Can anyone give me some legal advice? I am being sued

[snusgetter]

... I am going to call his lawyer and try to settle out of court. Try to bluff and say I am willing to accept injuctive relief (fixing it), and paying his attorney fee, but I ain't giving the guy shit. The lawyer will hopefully be down with this, because he gets his cash and that's all he cares about.

Offer him some long-forgotten snus or snuff (or cancer sticks if he's a smoker).

[myuserid]

I've heard people call KFI asking about this guy when Bill Handle is on Saturday mornings. I stream his show at work on Saturdays, funny as hell.

I love that show too.

Handle on the Law is awesome.

[Bigblue1]

Truthwolf what does that pool have to do with anything? lol Maybe that's the house the homeless guy will buy if he wins all of his cases.

You ever see a guy in a wheelchair swim?

[snusgetter]

You ever see a guy in a wheelchair swim?

I got a chuckle out of that but then wondered how far science has advanced.

No longer a joke...

The Vipamat Hippocampe is an all-terrain and beach wheelchair that can be independently pushed, towed or pushed by someone.

The latest model from the company is the Hippocampe swimming pool wheelchair.

Designed for all persons with limited mobility, the Vipamat Swimming Pool Hippocampe is designed for public or private swimming pools, aquatic centers and fitness centers. This wheelchair will help the user move freely in the swimming pool to enjoy water sports activities.

The Hippocampe wheelchair is designed to resist water and is really easy to handle. Fitted with a directional wheel, it paces up and down the corridors of the swimming pool.

It stands in water, moves without hassles and ensures optimal comfort, thanks to its seat in hydrophobic foam and the steerable front wheel.

Three solutions are possible with the Hippocampe wheelchair to access the pool. In addition to the functionality, its energetic looks and sporty design blend in perfectly with leisure activities.

You can buy the Hippocampe Swimming Pool Wheelchair at ScooterDirect for $2490.



sgreger1, maybe you can offer the dude one of these -- cheaper payout!!

[Snusdog]

Did the guy ever pay you for the food you brought him?

Counter sue him for 10K including food cost, late payment fees, loss of business due to nonpaying vagrants begging for food, mental duress from harassment and attempted extortion. Join with the other businesses that have been sued and press charges against the man AND his lawyer for racketeering. Join forces and hirer a PI to look into the legal practice of the man's council. You are looking for any reason (any dubious activity- this type of case being a prime example) to petition the CA bar association to begin disbarment proceedings against the guy's lawyer.

Instruct your lawyer to bury this guy in so much legal paper work that the cost of pursuit becomes astronomical.

RUN THEIR ASSES OUT OF TOWN

[Bigblue1]

I got a chuckle out of that but then wondered how far science has advanced.

No longer a joke...

The Vipamat Hippocampe is an all-terrain and beach wheelchair that can be independently pushed, towed or pushed by someone.

The latest model from the company is the Hippocampe swimming pool wheelchair.

Designed for all persons with limited mobility, the Vipamat Swimming Pool Hippocampe is designed for public or private swimming pools, aquatic centers and fitness centers. This wheelchair will help the user move freely in the swimming pool to enjoy water sports activities.

The Hippocampe wheelchair is designed to resist water and is really easy to handle. Fitted with a directional wheel, it paces up and down the corridors of the swimming pool.

It stands in water, moves without hassles and ensures optimal comfort, thanks to its seat in hydrophobic foam and the steerable front wheel.

Three solutions are possible with the Hippocampe wheelchair to access the pool. In addition to the functionality, its energetic looks and sporty design blend in perfectly with leisure activities.

You can buy the Hippocampe Swimming Pool Wheelchair at ScooterDirect for $2490.



sgreger1, maybe you can offer the dude one of these -- cheaper payout!!

Pretty sure it's no good in the deep end.

If you get truthwolfs point.......

[snusgetter]

Pretty sure it's no good in the deep end.

If you get truthwolfs point.......

Got it, indeed...

I'm a fan of dark humor but I really did wonder if wheelchair swimming
was now possible, found an answer, and figured I'd share it.

Not sure about the deep end but with sufficient flotation devices attached
it should work; kinda like those floating lounges the babes like!!

[shikitohno]

Did the guy ever pay you for the food you brought him?

Counter sue him for 10K including food cost, late payment fees, loss of business due to nonpaying vagrants begging for food, mental duress from harassment and attempted extortion. Join with the other businesses that have been sued and press charges against the man AND his lawyer for racketeering. Join forces and hirer a PI to look into the legal practice of the man's council. You are looking for any reason (any dubious activity- this type of case being a prime example) to petition the CA bar association to begin disbarment proceedings against the guy's lawyer.

Instruct your lawyer to bury this guy in so much legal paper work that the cost of pursuit becomes astronomical.

