ADA abuser finally meets nemesis: Plaintiff lawyer warned of penalty if lawsuit is not withdrawn

Recently, a case where a snack shop in Manhattan’s Chinatown was sued by a disabled person has reached its final conclusion: the plaintiff was once again forced to withdraw the lawsuit. This news is undoubtedly good news for the Chinatown small business owners who have been losing money for years due to repetitive lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In an exclusive interview, Morton Minsley, the defense attorney who won this lawsuit for the defendant “Sam’s Deli,” shared that before he formally proposed the motion to withdraw the case, the plaintiff Lin Kwok Keung, who filed lawsuits against 52 Chinatown small businesses under the pretext of “lack of disabled access,” withdrew the lawsuit along with his attorney Bradley Weitz.

Minsley explained that after a decade-long struggle against repetitive lawsuits from Lin Kwok Keung and Weitz, a resolution seems to have finally been found for the ADA litigation cases that have plagued Chinatown businesses.

Minsley, who has been practicing law for over 40 years and representing Chinatown small businesses for more than 20 years, noted that the first ADA lawsuit he received was in 2017 when the oldest restaurant in Chinatown was sued for not having disabled access. Eventually, the defendant resolved the lawsuit by installing a portable ramp, a doorbell, and compensating the plaintiff.

Over the following years, Minsley continued to handle similar cases, with plaintiffs like Lin Kwok Keung and Weitz citing different reasons such as lack of elevators, lack of bathrooms on the ground floor, no wheelchair-accessible ramps at the entrances, etc. However, due to the plaintiff’s previous successful lawsuit against a deli shop on 2nd Avenue, the two became relentless in suing Chinatown’s small businesses located in old buildings.

Minsley explained that many terms in federal ADA law are vaguely defined, and although it requires “remedial measures” to be “readily achievable,” there is little specific definition. This made it challenging for defendants to prove that making any improvements in the congested and costly Chinatown area was “readily achievable.” Moreover, defending such federal ADA lawsuits is time-consuming and costly, with legal fees for the defendant’s lawyers alone ranging from $50,000 to $200,000, making it difficult for Chinatown businesses to afford either renovation or legal defense.

At that time, the only option was negotiation and settlement. Minsley mentioned reaching out to plaintiff’s lawyers to settle cases by agreeing to their demands while not covering their legal fees. This tactic often led to the cases being settled with minimal adjustments, such as posting a small sign at the entrance, installing a doorbell, and paying a sum of money.

Minsley shared that a significant change in his approach was triggered by a coincidental event in June 2022. While on vacation with his family, he came across a news article from California regarding a similar ADA case known as the “Calcano” blind litigation case. The judge in that case implemented a stricter standard for plaintiffs, requiring them to demonstrate “actual harm” to file a lawsuit. This judgment was based on a non-ADA case from 2021 involving the Fair Credit Reporting Act, where the court ruled in favor of the defendant, TransUnion, stating that an incorrect credit report is not sufficient to sue a credit card company without evidence of “real harm.”

Realizing the potential implications of this precedent for ADA litigation, Minsley began using the “Calcano” case as a basis to request plaintiffs to withdraw their lawsuits in ADA abuse cases. Leveraging this strategy, he successfully persuaded Lin Kwok Keung and Weitz to withdraw three lawsuits filed against a bakery, a spa, and a nail salon near Doyers Street.

Since persuading the two plaintiffs to withdraw the three cases, they had not appeared in Chinatown for years. However, towards the end of last year, Sam’s Deli at 30 Mott Street received a lawsuit from Lin Kwok Keung once again. The owner, Jenny Lien, sought help from Councilman Christopher Marte, who then recommended Minsley for legal assistance.

Minsley, who hails from a family of small business owners and empathizes with their legal challenges, mentioned that Jenny expressed financial difficulties and inability to pay for potential settlements. Hence, he wrote a letter to Judge Arum Subramanian, requesting a three-week preparation period for the defendant and outlining his defense strategy based on the “Calcano” case.

In the recent judgment received from Judge Subramanian, it was noted that failure to withdraw the lawsuit would result in potential sanctions if the defendant prevailed. Shortly after, the plaintiff dropped the case.

Regarding the prevalent issue of ADA litigation abuse nationwide, according to a report from the American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) last year, New York State had a total of 2,759 ADA lawsuit cases in 2023, ranking first in the nation for the second consecutive year and becoming a “judicial hellhole.”

Disagreeing with the label of “judicial hellhole,” Minsley highlighted that New York courts have excellent judges and opined that legal reforms are not necessary to restrict people’s right to sue but acknowledged the challenges faced by Chinatown businesses due to the abundance of old buildings, crowded streets, and immigrants who may be unaware of the law or lack funds for renovations, leaving them vulnerable to malicious lawsuits.

Minsley praised the oversight of judges in Manhattan and the southern district of New York in monitoring cases and noted that some plaintiff lawyers have faced sanctions for their actions. He expressed optimism that as judges become more familiar with legal developments, the situation will improve.

In terms of reforms, Minsley suggested cracking down on individuals and lawyers who sue for profit rather than genuine harm and setting a financial threshold for defendants to prevent vulnerable small businesses from being targeted.

Despite facing challenges such as 9/11, hurricanes, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Minsley believed that each administration in New York has been supportive of revitalizing and nurturing Chinatown’s small businesses to thrive once again.

“I hope the abusers will not return to Chinatown,” Minsley said, emphasizing that ADA litigation cases should be a bipartisan concern to ensure fair and proper resolutions.