Rodrigo Nogueira, owner of No More Cafe in Manhattan's East Village, was blindsided in April 2025 when lawyers contacted him about a lawsuit alleging 35 violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). One claim cited a noncompliant outdoor table, though the cafe has no outdoor seating. Other violations pertained to interior areas the plaintiff admitted he could not enter.
Serial Litigation Targets Small Businesses
Nogueira discovered the plaintiff and attorney had filed dozens of similar complaints. The attorney alone had over 100 ADA lawsuits in nine years against storefront businesses. The plaintiff had 67 active cases, Nogueira said. Many targeted recent immigrant-owned businesses, he noted in a website post: “Every business owner I spoke to had opened within the last year or two. Every one of them was an immigrant. None of us had any idea how to navigate the federal court system.”
Nogueira attempted to file a motion to dismiss himself, but a judge ruled companies cannot self-represent. Legal fees to file a motion can be prohibitively costly for small businesses. Settlement offers typically range from $8,000 to $20,000 in legal fees, while going to court can cost $20,000 to $50,000 or more.
ADA Enforcement vs. Business Burdens
The ADA, enacted in 1990, requires businesses to remove barriers when “readily achievable.” However, enforcement relies heavily on private litigation, as the Department of Justice focuses on corporate cases. Jessica Walker, president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, testified before the New York city council that repairs can be cost-prohibitive, and many owners cannot afford to fight even invalid claims.
Tom Stebbins of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York called the practice “throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks,” adding that lawyers seem uninterested in actual compliance, instead coercing settlements. Nogueira found over 75% of the 35 violations against him were invalid.
Disability Advocates Defend Litigation
Michelle Uzeta of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund countered that most cases involve real violations: “The ADA has been in place for 30-plus years. There is no reason why accessibility issues have not been dealt with by now.” Ruth Colker, a retired Ohio State law professor, noted Congress deliberately set enforcement through private litigation to ensure accessibility.
Architect Ronnette Riley explained that ADA compliance is simpler for new construction but complex for older or landmarked buildings, requiring approvals and judgment calls. The ADA code is “not for the faint of heart,” she said.
Proposed Solutions and Concerns
The bipartisan ADA 30 Days to Comply Act, introduced in the US House in December, would give businesses a 30-day remediation window. However, Uzeta warned this could set “a dangerous precedent for all civil rights,” inviting similar delays for other protected classes. Stebbins urged courts to sanction lawyers for false claims to discourage serial litigation.
