Yuba City, California has agreed to pay $15,000 to a serial filer of lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act to just go away.
The man has filed “dozens” of lawsuits in Northern California under the act, and last year, a Contra Costa County judge put him on a state list of “vexatious litigants,” which bars him from filing any more suits in state court but not in federal court. Yuba City is about 40 miles north of Sacramento.
The city agreed to make the payment to protect local businesses from any more lawsuits in either court.
“There’s no timetable. It’s forever,” said the city manager, who added the city spends about $300,000 a year to make its public facilities accessible to the handicapped. The agreement applies only to the single plaintiff involved, so suits can still be filed by others.
Source: “Yuba City to pay man $15,000 to stop suing,”Associated Press, October 15, 2012
Maureen Martin, a former legal fellow at The Heartland Institute, passed away on February 5, 2013.
