news story / By Heidi Walters

Jason Singleton Strikes Again

A new rash of ADA lawsuits has businesses scraping to comply, and get by

(May 8, 2008)  Driving through Eureka on 101, you may have noticed that a long-time fixture, the Arctic Circle, is all boarded up. On Tuesday, the Times-Standard had the report: The restaurant was sued in February over violations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case settled, and the owners, unable to afford the fixes required to become compliant, closed shop.

The lawsuit was filed by Eureka attorney Jason Singleton. He made a splash several years back by suing a plethora of local entities over ADA violations the plaintiffs said prevented their access to the establishments. He sued Humboldt County, the Eureka Chamber of Commerce, the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, Gottschalks, the Minor Theater Corp., Café Waterfront, Café Marina and more. (Since 1997, Singleton has filed nearly 300 civil rights suits across California, more than 75 of them ADA-related.)

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Now he’s onto a new round. There’s the Arctic Circle lawsuit, as well as one against Six Rivers Brewery filed last June and mentioned briefly in the T-Sreport. And there are more: Toni’s 24-hr Restaurant in Arcata (sued in March 2006); Carl’s Jr. in the Valley West shopping center (January 2006); Barnes Arcata Family Drug (February 2006); Central Station bar in McKinleyville (April 2007); and, on March 24 this year, Open Door Community Health Centers’ Arcata clinic on 10th Street.

Singleton didn’t respond to the Journal’s request for an interview.

Carmichael-based attorney Catherine Corfee, who represented Toni’s and Six Rivers Brewery, said by phone last week that these cases usually have little to do with actual discrimination. They often focus on slight imperfections found not to have deterred other disabled people’s access. And they nearly always settle — it’s cheaper than a costly court battle. A jury trial could rack up $80,000, or far more, in attorney’s fees, which the defendant has to pay. Even so, the defendant might still shell out between $5,000 and $30,000 in a settlement, she said.

There are some valid cases, she said. She doesn’t count Singleton’s among them.

“I believe that he basically is a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Corfee said.

And sometimes a settlement can sink a business. Or send it into partial hibernation.

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