{"id":20184,"date":"2017-11-25T15:29:20","date_gmt":"2017-11-25T15:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?p=20184"},"modified":"2019-04-17T17:16:06","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T17:16:06","slug":"serial-plaintiffs-lawyer-commences-latest-round-of-hotel-litigation-how-can-hotels-protect-themsel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/serial-plaintiffs-lawyer-commences-latest-round-of-hotel-litigation-how-can-hotels-protect-themsel\/","title":{"rendered":"Serial Plaintiffs\u2019 Lawyer Commences Latest Round of Hotel Litigation: How Can Hotels Protect Themsel…"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Tuesday, November 21, 2017<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Just as one flood of lawsuits against Arizona businesses finally dries up, another downpour begins. Peter Strojnik of Phoenix, the same attorney who filed\u00a0more than 1,100 lawsuits<\/a>\u00a0that drew the attention of the Arizona attorney general, has filed approximately 60 new lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against motels and places of lodging in the last three months in federal court in Arizona. Fernando Gastelum, an Arizona resident with a prosthetic leg who uses a wheelchair, is the plaintiff in each of these cases. In each suit, Gastelum claims that he visited the hotel or motel\u2019s website to determine if the property provides the accessible features necessary for him to be able to stay there. He claims that the websites failed to disclose sufficient information about their accessibility and that, upon visiting each hotel or motel, he discovered barriers to access, including a lack of accessible parking spaces, steep ramps, stairs with open risers, and other alleged ADA violations. He seeks orders requiring the hotels and motels to remove the alleged access barriers and revise their websites, and demands damages, including punitive damages and attorneys\u2019 fees.<\/p>\n

These new lawsuits come just as the more than 1,100 lawsuits filed by this same lawyer were resolved. On November 13, 2017, an Arizona judge signed an order that finalized the dismissal of the more than 1,100 lawsuits against Arizona businesses that had been sued for allegedly failing to offer enough accessible parking spaces for the disabled or failing to mark parking spaces with adequate signage. After initially entering\u00a0an order to dismiss all of the lawsuits<\/a>, which the plaintiffs appealed, the Honorable David M. Talamante accepted a stipulation between the Arizona attorney general and plaintiffs David Ritzenthaler, Advocates for American Disabled Individuals LLC, and Advocates for Individuals with Disabilities Foundation, Inc. (AID) to end these cases. The order restricts Ritzenthaler and AID from filing any future lawsuits alleging violations of the Arizonans with Disabilities Act (AzDA) or Title III of the ADA. The attorney general\u2019s office agreed to withdraw its motion for sanctions against AID and, in exchange, AID agreed to pay $25,000 to establish a fund to educate and assist businesses regarding AzDA and ADA compliance.<\/p>\n

What Can Your Business Do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest round of Arizona lawsuits tracks\u00a0a rising trend around the country<\/a>. Hotel, motel, and resort owners in Arizona and other states may want to carefully assess their physical places of business,\u00a0their websites and online reservation systems<\/a>, and the way they provide their services to ensure that they comply with the ADA. Issues to look for include the following:<\/p>\n