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Serial ADA Litigant Thomas Mundy Gets Hit With Court Costs

Feb 9, 2009
By .
Irksome, Law

Previously I blogged about Thomas Mundy, a serial litigant who uses the utterly broken mechanism of disabilities law to shake down businesses for cash. Mr. Mundy recently lost a case against a local Del Taco franchise. Today, the franchise's lawyers issued a press release with a few interesting details, including the fact that the jury only deliberated for 18 minutes before finding unanimously against Mr. Mundy, and that today the trial judge ordered Mr. Mundy to pay over five thousand dollars in costs to the franchise. The judge was not a fan of Mr. Mundy: in the attached order he characterizes Mundy as a "professional plaintiff looking to make a quick buck rather than see purported barriers to access removed," and notes that Mundy's testimony was not credible in several respects. (Mundy claimed at trial that the reason he went to Del Taco with a camera was not to gather evidence for a lawsuit, but because he had been taking pictures at the beach; the court found this was not credible.) However, the judge found — almost certainly correctly — that he lacked authority to award attorney fees to Del Taco, and that the injustice of the situation would have to be addressed by the Legislature — or, perhaps, by a vexatious litigant proceeding in some future case.

So Mundy pays over five grand as a penalty for a failed shakedown. That's just the cost of doing business for him — he reportedly makes more than $300,000 per year. In a more just system, he would be liquidating his assets to pay Del Taco's attorney fees.

Last 5 posts by Ken

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5 Comments

  1. Paul  •  Jun 23, 2009 @1:07 pm

    I have got many calls from upset non English speaking restaurant owners, hit with lawsuits. Mundy works within the law, but is driving Mom-Pop businesses out of business. Many report that they would happily make access modifications. Reporting that their counties take too long (months) for inspection and permits. A fix-it ticket (in 365 days) needs to be respected/implemented. Mundy's efforts are not in everyone's best interest. He is giving the disabled community a bad name.

  2. Billie  •  Jun 26, 2009 @9:46 pm

    Mundy is going to cause a lot of problems for the legit disabled people. The law will be changed due to his over use of the courts. Business' are leaving CA due to litigation and excessive govt controls. He is not helping anyone but himself.

  3. Bob Loza  •  Sep 1, 2009 @10:43 am

    Kudos to you for taking a stand on this, and for reporting the obscure news story of his defeat in court. I wrote a letter to the LA Times last January abut this man. Here is a small excerpt which qualifies my position: "As a designer in the architectural field I am well aware of the regulations that must be addressed in both construction and signage. The laws are precise and ridiculously thorough, but for this extortionist (Mundy) to sue for 'personal' damages because a condiment counter is 1/2" too high does nothing to ensure the accessibility rights of every other disabled citizen.".

    Whatever else your opinions are, I am with you on this.

  4. heidi lemmon  •  Aug 11, 2010 @10:53 am

    Mundy filed a $10,000 lawsuit against me for not having and ADA compliant bathroom BUT I had one!
    So my lawyer said it would cost a min of $25,000 to fight it so he said it was better for me to just pay it.
    Mundy needs to be jailed and the sooner the better

  5. Hedda  •  Nov 19, 2010 @4:47 pm

    This guy is a disgrace! I am thoroughly outraged that jerks like Mundy are hurting small business owners during these harsh economic times. This guy is total scum, why don't Californians vote to change that law!!!!!