Lea Dimond (right) hugs longtime customer Lisa Louis at Dimond’s
Thidwick Books. | Photo by Paul Chinn / The Chronicle
The SF Chronicle published a front page story today that features Clement Street’s Thidwick Books and the story of its closure due to an ADA lawsuit. The small bookstore is closing its doors today after 11 years in business.
Lea Dimond, who has owned Thidwick Books in the building since 1999, plans to shut down her store today and try to find a new place rather than fight Yates or significantly alter the configuration of her 865-square-foot shop. She believes she would lose too much inventory to be financially viable if she made the changes necessary to create room for a wheelchair to maneuver.
In the article, Dimond says she is frustrated that she was not warned of potential ADA issues by the city when she initially applied for her business permits. Dimond also asserts that the plaintiff in the case, Craig Thomas Yates, is really after money.
“Yates is picking off small business owners like grapes on a vine,” said Dimond, noting that similar access suits have been settled for tens of thousands of dollars. “This is vexatious litigation, and the city has to be made aware that its commercial landscape is being damaged by this. … Small businesses are really being hurt.”
Yates is suing the landlord of the building in which Thidwick Books is located. The building is large and houses other retail stores including restaurant Village Pizzeria. It’s unclear from the article how the landlord and remaining businesses will address the lawsuit.
Read the full article at sfgate.com
We posted a comment earlier this week from Supervisor Mar’s office about these recent closures due to ADA lawsuits. In the Chronicle article, Mar says he has been hearing about the issue since he took office.
Mar, the San Francisco supervisor who represents the Richmond District, said he has been getting calls from merchants about ADA litigation since he took office in 2008. The suits have hurt the neighborhood’s economy, he said.
Mar said he liked the idea of changing the city business permit process so that it includes information about ADA compliance. He also is encouraging owners who need to make costly alterations to seek help with financing through the city’s small business office.
Sarah B.
It’s my understanding of the ADA Act that unless a building was built after (I believe) 1990, then accommodations for the disabled are not required unless and until the building undergoes renovations. A couple of suggestions about how to deal with the problem hard working and well meaning small business owners like Lea Dimond are facing: 1) Ask the SF Small Business Assn. to organize some pro-bono attorneys to help people who are victimized. 2) Report the attorney’s actions to the California Bar Association’s Disciplinary Committee, complaining that the attorney is behaving unethically by filing frivolous lawsuits. It’s time to push back.
This scam has been creating a lucrative career for a few immoral disabled people who sue simply for coat hangers being too high. I’m writing Nancy Pelosi about it right now. Anyone else?
I just realized that they are literally going door-to-door and suing almost every business on their way.
Village Pizzeria: 1 Clement
Period George: 7 Clement
Thidwick: 11 Clement
Clementine (now Chapeau): 126 Clement
Le Soleil: 133 Clement
Pho Clement: 239 Clement
King of Thai Noodle #2: 346 Clement
Fune Ya: 354 Clement
Prime Rib Shabu: 308 5th Ave (10 feet from Clement)
Clement Restaurant: 621 Clement
There are others in Richmond that I recognize on the list (http://dockets.justia.com/search?query=Craig+Yates&nos=446): Thai Me Up (closed), Mayflower, Pot de Pho (they are closed now – is it because of the lawsuit?), Turtle Tower, Superior Palace, Sushi Bistro, Zephyr Cafe. But Clement and 2nd Ave seems to be a ground zero.
That’s 17 lawsuits against Richmond businesses by Craig Yates alone.
Add Giorgio’s Pizzeria (151 Clement) and China First (336 Clement) to the list – these were sued by another serial ADA plaintiff Patrick Connally.
And somebody mentioned Burma Star and B Star settling for $100,000.
Eric Mar, how did that phone conversation with Leland Yee and Fiona Ma go?
Clement Street Business owners please look at this link:
http://legalpad.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/09/tough-times-for.html
Apart from providing summaries of recent cases in which Tom Frankovich’s client’s not only lost but were ordered to pay the defendant/small business owners attorney’s fees, the article provides names of several attorney’s that have successfully represented clients in these types of cases.
Have Richmond district residents/business owners met to organize and discuss these lawsuits? I noticed that Mission district residents organized and held protests when businesses in the Mission were being targeted by these types of suits.
Perhaps we can find Yate’s office and see if it is ADA compliant!
The average demands are much higher than I thought:
http://www.adacrisis.com/demands.html
Our friend Frankovich filed 716 ADA lawsuits, and there are lawyers who had twice as many (2006 data, the numbers are much higher now):
http://www.adacrisis.com/lawyers.html
And after a quick search on justia.com it’s obvious that ADA lawsuits are filed almost exclusively by serial plaintiffs. Most of them have at least 10 cases; there are virtually no plaintiffs with a single lawsuit. If that’s not a proof that this law in the current form benefits only the serial abusers and their lawyers, then I don’t know what is.
Amazingly, Leland Yee and Mark Leno recently voted to extend Unruh Act:
http://www.stopadashakedowns.com/whosvotingforit.html
Let’s face it, restaurant owners don’t have enough influence on the politicians. And while people who pay attention are pissed enough to call our senators, there aren’t that many of us. This issue is under the radar of most residents. So is there anything that can be done?
I think the answer is obvious: use the biggest asset the restaurants have – their loyal patrons. San Franciscans are passionate about their local restaurants and would hate to see them closing.
What if Richmond restaurants placed a leaflet on the tables along with the menu – explaining what’s going on and appealing for help. I’m sure a reasonable percentage of patrons would actually call Leland Yee, Mark Leno and Fiona Ma about it. How many people visit at least one local restaurant in a month? My guess would be 20,000-25,000. Even if only 1% of them would call, that might be enough to influence the politicians. And I believe the actual response rate would be much, much higher, especially if there is an option to sign a petition.
This should be done by all restaurants, not only those already affected by the lawsuits. It shouldn’t take a lot of convincing – they are probably scared to death already.
In my opinion, the Greater Geary Boulevard Merchants Association is in the best position to reach out to the restaurant owners and make this happen. If not them, the other option would be SF Chamber of Commerce.
Sarah, I think in the past you talked to GGBMA’s president David Heller. Would you suggest this idea to him?
Actually, Thomas Frankovich’s office is not ADA compliant. What the heck right?
A good story about a the situation in general at This American Life Act 3 of “Crybabies”. Starts about min 34.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/415/crybabies
Yes, yates is after money, he is the same mother f%$#*^ that sued me,seven years ago. Yates lives in San Rafael, probably never been in the book store like he never ate in my restaurant, that I closed after being sued by the crippled f$%^…sorry i’m bitter. Yates and other handicapped people work for the scum bag Tom Frankovich. These people sue without ever entering the business.