ADA attorney targeting North Shore businesses
By Kara Fox, Moonshine Ink
A slew of small businesses on the North Shore have recently been targeted by a disabled attorney, claiming they are not in compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Scott Johnson, who is known around the state and locally for filing these types of lawsuits, has sued at least 45 businesses from Kings Beach to Tahoma since November.
He made the rounds on the South Shore a few years ago.
Johnson, who was hit by a drunken driver in 1981 that left him a quadriplegic, sends letters to businesses stating they are noncompliant with the federal law that requires a minimum level of access in all public places. His most recent accusations against local businesses have been that handicapped spaces are not properly marked, the ramps to the businesses are too steep, and/or the door handles are not push/pull handles, among other complaints. He is asking anywhere from $22,000 to $25,000 per lawsuit.
Johnson is no stranger to the Tahoe/Truckee area, having filed numerous lawsuits against small businesses locally a few years ago, even putting Donner Lake Kitchen in Truckee out of business in 2011. He has filed more than 2,000 federal lawsuits in the California Eastern District Court in Sacramento since 2004.