Questions Raised about ADA Wheelchair Activist and Her Lawyer

posted on May 16 by Admin in the Advocacy, Disability Discrimination, Disability Law, Disability News, Wheelchair Accessibility, Wheelchair Accessibility Laws category

WFAA, a Dallas/Fort Worth channel was notified of an extreme amount of lawsuits by local Allen resident, Leslie Greer. Greer is a well known name at most northern Texas courthouses, having filed 119 suits against Texas and Oklahoma businesses since 1996, citing violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA is a federal law that’s been in place to protect people with disabilities giving them a ground to stand on should they feel their rights were violated by being denied access to public places.

Her latest suit is against the West Village, forcing developers to make major changes to comply with ADA standards for wheelchair accessibility. This is just one of a number of recent suits in January of eight small restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, seven of them in one day. In addition, there are seven more restaurants in Pennsylvania, six in the same day. In all 15 suits, Greer states she was unable to access the businesses because of “physical barriers and dangerous conditions… that exist.”

The Dallas/Fort Worth station further investigated the situation by traveling to Florida to visit some of the restaurants listed in the suit. In interviews with two of the businesses, neither owner recalled ever seeing Greer. With claims like not enough handicap accessible seating and not enough knee clearance in the lavatory, one would think Greer would have attended the restaurants.

One of the targets was Bagels and More, a breakfast and lunch spot that, according to the owner, has been catering to handicapped clientele without any problems for years.

“Thirty-five years and we’ve never had a problem here,” said owner Shirley Apteker.

WFAA showed Apteker a photo of Greer in which she replied, “I’ve never seen this woman before.”

This was also the case at several other business that WFAA questioned.

“I don’t have any recollection of seeing her, but I think the whole thing is a scam,” said Sam Kantzavelos, the owner of Greek Islands. “She is just going around suing people. It’s a nuisance.”

One of the restaurants listed in the lawsuit is occupied by a tire shop. It certainly shed a new light on the suits and Greer. All the suits are located within miles of Greer’s attorney, Stephan Nitz, who has filed over 400 ADA complacence lawsuits. Nitz declined to answer any questions on camera, but told the Texas station that all the lawsuits were legitimate. The station’s next interview was to Greer herself, who had trouble answering questions regarding the detail of the suits.

One Florida restaurant stated Nitz offered to drop the lawsuit entirely for $2000 in damages and minor changes to the interior. Greer was unable to even name the restaurants she was suing in an interview with WFAA. Since the investigation by WFAA, Greer has dropped all of her lawsuits in Pennsylvania and one in Florida. The rest continue to be litigated.

Source: http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Handicapped-activist-accused-of-going-too-far-120905159.html