Pryor Cashman Launches Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Defense Practice
In response to a local and nationwide increase in plaintiff’s attorney-led ADA lawsuits, Pryor Cashman LLP has officially launched its Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Defense practice. The attorneys in this practice, all of whom have been litigating ADA matters for several years, provide legal counsel and assistance to companies and individuals such as hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, coffee shops and other public businesses facing ADA lawsuits.
Led by partner James O’Brien, the ADA Defense practice will be part of the firm’s Litigation and Labor & Employment Groups.
“While the ADA has helped ensure unparalleled accessibility for millions of disabled Americans, an increasing number of businesses – especially in New York where the buildings are old and space is tight – are suddenly facing an increase in the number of code violation lawsuits as watch-dog groups try to enforce this law,” said O’Brien. “Our team works with each client seeking ADA defense counsel to come up with an innovative and custom-tailored approach to successfully protect their business, while ensuring that the disabled have proper access.”
Attorneys in Pryor Cashman’s ADA Defense practice provide a full range of services from ADA consulting and pre-litigation advice to pre-suit settlement negotiations to lawsuit defense and trial. They regularly advise clients on how to best modify their properties in effort to minimize the impact of an ADA lawsuit and defend against lawsuits that are brought.
The Americans With Disabilities Act passed in 1990 as a landmark federal civil rights law and is intended to prevent discrimination of disabled individuals and includes regulations ensuring physical accessibility to establishments open to the public. Under Title III of the ADA, public accommodations such as hotels, restaurants, stores, schools, recreation facilities and modes of transportation must meet construction and operational guidelines ensuring accessibility to disabled individuals. In recent years, a notable increase in plaintiff attorney-led litigation against these type of businesses has unfairly targeted local establishments by recruiting plaintiffs from disabled individual advocacy groups to file mass numbers of lawsuits.
