On October 10th we notified hoteliers of the multiple ADA lawsuits filed in the Federal District Court, Eastern District of California. The lawsuits are identical but for the name of the defendant hotel and whether a lift was missing from the pool or jacuzzi.
Prior to filing a motion to dismiss for one of our clients, we discovered an order issued by a judge in the Eastern District and applicable to all of the ADA lawsuits filed by plaintiff, Theresa Brooke by her lawyer, Peter Strojnik.
The court order stays all of the lawsuits while Ms. Brooke shows cause to the court why the actions should not be dismissed for lack of standing and lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
Of course, we are waiting to see what happens. Unfortunately, we do see that some hoteliers have settled their claims with Ms. Brooke. Perhaps had they waited until Ms. Brooke responded to the court and the court issued an order of dismissal, they may have been able to avoid paying any money on these cases.
In the meantime, hoteliers should determine whether a pool lift is readily achievable and if so, install it. That is the best defense against these types of lawsuits.