Tiffany Bond  🦞 🇺🇸Verified account

...or they would ignore it entirely, & if /when a suit is brought they can point to this section and say the letter was non-compliant. There is no affirmative requirement to respond if the letter is insufficient. There is no requirement to say why the letter is insufficient.

The additional requirements: 1. Detail the circumstances you were actually denied access 2. Property address 3. Specific section of the ADA act being violated 4. Whether or not you requested assistance removing the barrier 5. Whether or not the barrier is permanent

It is written so 2-5 are sort of subparts of 1 with "including", but they are really different things.

So for 1...you have to detail "actual" denial. This isn't theoretical or maybe. If there is an alternative, even if cumbersome, inconvenient, or otherwise prohibitive, there is an argument to made that it's not actual denial.

If there is no reason you have to go there, or maybe it's actually private, then again, the burden is on the disabled person to affirmatively state this, before filing - if it's not there, the owner may be able to ignore it.

How many people would just send a letter stating that there is a problem with "X" that is impacting me and could you please fix it?

2. Address seems like a silly thing to get tripped up on, but forget a suite number, get the zip wrong, etc...it might get thrown out. Attorneys get things thrown out ALL THE TIME on technicalities.

3. You have to cite the ADA in the your letter. C'mon. How many of you know how to cite federal code? Now imagine you are disabled, which often impacts your ability to gain an education and your financial resources to hire someone who knows how to do it.

4. You have to say in your request for assistance whether or not you have made a request for assistance. I feel a vicious circle coming on here. Right now it doesn't say you have to have made a verbal or other request, & theoretically you should only have to make one request.

This one makes me uncomfortable. It's one administrative "fix" from yet another step in process. If I had asked before, you can double dog bet I would say "THIS IS MY 3rd TIME WRITING!!!! Why would it even occur to you to say if you haven't previously asked?

The last word on page 5 is "and". In law, "and" means you have to do all of these things or an attorney has a really good shot in court at knocking you out by saying you didn't do it properly and sending you all the way back to the beginning of this board game.

5. Sometimes a barrier will be obviously permanent or temporary, sometimes it's not. There isn't language for "if known" - so it's on a disabled person, who may or may not have the capacity to determine this information, to declare this information. Not properly identified?

It's not clear whether or not the owner can simply ignore your request. The burden again falls on the disabled person to move this forward and they wouldn't even know if they are being ignored for at least 60 days.

Last thought before I move on to mediation - if you are indigent and disabled, good luck with this process. What if you don't have a mailing address?

Mediation can be protective for the more vulnerable party. For example, we have foreclosure diversion mediation in Maine that gives people a chance to understand the financial issues related to their specific loan problems, slowing down the process for homeowner benefit.

However, mediation does not always protect the more vulnerable party. Again, we haven't been given any clarity as to how, when or with what budget this ADR program will be developed. Are we going to end up with someone like @dkenty putting this together or a wedding planner?

A stay of discovery is often not appropriate in mediation/ADR. Discovery is where you exchange documents related to the case. It certainly can get expensive to do so..it also provides necessary information to be able to fully mediate a case.

I don't think federal law should specify that discovery is stayed, and certainly not before the ADR process is developed. The benefit for this is almost entirely to the owner/operator. It gives them the ability to hide documents that would show bad behavior during mediation.

The disabled person would *want* to show their attempts to rectify the situation. The owner/operator would *not want* to be compelled to show that information, particularly if they are acting in bad faith.

They *might* have a public comment period, or not, and we don't know for how long, where, how, or if this information will be available. Seriously, WHO WROTE THIS? It's written like YA fiction, all light and fluffy but to make you feel like you are reading a deep book.

The last few sentences make it clear to me this bill really protects repeat offenders and puts the burden on the disabled. Mediation is less costly, but also less public. Very little is published from mediation, which is generally confidential.

It also looks like the process will require determining "relevant facts" & "steps taken before the commencement of litigation"...which loosely translates into these cases taking a really, really, REALLY long time, where the disabled person is denied access & has the most burden.

Final thoughts - this bill inflicts a *lot* of damage for 4 substantive pages. It's sloppy and light, with the lack of specificity to the detriment of those in society who can least afford it. If your legislator voted for this, call them and ask why. It's a bad bill.

You have a representative who did not read, does not understand unintended consequences of legislation, or *wants* this. All of those are problems. There is nothing urgent about this 1990 law needing repair so desperately as to cause such sloppy work.

If this thread helped you, then help my campaign! Share, like, comment, RT. Help me get to 10,000 followers. Make a campaign sign for a virtual sign party. Please don't give me $. But DO participate in #Maineraising! Give to food banks in #ME02https://twitter.com/TiffanyBond/status/962717121108238336 …

Help my economically depressed district grow our economy and provide jobs by shopping with small business. #Maine has great stuff. Please buy it!https://twitter.com/TiffanyBond/status/964337433591664641 …