Eastern District of California Blog

EEOC Sues Walmart For Alleged ADA Violation At Placerville Store

Federal regulators charged Thursday that a new manager of a Walmart store in Placerville stripped a disabled employee of his legal right to park near the store and fired him after he complained.

David Gallo suffers from atrial fibrillation, a heart condition that causes an irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath and loss of leg strength, according to a lawsuit filed in Sacramento federal court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Sacramento Bee, 12/17/11.

ADA Lawsuit Targets 5 Rosemont Plaza Businesses

Five Rosemont Plaza businesses could be forced to pay thousands of dollars in damages to a prominent lawyer who says they're violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Scott Johnson, a Carmichael-based attorney well-known for filing ADA lawsuits, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Straw Hat Pizza, Peking Village Chinese Restaurant, Hollywood Nails, Sylvia Nails and Hair World.

The lawsuit says the five Kiefer Boulevard businesses don't have fully accessible restrooms, the correct number and type of disabled parking spaces and accessible entrances. It also says the counter and pizza buffet in Straw Hat are not at the correct height.

Rosemont Patch, 10/31/11

Fresno Jail To Hire New Officers To Handle Inmates From California Prisons

The [Fresno County] Sheriff's Office is planning to hire dozens of correctional officers this year, enough to begin reopening jail floors that were closed earlier because of insufficient staff.

But the extra space will do little to solve the county's ongoing problem of surplus inmates. The new hires, who will be funded by the state, are intended to manage low-level criminals who once were bound for state prisons but -- starting Oct. 1 -- will go to county jails instead.

Many public safety officials fear the prison population realignment could make matters even worse at the county jail. The county's reimbursement for handling the new arrivals, which has yet to be determined, likely will fall short of the cost to jail the extra bodies. As a result, the additional criminals could end up overwhelming the jail, and some could be added to the roughly 1,000 inmates already released early each month.

Fresno Bee, 7/16/11

ADA Lawsuit Filed Against Java Stop In Lodi

In a court document filed on May 19, Johnson, a quadriplegic since 1981, claims he actually visited Java Stop twice in the past year — once on March 23 and once on April 14. He also claims he attempted to visit the coffee shop two more times but was "deterred" because of "architectural barriers" that directly inhibited his mobility.

These barriers include a lack of accessible restrooms and a van-accessible disabled parking space. In court documents, Johnson said it "caused him to experience difficulty, discomfort and embarrassment ... "

The Java Stop is not the only business in Lodi that Johnson has slapped with a lawsuit. Paul's Safe/Lock and Key and Brodie Jayne's Photography received letters from Johnson earlier this year.

Johnson has filed more than 1,000 disability-related lawsuits since 2003.

Louie Files ADA Suit Against Sutter County Superior Court

George Louie has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Sacramento against Sutter County Superior Court contending Americans with Disabilities Act violations that he says include a public computer inaccessible to him and other people using wheelchairs.

Louie also said the service counter is too high to file civil documents.

Appeal Democrat, 6/18/11.

Bankruptcy Filing Halts "Litigious Louie" ADA Lawsuits

The man called "Litigious Louie" for his frequent disability access lawsuits has a new legal filing: bankruptcy.

George Louie's pending bankruptcy actions, U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Brennan wrote, mean it appears Louie lacks standing to proceed in federal court in Sacramento on Americans with Disabilities Act cases.

Marysville attorney Timothy Evans, who is representing several local businesses Louie has sued, said Louie's bankruptcy puts on hold the many cases the West Sacramento man has filed.

Appeal Democrat, 5/25/11

Yuba-Sutter Businesses Hit With ADA Lawsuits

The West Sacramento man dubbed "litigious Louie" for his frequent lawsuits over American with Disabilities Act access issues has filed another set of legal actions against local businesses he says don't comply with the law.

George Louie named Cloverleaf Market and Phooj Ywg Market on Feather River Boulevard in Olivehurst along with California Check Cashing on Fifth Street in Marysville.

Paul Klein of CalCasp, Inc. in Marysville, which offers accessibility compliance services to assist businesses, said the series of lawsuits Louie first filed in December are a new local legal phenomena involving access issues.

"We've seen this in Sacramento. We've seen this in the Bay Area," Klein said Monday. "But never in the Yuba-Sutter area."

Appeal-Democrat, 4/11/11

Sutter County Jail Suicide Sparks Federal Lawsuit

A Yuba County man, psychotic as a result of a blow to the head, received poor care from Yuba-Sutter psychiatrists and the Sutter County Jail before he hanged himself in his cell, according to a federal lawsuit.

Rodney Louis Bock, 56, was found April 29, 2010, hanging from the top bunk in his cell, with blood covering the walls and floor, according to the suit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento on behalf of Bock's family by San Francisco attorneys Ernest Galvan and Geri Lynn Green.

The lawsuit alleges violations of Bock's civil rights, the Americans With Disabilities Act and state law. It came about a month after the Jan. 28 death of Sutter County Jail inmate Nathan Prasad, who died at Rideout Memorial Hospital the same day he was brought from the jail. Prasad's family is alleging he received poor care in the jail.

AppealDemocrat.com, 2/25/11

Dozens of Businesses Sued In EDCA For Lack of Disability Access

Dozens of Yuba-Sutter businesses are named in two federal cases filed by a West Sacramento man who has been called "litigious Louie" for his lawsuits contending companies violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Many of the local businesses named by George Louie in his filings in U.S. District Court in Sacramento planned to meet Thursday in Yuba City to hear an attorney from Loomis who has defended companies in such cases for more than 10 years.

Alex Perez, office manager of Access Dental in Yuba City — among the businesses Louie names — said the office has a letter from a patient who is a quadriplegic thanking them for the good care provided.

Appeal-Democrat, 1/28/11

Man Filing Hundreds Of ADA Lawsuits Caught Making Legal Threats

The West Sacramento man who has filed nearly two 200 lawsuits in Sacramento County alone in the past five years has followed through on his threats to sue several businesses in Sacramento.

KCRA 3 has obtained the complaint filed this week in federal court.

Now, George S. Louie has made new threats and one of the owners named in the suit caught those threats on his surveillance camera.

“It’s $6,000 a piece, but the only deal I’ll cut you is we can settle both, the Laundromat and the liquor store, for $9,000 if you pay in five days with a cashier’s check,” said Louie, whose voice was heard on a speaker phone on surveillance video. “And if you don’t do that, the price is going to go up.”

 Late last month, Louie sent the Stop and Shop on Folsom Boulevard, along with other businesses, a letter demanding $6,000 unless the businesses wanted to face a lawsuit.

His complaint varied based on the business. At the Stop and Shop, he complained they had no handicapped parking.

The owner of Stop and Shop has fixed the problem, but Louie still filed a lawsuit.

“It’s understandable how an owner receiving a letter saying, ’Pay me $6,000 or else,’ that owner may feel he is somehow being extorted,” said legal expert Johnny Griffin.

 Griffin said Louie isn’t actually breaking any laws, but he said he can see why some would question Louie’s motivation.

KCRA.com