Taking advantage of the liberal (and lucrative) provisions of disabled-rights law in the Golden State, wheelchair user Jerry Doran has filed “more than 200 lawsuits in state and federal court against restaurants and other public establishments throughout California, alleging insufficient disability access. He has filed so many suits, in fact, that he has begun to lose track,” notes George Wallace at Declarations and Exclusions. Last month U.S. District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney returned judgment in favor of a Del Taco restaurant in Mission Viejo — 500 miles from where Doran lives — against Doran’s claim of having suffered improper lack of accommodation. Wallace (Jul. 18) takes up the tale:
Although there was no question that Mr. Doran is disabled, Judge Carney was ultimately unable to persuade himself that there was evidence sufficient to prove that Doran had actually sustained any harm at, or had ever actually been to, the Mission Viejo Del Taco.
After describing and praising the purposes of the ADA, Judge Carney’s Memorandum Decision [PDF] notes that it is a tool prone to misuse:
Despite the important mission of the ADA, there are those individuals who would abuse its private cause of action provision by filing lawsuits solely with the intent to profit financially. This potential for abuse of the ADA has been well documented in the Central District of California . . . . Courts have referred to this proliferation of ADA lawsuits as a ‘cottage industry’ and have labeled plaintiffs who file these lawsuits ‘professional plaintiffs,’ ‘serial plaintiffs,’ and ‘professional pawns.’
* * *
The consequences of this abuse of the ADA are severe: businesses and insurers are harmed, the integrity of the bar is called into question, and the public’s confidence in the courts is impaired. . . . Simply put, this litigation abuse of the ADA results in the exact harmful consequences that Congress sought to eradicate by passing the ADA. As more than one court has observed, the result of this abusive litigation is that ‘the means for enforcing the ADA (attorney’s fees) have become more important and more desirable than the end (accessibility for disabled individuals).’
Most of the remainder of the opinion focuses on the discrepancies in Doran’s responses to interrogatories, his responses to questions in deposition three weeks later, and his testimony at trial, in which key details — such as how often and when he had actually visited the Mission Viejo Del Taco — slipped and slid uncontrollably. Highlights:
* Doran first went to Del Taco #415 in Spring of 2002 or in Spring of 2003, unless his first visit was in 1988.
* Prior to filing suit, he went to the location twice, or perhaps three times, or possibly just once, although he may have gone there on as many as five or six occasions.
* “Mr. Doran’s complaint refers to objects — display racks and vending machines — which do not even exist at Del Taco restaurant #415.”
* “When Mr. Doran stated that he ordered an enchilada to eat during his alleged visit, he must have been testifying about a trip to a Taco Bell restaurant since Taco Bell — and not Del Taco — serves enchiladas.”
* “When describing the barriers he encountered at Del Taco restaurant #415, Mr. Doran stated that the hand dryers in the restroom were located too high. . . . Because Del Taco restaurant #415 does not have hand dryers in its restrooms, it is clear that Mr. Doran was testifying about a visit to another restaurant, or place of public accommodation, when asked to identify the barriers he encountered.”
* “When asked if there were any fast food chains that Mr. Doran frequented that he had not sued, he replied that he had not sued Kentucky Fried Chicken. In fact, Mr. Doran has sued Kentucky Fried Chicken. When asked to try again, Mr. Doran replied that he had not sued Jack in the Box. Although apparently unbeknownst to him, Mr. Doran has sued Jack in the Box also.”
(Doran v. Del Taco, opinion in PDF format courtesy Decs & Excs; post, Jul. 18). For more on the dubious practices of ADA filing mills, see our disabled rights page.