Overlawyered.com commentary
[through
mid-June 2003. Items after that date collected
here]:
Multiple complaints and filing mills, 2003: "Disabled-access
suit could stop Super Bowl", Jan. 7-8. 2002: "'Disability
rights attorney accused of having inaccessible office'" (the one who
sued Eastwood), Apr. 25; "Florida's
ADA filing mills grind away", Mar. 29-31. 2001: "ADA's
busiest complaint-filer", July 20-22. 2000: "Eastwood
trial begins", Sept. 21 (& Oct.
2: jury declines to award damages); "On
the Hill: Clint Eastwood vs. ADA filing mills", May 18-21; "Mass
ADA complaints", Mar. 7; "Bill
introduced to curb opportunistic ADA filings", Feb. 15 (& Sept.
5, 2001: Sen. Inouye co-sponsors); "Florida
ADA complaint binge", Jan. 26-27.
"Maybe crime pays dept."
(hemorrhoids not a protected disability), Apr. 1, 2003.
Sports, 2003: "Disabled-access
suit could stop Super Bowl", Jan. 7-8. 2001: "By
reader acclaim: football's substance-abuse policy challenged", Nov.
19-20; "'A disabling verdict
for organized sports'", June 1-3 (Casey Martin case; & see June
22-24, May 30, 2001; Sept.
29-Oct. 1, April 10,
2000). 2000: "'NCAA Can
Be Sued Under ADA, Federal District Judge Rules'", Nov. 28; "Wheelchair
marathon suit", Oct. 23. 1999: "Update:
ADA youth soccer case", Nov. 13-14; "After
Casey Martin, the deluge", Nov. 5-7; "ADA
protection for boozing student athletes", Sept. 29.
"'Court waives deadline as
'reasonable accommodation' for disabled litigator'", Dec. 24-26, 2002.
Website accessibility: "'Judge:
Disabilities act doesn't cover Web", Oct. 22, 2002; "Website
accessibility law hits the U.K." (Scotland), May 7, 2001; "Olympics
website's accessibility complaint", Aug. 16-17, 2000; "Disabled
accessibility for campaign websites: the gotcha game", July 19-20;
"Welcome readers" (Intellectual
Capital), June 19; "ADA &
the web: sounding the alarm", May 24; "Access
excess", May 2; "ADA &
freedom of expression on the Web", Feb. 10-11; editor's testimony
before House Judiciary Committee, Feb. 9, 2000; "Accessible
websites no snap", Dec. 21, 1999; "AOL
sued for failure to accommodate blind users", Nov. 5, 1999.
"A belt too far", Oct.
29, 2001; "'Sorry, Slimbo, you're
in my seats'", June 7, 2001 (& updates Dec.
15-16, 2001, Oct. 25-27, 2002);
"Obese fliers", Dec. 20,
2000.
Safety, 2002: "Australia:
'Blind, disabled should be able to fly'", Sept. 30; "'St-
st - st- st- stop'", Apr. 22; "Right
to yell 'fire'", Apr. 5-7; "Entitled
to jobs that kill?" (Echabazal v. Chevron), March 1-3
(& Jun. 19-20, 2002,
Apr.
22, 2002, Nov. 5, 2001).
2001:
"EEOC approves evacuation questions
for disabled", Nov. 16-18; "A
belt too far", Oct. 29; "'Colorblind
Traffic-Light Installer Gets Fired, Sues County'", June 28. 2000:
"Coffee-spill suits meet ADA",
Aug. 10; "Prospect of injury
no reason not to hire", Jul. 5; "Disabled
vs. disabled" (strobe alarms pit deaf against epileptic), May 17; "Ability
to remain conscious not obligatory for train dispatcher, EEOC says",
March 21; "Warn and be sued",
Jan. 12. 1999: "Indications
of turbulence" (pilot's mental state), Dec. 1; "Death
by mainstreaming" (retarded boy's fatal fall from amusement park ride),
Aug. 31 (& Oct. 29, 2001);
&
see "Kingdom of
the One-Eyed," Reason, Jul. 1998.
"Right to break workplace
rules and then return", Sept. 16-17, 2002; "Soap
star: ABC wrote my character out of the show" ("medical leave" for
drug rehab), Apr. 10; "Parole
board's consideration of drug history could violate ADA", Mar. 11,
2002; "ADA requires renting to
addiction facility", Dec. 21, 2000.
Structures: "'ADA Goes
to the Movies'", Jan. 30, 2003; "'Disabled
entitled to same sight lines in theaters'", Sept. 5, 2002; "There'll
always be a California" (Santa Monica accessibility law for private
homes), Dec. 4, 2001 (& similar ordinances in Ill. and Ariz.: Feb.
6-7, Mar. 6, 2002)(&
letter to the editor, Apr. 11);
"Crowded drugstores illegal?",
Jun. 29-Jul. 1, 2001 (& letter to the editor,
July
6); "Do as we say, cont'd"
(Mass.), Mar. 20, 2000; "'Dune'
as we say" (ADA on Nantucket), Jul. 17-18, 1999.
Testing under siege, 2002: "Hence,
loathèd
asterisk", Jul. 22-23. 2001: "Update",
Aug. 20-21 (bar exam) (& letters, Oct.
22); "Litigators vs. standardized
tests, I: the right to conceal", Feb. 9-11. 2000: "Court
okays suit against 'flagging' of test conditions", May 10; "Disabled
test-accommodation roundup", Feb. 16; "Disabled
accommodation in testing", Jan. 12; "Lawsuits
over failing grades" ("exam phobia" claim), Jan. 4. 1999:"Disabled
accommodation vs. testing fairness", Sept. 21, 1999; and see special
education.
