July 9, 2019
NEED TO KNOW NEWS
"You don't know what you don't know until you know it."
Need to Know News is intended to educate members of the lodging industry who understand the value of being aware of changes that can affect their ongoing digital marketing strategy.
ADA LAWSUITS CONTINUE TO INCREASE AT AN ALARMING RATE
Acorn Internet Services, Inc. is working together with PAII (Professional Association of Innkeepers) and Greg Dugal of Hospitality Maine to prepare information to present to AH&LA (American Hotel & Lodging Association) regarding the increased volume of ADA filed lawsuits and also the ADA nuisance letters where a property owner is threatened with a potential lawsuit if they don't pay a fee. We see many of these ADA nuisance letters coming from Legal Justice Advocates in a variety of states and also from other Law Firms.
We are looking at AH&LA to assist us in helping pass this information on for legislative and state level action to better protect our Innkeepers and Lodging owners.
Many of these suits are by Plaintiffs who are simply looking for a settlement, and are not truly interested in staying at your establishment or working with you to make it a better experience for handicapped travelers.
- These suits are on the rise and are costing Innkeepers and their providers in both time and money.
- Often times one property may be sued 2 or 3 times by different Plaintiffs all citing different ADA complaints.
- These suits, once filed, are public knowledge. The complaint itself, and history of the suit are both available online.
- The more data you can provide for us to add to our existing information will be greatly appreciated.
Important Note: We firmly believe that everyone in our industry should care about providing readily achievable accessible features to handicapped travelers. This survey is to help us identify those handicapped Plaintiffs who are in the business of filing serial lawsuits simply to settle the case for a fee.
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Below is a list of Plaintiffs who have filed suits as found on https://dockets.justia.com/ against lodging properties in 2019.
- Plaintiff: David Poschmann
(Estimated Lodging Suits filed in 2019 = 15)
Note: At least 1 of these suits was because the inn had over 5 rooms but did not provide the information on their site / booking engine to assist the handicapped traveler in knowing which room they should book.
- Plaintiff: Patricia Kennedy
(Estimated Lodging Suits filed in 2019 = 23) - Plaintiff: Howard Cohan
(Estimated Lodging Suits filed in 2019 = 14) - Plaintiff: Carlton Knowles
(Estimated Lodging Suits filed in 2019 = 4)
Note: Carlton is a blind man who is filing suits in the state of Illinois because he was unable to book a room on the website without the help of a sighted person. Carlton is using Lee Litigation Group to file the suits. - Plaintiff: Mary West
(Estimated Lodging Suits filed in 2019 = 4)
Note: Mary is a blind woman who is filing suits in the state of Wisconsin because she was unable to book a room on the website without the help of a sighted person. Mary is using Lee Litigation Group to file the suits. - Plaintiff: Victor P. Andrews
(Estimated Lodging Suits filed in 2019 = 5)
Note: Victor is a blind man who is filing suits in the state of Massachusetts because he was unable to book a room on the website without the help of a sighted person. Victor is using Lee Litigation Group to file the suits. - Plaintiff: Jesus Gonzalez
(Estimated Lodging Suits filed in 2019 = 8)
Note: At least 1 of these suits was because the inn had over 5 rooms but did not provide the information on their site / booking engine to assist the handicapped plaintiff in knowing which room they should book.