RUN THEIR ASSES OUT OF TOWN

That's basically what I was going to say. Get together with the other businesses that have been sued by him, pool resources, and tar and feather this asshole. Or go the PP way, buy him a Hippocampe wheelchair and just forget to mention that you installed a custom lead seat. Seriously though, what this guy is doing is illegal. Joining together with the rest of the businesses being sued may not yield the biggest payout in the end if you win, but it'll distribute the blow across all of you equally rather than every man for himself. Dig up whatever sort of dirt you can on this lawyer and his client, and run with it. And as Snusdog mention, did the guy actually pay for any of the food, or have you guys just been being nice to him? If he hasn't paid, I'd see if you couldn't argue his claims were invalid considering he was never a customer of your business, and therefore was never denied entry when trying to make use of your services. Not having read the ADA, I don't know how that would go, but it could be worth looking into.

As far as the potential for future lawsuits, I have one other idea for you. I'm not 100% sure this would fly, but I'm say around 75% confident in this one. Still, talk it over with your lawyer before hand. As soon as you can, make it a private club. One where anyone can join, there's no membership fee, you just have to sign off on a slip of paper the first time and you get a membership card. One where you also have to pay for any food you consume in the club. Based on the wiki page (although I really wouldn't just go with that as my source in this case), you can run a private club as a business, and not be bound by the ADA, handily nullifying any potential future lawsuits from him. Of course, you guys would need to print up membership cards or something and maintain a database of customers (you know, in case someone lost theirs or something), which would add to costs. Still, I'd imagine it'd be cheaper than being sued a number of times. Now maybe if we're nice to him, Faust might come back for a minute. He being the resident lawyer here, I believe we could all agree to defer to his opinion on this matter.

Armchair advice from a non-lawyer, but if you could manage to band together with other businesses and/or your rich landlord was willing to bankroll the court costs of fighting it, I'd go tooth and nail with counter charges against this guy and his lawyer.

[vodkaniac]

Screw the handicapped.

Screw you, jackass.

[Bigblue1]

Screw you, jackass.

Let's not take it out of context man

[Bigblue1]

Weak... Screw the handicapped. Private business is private. Government should be handicapped accessible, but I see no reason to cater to extreme minorities for private businesses. I guess everybody has the "right" to Philipino food now :^S

Sorry Sgreger1, I don't have anything constructive to add, other than get a lawyer. Sigh... I F'n hate lawyers :^/

See if you read the whole post, he was making a point and not literally saying screw the handicap...... Jesus......

[Premium Parrots]

Now maybe if we're nice to him, Faust might come back for a minute. He being the resident lawyer here, I believe we could all agree to defer to his opinion on this matter.

Hes in high school and on the debate team. that hardly qualifies him as a lawyer. So....I wouldn't agree.




I say install an electro magnet and a metal detector and required switching into the sidewalk out front you resturant. When the wheel chair goes near the detector it kicks the electro magnet on and stops him in his tracks. then you can go outside and egg him on ruthlessly.

"Hi there!! welcome, come on in, we put in a ramp just for you now, free food just slide on in, come on now don't be shy".

then throw ciggy butts at him.

[raptor]

Weak... Screw the handicapped. Private business is private. Government should be handicapped accessible, but I see no reason to cater to extreme minorities for private businesses. I guess everybody has the "right" to Philipino food now :^S

Hey now, there's a reason for the ADA and although this frivolous lawsuit isn't one of them, it is necessary.

[Roo]

Have you seen the guy around since you got served the papers? I kinda doubt it, but if so a good first move would be try your hand at talking him out of it. I know it's a long shot but worth a try. You've got the gift of gab, just tell him you were in the process of assessing the cost and benefits of permanent vs temporary ramps because you completely agree that your restaurant needs to be accessable to everyone. Tell him he's not the only disabled customer to whom you are striving to provide better service.

Ask him for feedback regarding the functionality of a temp ramp to show that you really care, then tell him a sob story about how a permanent ramp and/or a $4K lawsuit would put you in the red. Tell him you value him as a customer and regret that your business hasn't been more accessable to ALL if your disabled customers, that you regret not having installed a ramp yet, and ask that he kindly reconsider filing the suit. Tell him you will be putting in a temp ramp this weekend and that you would be happy to deliver food to him anytime at no extra charge if he chooses not to dine in. Apologize profusely and be super friendly with the hope that he might feel some guilt for trying to dick you over. Tell him about your family and the hardships of staying in business and providing for your young daughter. If you can't meet him in person write a letter to him. Chances are it won't work, but you gotta at least try.

If he persues the case and you go to court it will definitely work in your favor to have already sent a super friendly and compassionate letter addressing his concerns and to already have that ramp installed before it all goes down. Just a (very longwinded) idea, but with the letter and ramp already in place, perhaps you could do better in court than you're expecting, should you decide to fight it (which I think you should). Anyway, what a miserable prick.

[EricHill78]

Roo that's some good advice but I have a bad feeling this guy is just looking for a quick payday. Most likely karma will get him. He may win a few of the suits but he'll probably piss away the funds in a few months. It's sad he's homeless but he may have some substance issues.