A lawyer who puts businesses with limited access for people with disabilities on notice has slapped Reed’s Hobby Shop, Pr & #281;t a Porter salon and Works of Gold Jewelry on La Mesa Boulevard with lawsuits.
To help businesses avoid access-related lawsuits, the La Mesa Village Merchants Association is having a meeting for the public at 6 p.m. Oct. 17 at Sanfilippos Pizza, 8141 La Mesa Blvd.
Attorney Theodore Pinnock, who has cerebral palsy, has fought with a singular purpose against businesses in older buildings that are not up to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. Alpine and Julian , towns with older structures , were the first quiet bedroom burgs to fall into his sights.
“On Nov. 11, 2005, I went to Julian,” said Pinnock in a statement on his law firm’s Web site. “By Nov. 23, 2005, I became a news story for being a greedy lawyer by making money on the law, which every good lawyer does.”
Now, the attorney for Pinnock & Wakefield A.P.C. is fighting for what he says are violations of equal rights.
“When a woman with a disability is forced to enter a back entrance to a restaurant, the woman’s dignity, humanity and esteem is diminished,” said Pinnock in the May 8 statement.
Rosalind Osterin, owner of the Pr & #281;t a Porter salon, says she agrees and wants to work with the La Mesa Village Merchants Association and the city of La Mesa to find a solution for businesses and the disabled community.
“(The La Mesa Village Merchants Association) went to the La Mesa City Council meeting and we’re all talking about (ADA compliance),” said Osterin. “We’re talking about ways to get the community to know what is and isn’t correct in regards to ADA, and we’re all for that.”
“We’re definitely trying to get people at the (Oct. 17) meeting,” said Osterin. “We’ll have an ADA specialist who will show the 40 things that can be done on a weekend to improve compliance issues immediately.
“We just want to get the word out.”
, Andy Killion
