Editor, Manteca Bulletin,

The citizens of Manteca and San Joaquin County should all ban together at the courthouse to protest the high rate of frivolous lawsuits against small businesses being non-ADA compliant. The City of Manteca will become a ghost town in less than a year if all these suits continue. How can the City of Manteca expect Great Wolf to commit to a resort here in this town or any other business for that matter?

Are all the people that are assisting this out-of-town attorney living in ADA compliant homes? As citizens, do we have the right to inspect their homes? What will be in scooter driving distance if you start forcing all these small businesses to shut down? How many more Americans do we have to put on welfare because you are shutting down our small businesses? How is this a financially responsible decision by the State of California to allow these suits to close down small businesses, without stepping in to assist. The State and Governor Brown need to offer interest free construction loans so we don’t lose any of these businesses that contribute to the communities. These frivolous lawsuits are like a cancer, which is spreading quickly throughout this state.

These businesses pay taxes to our city, and the City of Manteca depends on these tax dollars to keep the city going. It pays for the firefighters, police, paramedics, utilities, road upkeep and much more. We as citizens will be the losers if these suits continue.

Manteca is already home to too many smoke shops, tattoo and massage parlors. Do we really want more of these types of businesses here?

Small business owners should be given ample time to become compliant to state laws instead of giving into a frivolous lawsuits, where owners are being sued for cash because the plaintive claims they were too embarrassed to enter a building to use the facilities. 

Chris Bern

Denise Clark

Gil Pomales