaintiff and his lawyer were not serial litigants, and there were several areas on the properties that legitimately needed some ADA adjustments.  We arranged for a tour of the facilities with the plaintiff, he pointed out what he wanted to be done, the client agreed to fix those items, and we got the case resolved without a lot of legal expenses.

That's exactly how it should be handled.  If there are violations the owner should have a specific time period to correct the issues before any kind of legal action could be brought....  

Who am I kidding .......... laws are written by lawyers....

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31987

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1 hour ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Why not just ignore him and let him file the lawsuit.  Is he really going to come from Florida to Texas for a trial?

The problem is, you have to answer the lawsuit or suffer a default judgment (for likely an amount greater than what he's asking for now).  Then you'd be subject to various collection remedies that can be a colossal pain in the ass, particularly if the entity sued is not a natural person, i.e. a corporation or LLC because those entities don't have property exempt from creditor claims like a person does.

Once you answer the suit, there are a lot of machinations before any trial that cost money and come with adverse consequences if you fail to participate, including the aforementioned default judgment.

I suspect that you know this, but am posting this for the peanut gallery.

Once you get into a lawsuit, they have a tendency to spiral out of control, maybe not way out of control, but you spend more money than you ever considered.  And, while that spiraling tends to affect both sides about equally, it's usually more "hurtful" to the defendant than the plaintiff.

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52-80

52-80 19379

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1 hour ago, South Austin said:

Despite my cynicism about the judicial system's willingness to sanction frivolous litigation, some of you might recall that in 2017 Austin attorney Omar Rosales was suspended from practicing in the Western District for three years due to filing bad faith ADA cases and sanctioned over $176,000.

KXAN link

I had a client call me after getting sued by Rosales.  He clearly had no appetite to litigate, he knew Rosales' endgame, and ended up just paying him off without having to fix any of the minor violations. 

Contrast that with another ADA lawsuit I handled for an owner of several car washes in Austin.  The plaintiff and his lawyer were not serial litigants, and there were several areas on the properties that legitimately needed some ADA adjustments.  We arranged for a tour of the facilities with the plaintiff, he pointed out what he wanted to be done, the client agreed to fix those items, and we got the case resolved without a lot of legal expenses.

clean sheet here but it says information is self-reported?

https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=%2FCustomsource%2FMemberDirectory%2FMemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=290265

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31987

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8 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

clean sheet here but it says information is self-reported?

https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=%2FCustomsource%2FMemberDirectory%2FMemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=290265

Not every federal court sanction is going to result in bar sanctions. And it is possible that the bar sanction received was a private reprimand on the theory that the federal court sanction was sufficient.

If there's bar discipline, pretty sure it makes it on that page, self-reported or not.

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NeverMarryAStripper

NeverMarryAStripper 22241

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1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

The problem is, you have to answer the lawsuit or suffer a default judgment (for likely an amount greater than what he's asking for now).  Then you'd be subject to various collection remedies that can be a colossal pain in the ass, particularly if the entity sued is not a natural person, i.e. a corporation or LLC because those entities don't have property exempt from creditor claims like a person does.

Once you answer the suit, there are a lot of machinations before any trial that cost money and come with adverse consequences if you fail to participate, including the aforementioned default judgment.

I suspect that you know this, but am posting this for the peanut gallery.

Once you get into a lawsuit, they have a tendency to spiral out of control, maybe not way out of control, but you spend more money than you ever considered.  And, while that spiraling tends to affect both sides about equally, it's usually more "hurtful" to the defendant than the plaintiff.

It's simple to file a general denial to answer a lawsuit.

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