After more than 400 lawsuits, disabled man can sue no more

U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Jarek Molski's appeal, letting stand a federal judge's ruling barring the disabled man from filing any further litigation.

By Carol J. Williams
LA Times
November 17, 2008

Whether Jarek Molski is a crusader for the disabled or an extortionist who abused the law for personal gain, the vexatious litigant has filed his last lawsuit.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear the case of Molski vs. Evergreen Dynasty Corp., owner of a Chinese restaurant in Solvang, Calif., in a legal Waterloo for the 38-year-old Woodland Hills man. Molski filed more than 400 suits under the Americans With Disabilities Act before a federal judge barred him from future litigation.

In a highly unusual action, the late U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie in 2004 branded Molski a "hit-and-run plaintiff," accusing him of systematic extortion of small businesses across California.

Molski, who has used a wheelchair since a motorcycle accident two decades ago, sued restaurants, bowling alleys, wineries and other retail outlets for insufficient handicapped parking, misplaced handrails and other violations of the disabilities act, demanding that business owners be fined $4,000 for every day their facilities failed to meet exacting federal standards.

Fear of adverse judgments compelled many to settle out of court, earning the Polish-born plaintiff hundreds of thousands of dollars in less than two years.

(More here.)