Predatory ADA lawsuits attack Hermosa businesses
by Kevin Cody Eleven Hermosa Beach business owners and managers sat around the fire pit in the Tiki Kai patio on a hot afternoon in January to discuss an onslaught of costly lawsuits filed against them. The suits sought $10,000 to $20,000 in damages for violations of the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the California Unruh Civil Rights Act. The suits occur with such frequency the business owners consider them as “a cost of doing business.” And as “extortion.” Spyder Surf co-owner tells tells of being served with three ADA lawsuits in two years. Photos by Kevin Cody Spyder Surf co-owners Dennis Jarvis and Dickie O’Reilly, who organized the meeting at the Pier Plaza restaurant, said Spyder Surf has been served with three ADA lawsuits within the past 24 months. The first suit alleged the ADA parking sign at Spyder’s Pacific Coast Highway store was mounted too high. The next two alleged the aisles in their Pier Avenue, and Manhattan Avenue stores were too narrow for wheelchairs. “My employees don’t even remember a wheelchair customer coming into the store on the dates of the aisle suits. The attorneys in these suits wait months before filing, knowing security camera video…
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