San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has launched an investigation into a wave of lawsuits related to the Americans with Disabilities Act against business owners in Chinatown.
Chinatown buildings are old, many built more than 100 years ago. Which means they aren’t always easily accessible to people with disabilities.
"It is essential that we provide full and equal access," said Boudin, who is working on ways to help landlords get their buildings up to ADA code. "But the allegations of these lawsuits that are potentially fraudulent are abuses of an important law."
This spate of suits may be scams. It’s unclear that whomever is filing them has actually even been to the stores they’re claiming aren’t accessible.
In some cases, the suits were preceded by letters asking for money to make the lawsuit go away.
These business owners are being targeted most likely because they may have English as a second language or may not be legal citizens. "They’re easier targets for extortion and shakedown," said Boudin.
It’s particularly cruel to do this to a neighborhood trying to recover from the pandemic and a wave of anti-Asian hate crimes, said Boudin.
His office released a hotline number for business owners to call if they receive this type of suit. They are also working on legislation to make it harder for these fraudulent lawsuits to be filed.
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