Over the weekend I had the happy and sad duty to eat dinner at a nearby eatery called the Barnwood.
The story behind the Barnwood is one of those fun local stories as the building was literally constructed of old barn wood and it has been a favorite in the town of Ripon California for over 30 years. I worked in Ripon during college and it was always a special treat for this minimum wager to get lunch at the Barnwood with Dad.
Sadly this weekend was the last for the business.
Not because of bad economy or slowing sales but because of abuse of the ADA laws.
A couple of regional attorneys, one named Scott Johnson and the other named Daniel Malakauskas have been going around the area and basically engaging in what I would call drive by lawsuits (note.. this is purely opinion and not stated as fact) under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The Barnwood has a wheelchair ramp, it has designated handicapped parking, it has handicapped accessible bathrooms, it has made every effort to comply with the law.
But this was not enough for the lawyers and their clients.
In the case of the Barnwood a review of the complaint finds they object on grounds such as
1. The handicapped sports are not the closest to the door (they looked to be very close to me)
2. There is not a sign reporting a possible fine for not complying with the law
3. There was not a warning sign about not parking in the handicapped spaces
And so on
It should be noted that the law requires that locations be as close as reasonably possible and in this case that is right where they were.
Now let me be clear. I am a strong supporter of access for all and we should not go back to the days of people in wheelchairs being unable to enter places at all. But at the same time there is reasonable balance.
More importantly the attorney and his client never approached the owners of the restaurant to try and work with them or to give them a chance to work things out. Instead they sued because doing so allows them to recover money.
In most cases like this that is all the litigant/attorney wants. Money. They never intend to take the case to court at all.
In this instance the owners wanted to try and fight but they’ve only owned the place for a year and thus are in the most financially vulnerable spot (something I suspect but am not certain that the litigants knew).
So we now have a closed business with 12 people out of work.
In our area we have businesses locking their doors and only taking clients by appointment because they fear these attorneys.
It has been said that even stereotypes have real examples and perhaps this is such a case.