ADA and FHA Defense

I noted this headline in my Google news feed this afternoon: “Attorney involved in dozens of ‘sue-and-settle’ lawsuits around KC may have web accessibility issues on his own sites.” The story was pretty much as expected. Attorney Kevin Puckett files 90 lawsuits for a single plaintiff who claims to be disabled. The attorney’s own website is reported to be not WCAG 2.1 conforming, but I suppose his client won’t sue him – why bite the hand that feeds you? You can draw your own conclusions about a lawyer who claims to be an advocate for those who are disabled but doesn’t make his own websites accessible. There are a couple of surprises. First, as the local news reports: “KMBC has learned Myers [the plaintiff] lives on Puckett’s [the lawyer’s] family property and rents a trailer from Puckett’s relatives.” That’s an interesting relationship. Second, the local news reports that cases filed by Puckett have settled for as much as $40,000. The going rate for ADA website settlements is between $2500 and around $15,000, with top dollar going to a few firms in New York and Pennsylvania who have been in the business for a long time and have a demonstrated ability to prosecute the cases through trial. There are many reasons to hire a lawyer who specializes in ADA defense, but perhaps the most important is that knowing the going rate for settlement can save a lot of money. ADA website cases often look scary, with high remediation costs and the potential for even higher legal fees. I can’t read Mr. Puckett’s mind or know his intentions, but in my experience over the last ten years most plaintiff’s attorneys are just trying to make a quick buck and will be happy to make a handsome profit off a few hours work. Knowing that can make all the difference.

You can read the original news story here:  Kansas ADA lawsuits.

Just as I hit “publish” on this blog I got another headline, this from a law firm website: “ADA Defense Lawyer: A big win against abusive ADA lawsuits. Recovering Attorney’s Fees in ADA and Unruh Act Cases.” The blog describes what amounts to a total victory for the defendant, whose lawyers, Stuart Tubis and Martin Orlick, were awarded more than $57,000 for winning at trial and an additional $84,000 for winning the appeal. It is very difficult to win defense fees in ADA and Unruh Act cases, so they clearly did a good job of showing the plaintiff was not just wrong, but acted in bad faith.

If you have been sued under the ADA and are willing to spend more than a hundred and fifty thousand dollars winning then I would like to be your lawyer, but what I said about settlements above is important for those clients who just want to get out of a lawsuit that probably never should have been filed. You don’t have to take a case to trial or spend tens of thousands of dollars to get a settlement that is really annoying but cheaper than fighting. We need clients like the defendant in the above case who will take it upon themselves to remind serial filers that industrial litigation has risks, just as we need lawyers who will take the case and win. But what most businesses need is a lawyer who will tell them that the best way out may be a quick settlement.