Clint Eastwood vs. Sleazebag ADA Lawyers
There is a new scam being perpetrated by unscrupulous lawyers intent on making a fast buck by extracting settlements from small businesses.
A lawyer will hire a disabled person to visit small businesses and look for failures to adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), This act allows lawyers to collect $275 in attorney’s fees—starting the moment they file the lawsuit—and the business being sued has very little time to mitigate any alleged problems.
The original Wall Street Journal article that got Bill’s attention was: “Clint Eastwood Saddles Up for Disability-Act Showdown”, which is not available online (at least not without a paid subscription). Other articles are available without registration:
- (ABCNEWS.com) Eastwood Spars With Disabled Advocates
- (ABCNEWS.com) Clint Eastwood Gets His Day in Congress
- (ABCNEWS.com) WNT- Celebrities and Their Influence on Capitol Hill
- On the Hill: Clint Eastwood vs. ADA filing mills
Eastwood became involved in the fight when one of these lawyers targeted his Mission Ranch inn for their apparent shakedown scheme.
Florida Congressman Mark Foley (and numerous co-sponsors) has sponsored legislation to address this situation: H.R.3590. There does not appear to be a Senate version of the bill yet.
Eastwood’s testimony on the ADA Notification Act has details of how this apparent extortion racket operated.
