West Sacramento Man Sues Yuba City Over Disability Access
YUBA CITY (CBS13) - A local city struggling with furloughs and public safety pay cuts could be forced to make another big payout.
Yuba City is the latest target of a lawsuit over disability access at its intersections.
The lawsuit lists dozens of intersections that are allegedly out of ADA compliance. Every single one of them is a $20,000 fix.
George S. Louie gave CBS13 no explanation for his lawsuit spree, instead slamming the door shut when a reporter knocked Monday afternoon.
The West Sacramento man behind the door is apparently letting his legal documents speak for him. He's filed hundreds of these types of lawsuits over the years. Yuba City is just one of the most recent. He also filed against several businesses in nearby Marysville last year and told the Appeal-Democrat at the time that his relatives were mistreated in Yuba City and Marysville.
"The city's been active doing ADA work for several years," Yuba City Councilman Tej Maan said. "We don't need a lawsuit to tell us what needs to be done. "
Louie's target of Yuba City seeks more than $200,000 in damages for 44 intersections he claims prevent access to the disabled.
"It would be best if and spent the money on dealing with the issue rather than litigating it," Maan said.
California is home to 40 percent of all ADA lawsuits in the country. Critics call them predatory. State legislators and Congress are both considering new laws to give ADA violators time to fix their access problems before they can be sued.
But for Yuba City, those new laws may come too late. The city has been served by a man known to be quick with a lawsuit but shy around cameras.
According to the lawsuit, Yuba City has only a month to file a response.