"Disabled lap dancing just
the start", Jul. 19-21, 2002; "By
reader acclaim: quadriplegic sues strip club over wheelchair access",
Jul. 16-17, 2002; "Blind customers
want to touch club lapdancers", Sept. 27-28, 2000.
"Paper currency should accommodate
blind, suit argues", Jul. 15, 2002.
"Supreme Court clarifies ADA",
Jun. 19-20, 2002.
Media, performance accessibility, 2002: "11th
Circuit reinstates 'Millionaire' lawsuit" (suit against "Millionaire"
TV show over telephone-based screening), Jun. 21-23 (& Mar.
24-26, June 12, June
19, Nov. 7, 2000; Nov.
5, 2001). 2001: "'Panel
backs deaf patron's claim against club'" (interpreter demand at comedy
club), March 9-11. 2000: "Seats
in all parts" (theaters), Dec. 29, 2000-Jan. 2, 2001; "Movie
caption trial begins" (assistive devices aid concert bootleggers),
Aug. 1; "Complaint: recreated
slave ship not handicap accessible", July 21-23; "Preferred
seating" (theaters), April 25-26; "Newest
disabled right: audio TV captioning", March 22; "'Deaf
group files suit against movie theaters'" (closed captioning demand),
Feb. 19-21; "The fine print"
(sue Boston Globe for reducing type size?), Feb. 17; and see website
accessibility.
"Flowers, perfume in airline
cabins not OK?" (Canada), May 17-19, 2002.
"Right to yell 'fire'",
Apr. 5-7, 2002; "Compulsive grooming
as protected disability", March 16-18, 2001; "More
Tourette's discrimination suits", March 12, 2001; "A
thin-wall problem" (condo owner with Tourette's vs. association), Aug.
21-22, 2000; "Update: Tourette's
bagger case", July 26-27, 2000; "Customer
offense" (supermarket bagger with Tourette's), June 9-11, 2000.
"'O'Connor Criticizes Disabilities
Law As Too Vague'", Mar. 22-24, 2002.
"Inability to get along with
co-workers", Mar. 8-10, 2002.
"Minimum GPA for study abroad
said unfair to disabled", Jan. 9-10, 2002.
"Mass., Ill., NYC tobacco fees"
(law firm sued by attorney with cancer), Jan. 2-3, 2002.
"Segway, the super-wheelchair
and the FDA", Dec. 12, 2001.
Special ed: see schools page.
U.K.: "European workplace
notes" (harassment of dyslexic), Feb. 25-26, 2002; "Website
accessibility law hits the U.K." (Scotland), May 7, 2001; "Britain's
delicate soldiery" (UK military pressed to put disabled recruits on
front lines), Dec. 22-25, 2000 (& Sept.
29-Oct. 1); "European roundup"
(British hiring of disabled police), Oct. 16-17; "Blind
customers want to touch club lapdancers", Sept. 27-28; From
the U.K.: watch your language" (job bureau restricts use of words like
"hardworking", "enthusiastic"), June 13, 2000.
"Meet the 'wrongful-birth'
bar", Aug. 22-23, 2001 (more on wrongful birth/life: Dec.
11, 2001; Nov. 22-23,
Sept.
8-10; June 8, May
9, Jan. 8-9, 2000).
"'Businesses bracing for flood
of lawsuits after state court ruling'" (Calif. law may apply retroactively),
Aug. 1, 2001.
"N.J. court declares transsexuals
protected class", July 30, 2001.
"Six-hour police standoff no
grounds for loss of job, says employee", May 21, 2001; "'Killer's
suit alleges job discrimination'", Jan. 15, 2001; "'Belligerent'
Worker Is Covered by ADA, Says Federal Court", Dec. 18-19, 2000; "Accommodating
theft" (N.J. lawyer discipline), Nov. 11, 1999; "'Judge
who slept on job faces new allegations'", Oct. 4, 1999.
"'2000's Ten Wackiest Employment
Lawsuits'" (reverse-bias claim by worker with no mental disability),
April 13-15, 2001.
"Put out that match" (ADA
invoked against agricultural burning), Feb. 28-March 1, 2001.
"Anorexia as disability",
Jan. 26-28, 2001.
"Sidewalk toilets nixed again"
(Boston), Oct. 5, 2000.
"Disabled rights roundup"
(sign interpreters at doctor's offices), Sept. 29-Oct. 1;
"Welcome Toronto Star
readers" (Ontario considers ADA-like law), Sept. 27-28, 2000.
"Movie caption trial begins"
(Steve Chapman on ADA anniversary), Aug. 1, 2000; "'How
the ADA handicaps me'" (backfire effect in job interviews; ten year
anniversary of ADA), July 28-30; "ADA's
unintended consequences" (workplace losses for disabled), July 11,
2000.
"Penalty for co.'s schedule
inflexibility: 30 years' front pay" (ADA case), June 16-18, 2000; "What
ADA was written for", March 15, 2000.
"From our mail sack: ADA enforcement
vignettes", May 31, 2000. See also letter to editor, December
1, 2000.
"'ADA's good intentions have
unintended consequences'" (John Elvin, Insight), March 3-5,
2000.
"Latest excuse syndromes",
Jan. 13-14, 2000; "Down repressed-memory
lane II: distracted when she signed", Dec. 29-30, 1999; "Mow'
better ADA claims" (disability exemption from cutting one's lawn?),
July 26, 1999.
"Blind newsdealer charged
with selling cigarettes to underage buyer", Sept. 16, 1999.
"Weekend reading" ("disability
studies" in academia), Aug. 21-22, 1999.
"Be sensitive to Fluffy, or
else" (obligation to accept emotional-support dog into store), July
9, 1999.
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