Inclusion Daily Express -- U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Molski Appeal

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U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Molski Appeal
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
November 17, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC--California's self-proclaimed ADA "Sheriff" has run out of appeals in his crusade to make businesses comply with the 18-year-old federal law.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down Jarek Molski's appeal of a federal judge's order that he can no longer use the Americans with Disabilities Act to file lawsuits against businesses that fail to be accessible to him and other wheelchair users, and other people with disabilities.

The high court did not comment on why it refused to hear Molski's appeal.

Molski, 38, has used a wheelchair since he was in a motorcycle accident two decades ago.

Between 1998 and 2004, Molski filed more than 400 lawsuits over accessibility problems in restaurants, wineries and other California businesses, mostly in coastal towns. He said he considered himself a public servant that simply tried to make businesses comply with the 1990 anti-discrimination law.

Molski's critics say he filed the suits to intimidate businesses and make money for himself. Most of the businesses that Molski sued decided to settle their cases out of court for between $20,000 and $35,000 each.

In December of 2004, U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie called Molski a "vexatious litigant" and a "hit-and-run plaintiff" who filed discrimination suits "maliciously and without good cause". Rafeedie then ordered Molski to stop filing ADA lawsuits without first getting permission from a federal judge.

That ruling came in a suit Molski lodged against Evergreen Dynasty Corp. the owners of a Chinese restaurant in Solvang, in which he alleged he injured his hand because the entrance to the restroom was too narrow.

In April of this year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rehear the Evergreen case by the full court. But nine of the court's 28 judges dissented, arguing that the right to petition the government for redress of grievances under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is "one of the most precious of the liberties safeguarded by the Bill of Rights."

Related:
"Jarek Molski: ADA 'Sheriff'" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/access/molski.htm

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