Attorney Paul Hansmeier has sued more than 100 small businesses in Minnesota charging lack of handicap accessibility, sometimes “on behalf of the Disability Support Alliance, a nonprofit group that finds non-compliant businesses. A 5 Eyewitness News report from last summer found Hansmeier sought quick settlements from businesses for thousands of dollars and made little effort to ensure the buildings were brought into compliance.” Hansmeier has now denounced as “silly” a bill developed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, working with the Minnesota State Council of Disability and Human Rights Department, aimed at curbing opportunistic accessibility complaints. “The legislation would give businesses at least 30 days to respond to lawsuits, shift the burden of proof in some cases to those filing the lawsuit and restrict attorneys from demanding immediate settlements.”
Attorney Hansmeier, according to the broadcast report, “is currently facing disbarment or suspension for running a copyright infringement scheme involving a pornographic video. A district judge in Hennepin County said last year that Hansmeier’s history reinforced concerns that the ADA lawsuits raised ‘the specter of litigation abuse.'” [KSTP] Last year I noted his adventures in copyright law and his more recent rolling out of multiple suits alleging that businesses had not adequately designed their online presence to accommodate disabled web users.
4 Comments
This is the same guy popehat did many posts about, right? What a tool
Same “tool” yes, and disbarment can’t happen fast enough, or in enough places in my less than humble opinion. His “practice of law” to date is contrary to the very low moral fitness bar most (if not all) State Bar Associations claim they enforce to protect the public at large from incompetent or unethical attorneys.
For those unfamiliar with attorney Hansmeier who want even more sordid details after perusing Walter’s links to prior articles on this site, try here Popehat articles on Hansmeier
I hope I got that link right.
Just out of morbid curiosity, is Hansmeier’s own office fully handicapped-accessible?
I have found mention of one of his recent losses , which unfortunately does not touch on the accessibility of his own office, but does give some further insight into his tactics in identifying targets to sue.