Editor,
Every Wednesday I get takeout at My Breakfast House in San Carlos. And each time I hand them a $20 bill for roughly a $15 meal. By now, the owner Kakey or an employee knows to keep the change. They know I don’t need a bag or utensils. I try to keep the overhead low. The extra money is my way of supporting a local business each week.
So it was with great dismay that I read a story about what I refer to as an ambulance chaser in the Tuesday, July 27, edition of the Daily Journal. Apparently the individual who contacted a legal firm because of an ADA violation at My Breakfast House never bothered to talk with the owner or anyone else working at the restaurant. It would seem it was challenging for the individual to sit at an outside table with his wheelchair.
Certainly the owner of My Breakfast House would have addressed the violation had this individual approached them. But no, this was strictly an opportunity for this individual and a law firm to make some money at the expense of an industry (restaurant) that is struggling to make it through the pandemic. This individual would have been welcomed as a new customer most likely, knowing the owners as I do.
I tend to believe “what comes around, goes around” and that time will catch up with the individual who reported the ADA violation as well as the legal firm. Let us hope so.
David Thom
San Carlo
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(1) comment
Unfortunately, Mr. Thom, these money squeezes have been going on for the longest time and will continue to go on as long as the laws on the books, if not enforced, allow these types of shakedowns. Maybe three or four years ago, there was a new law to protect business owners from frivolous ADA lawsuits and which banned certain types of behaviors from lawyers while allowing for businesses to fix violations within a certain time frame. Of course, having a law and enforcing it are two different things. To wit, our immigration laws. That being said, an in-depth article about how much income is reported from serial ADA law abusers, whether most targeted businesses settle out of court or if they make it to court, the verdicts would be welcome. BTW, I’m betting that when you use the term “ambulance chasers” nobody needs to look up the definition.
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