The American Disability Act was created to guarantee access to places of business for people with disabilities. It has given rise to a group of lawsuit-creators who claim to fighting a good fight against scofflaw businesses. A lot of small businesses, including many in the Morongo Basin, don’t see it that way. During the month of May, a single individual filed suits against at least seven small businesses in the Morongo Basin—all along Twentynine Palms Highway—claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to a web site that provides public records of court filings, the same person, Cecil Shaw, has filed more than 200 such suits around California over the last four years, for things such as having a counter too high or too low by as little as an eighth of an inch. His activities, and similar massive filings by others, have been described by some as “legalized extortion,” as numerous defendants have settled with Shaw and similar plaintiffs, rather than go to court. Governor Brown signed legislation in 2012 that was intended to limit this sort of litigation, by capping the award for certain kinds of complaints and other measures, but the practice persists. At least two bills, SB 67 and AB 54, are in the California legislature in an attempt to give relief to business owners who are slapped with similar lawsuits. Links to stories about Cecil Shaw and his ADA lawsuits can be found with this story at z1077fm.com
Internet references for this story:
https://dockets.justia.com/search?query=cecil+shaw
