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The shop is facing a lawsuit from someone who, with his attorney, has filed numerous similar suits throughout southern California. If the lawsuit is successful, it would force the shop to close.
Since I took over the shop in 2016, I have attempted to create a cultural gathering place after hours in the form of Clan Craic and The Wren Theater. Clan Craic is made up of our wonderful friends and patrons who support the shop and who receive our newsletter. The Wren is our community space where we have classes, concerts, sessions and performances of various types. Last year we had a stand up comedy night for Clan Craic members and their guests, free of charge, that brought in a bunch of you who wanted to have a good time. One of the comedians invited others on Eventbrite and it caught the attention of the plaintiff who is now suing the shop. This person came to the show and asked if we had any hearing enhancement devices. I thought that we were fully accommodating to anyone with hearing difficulties because it's a small theater and the comics were using a microphone amplified through speakers, but would have been happy to additionally provide headphones if he had simply inquired in advance.
Fast forward to a couple of months ago when the shop is served with a lawsuit for the lack of enhanced hearing devices available upon request. It's the real thing, filed in Superior Court and set for trial. After receiving the notice, I contacted one of our Clan Craic members, Chris Wilson, who is an attorney familiar with small businesses and she has offered to help. Through our research we have found that the plaintiff and his attorney have filed dozens of these lawsuits, primarily in comedy clubs, for failure to provide . Unsuspecting business owners are getting blindsided by this and are getting sued for as much as $100,000!
What breaks my heart is that we have always been accommodating to any of our patrons who have a disability, not just because it is the law but because we want everyone to have access and it is the right thing to do. If this person would have let us know in advance, that he needed a hearing device, we would have provided headphones for him.
Most businesses settle out of court and this guy and his attorney make thousands of dollars for basically filing the case. He is suing the shop for $10,000 plus all legal fees and expenses. It is particularly frustrating because we didn't do anything wrong here. However, the shop has been barely getting by just on a day to day basis before this lawsuit so, even if we could settle out of court, this could cost upwards to $20,000, all in, and we don't have the funds to even consider this option. Trial, of course, will cost even more. Without your help, the only alternative would be to close the shop. Please help keep this beloved Los Angeles landmark open and stop this attorney and his client from wreaking havoc on an already struggling small business that does not deserve this.
Since I took over the shop in 2016, I have attempted to create a cultural gathering place after hours in the form of Clan Craic and The Wren Theater. Clan Craic is made up of our wonderful friends and patrons who support the shop and who receive our newsletter. The Wren is our community space where we have classes, concerts, sessions and performances of various types. Last year we had a stand up comedy night for Clan Craic members and their guests, free of charge, that brought in a bunch of you who wanted to have a good time. One of the comedians invited others on Eventbrite and it caught the attention of the plaintiff who is now suing the shop. This person came to the show and asked if we had any hearing enhancement devices. I thought that we were fully accommodating to anyone with hearing difficulties because it's a small theater and the comics were using a microphone amplified through speakers, but would have been happy to additionally provide headphones if he had simply inquired in advance.
Fast forward to a couple of months ago when the shop is served with a lawsuit for the lack of enhanced hearing devices available upon request. It's the real thing, filed in Superior Court and set for trial. After receiving the notice, I contacted one of our Clan Craic members, Chris Wilson, who is an attorney familiar with small businesses and she has offered to help. Through our research we have found that the plaintiff and his attorney have filed dozens of these lawsuits, primarily in comedy clubs, for failure to provide . Unsuspecting business owners are getting blindsided by this and are getting sued for as much as $100,000!
What breaks my heart is that we have always been accommodating to any of our patrons who have a disability, not just because it is the law but because we want everyone to have access and it is the right thing to do. If this person would have let us know in advance, that he needed a hearing device, we would have provided headphones for him.
Most businesses settle out of court and this guy and his attorney make thousands of dollars for basically filing the case. He is suing the shop for $10,000 plus all legal fees and expenses. It is particularly frustrating because we didn't do anything wrong here. However, the shop has been barely getting by just on a day to day basis before this lawsuit so, even if we could settle out of court, this could cost upwards to $20,000, all in, and we don't have the funds to even consider this option. Trial, of course, will cost even more. Without your help, the only alternative would be to close the shop. Please help keep this beloved Los Angeles landmark open and stop this attorney and his client from wreaking havoc on an already struggling small business that does not deserve this.