Wall Street Journal - May 9, 2000
Clint Eastwood Saddles Up For Disability-Act Showdown
By JIM VANDEHEI Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
WASHINGTON --Dirty Harry wants revenge, Washington style.
This time, it is a gang of trial lawyers staring down Clint Eastwood, asking themselves about taking him on: "Do I feel lucky?"
These "sleazebag lawyers," the veteran actor says, his voice constricting, messed with the wrong guy when they "frivolously" sued him and hundreds of other small-business owners for failing to comply quickly enough with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Mr. Eastwood, famed for his tough-guy cop and cowboy roles, says he isn't against the ADA; his fight is with trial lawyers whom he and some GOP lawmakers argue are "extorting" businesses with unwarranted lawsuits.
'I Won't Back Down'
Now, Mr.Eastwood, whose Mission Ranch Hotel in Carmel, Calif., has been sued for violating the ADA, is striking back with a Washington lobbying campaign for new legislation to modify the law. "I figure I won't back down because of all these people ... who can't defend themselves," says the 69-year-old Mr. Eastwood. Well, "I can, and they will be seeing me for along, long time."
Or as Dirty Harry dared: "Go ahead. Make my day."
Clint Eastwood heads for a showdown with trial lawyers over the American Disabilities Act
The ADA, which was signed into law in July 1990, prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. Advocates for the disabled loathe the idea of revisiting the act for fear that, once opened, lawmakers will try to chip away at their wall of protection. The Association of Trial Lawyers of America hasn't taken a position on the legislation, but a spokesman doesn't rule out supporting it.
Mr. Eastwood, the former mayor of Carmel, is corralling lawmakers to pass a bill, sponsored by GOP Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, that would provide business owners 90 days to comply with the act's access standards for the disabled. Under current law, lawyers can charge Mr.Eastwood or any noncompliant business owner $275 per hour of work from the day they file the suit; the disabled, however, are forbidden from collecting damages under the act.
No Warning
Critics say the lawyers, in many instances, provide these businesses with no warning or time to make the requisite changes before slapping them with a lawsuit and charging fees. Rep. Foley says some lawyers have exploited the ADA and targeted stretches of small businesses, such as strip malls in South Florida.
In Mr. Eastwood's case, a lawyer is asking for $577,000 in fees. The lawyer and his disabled client want Mr.Eastwood to widen some doors and make the bathrooms more accessible at his historic, 32-room hotel and restaurant.
Mr. Eastwood says the legislation would do nothing to rectify his situation, but it would prevent others from falling victim to this "form of extortion" for a fistful of dollars. "It's a racket," he argues. "The typical thing is to get someone who is disabled in collusion with sleazebag lawyers, and they file suits."
Paul Rein, the attorney suing Mr.Eastwood, says his client suffers from muscular dystrophy and was unable to access several areas at the Mission Ranch. Therefore, the changes must be made, he says. "He has the same attitude as Dirty Harry: He does not want to comply with the law and thinks he 's above the law."
Additional Time to Comply
Many trial lawyers reject the need to change the ADA, Anthony Brady, a lawyer from Camden, N.J., who has sued more than 100 companies for failing ADA compliance, concedes that some "greedy" lawyers prey on small businesses that should be given additional time to comply without charge.
But, he opposes Mr. Foley's "silly" legislation because it would provide large corporations the same 90-day protection. Escalating legal fees, he says, is the only weapon the disabled have to force big companies to accommodate them. If a few undeserving small businesses get popped in the process, "it's the law," he says.
That is precisely the attitude that prompted Mr.Eastwood to confront the trial lawyers. Already, Mr.Eastwood has volunteered to ride shotgun with Mr. Foley and has helped persuade GOP Rep. David Dreier of California, chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, to come along. He has personally lobbied Leon Panetta, President Clinton's former chief of staff, who heads a public-policy institute at California State University at Monterey Bay. The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the topic later this month, and Mr. Eastwood wants to testify.
The National Federation of Independent Business, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association and the International Council of Shopping Centers have joined the lobbying campaign, too.
With Mr.Eastwood on board, GOP lawmakers are pressing to put the legislation on the House floor this year under a special procedure called "suspension," which would prevent a lengthy floor debate or amendments. "No question [that Mr. Eastwood ] is helpful," Rep. Foley says. "But I don't want to make this a sideshow of personalities."
Persuading Advocates
Indeed, Mr. Foley understands the sensitivity of modifying the ADA, regardless of how meritorious he thinks his bill may be. He says hundreds of small businesses in his Palm Beach district, including one run by a disabled couple, were "victimized" by lawyers. However, he refused to unveil his legislation until he persuaded local advocates of the disabled to join him at a news conference.
For this reason, Messrs. Foley and Eastwood want to recruit a well-known politician who helped write the original law or a high-profile disabled person to work with them. Mr. Foley has approached Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, of Georgia, a triple amputee, who is reviewing the bill.
Bob Dole,the former GOP Senate majority leader who helped write the ADA, and disabled actor Christopher Reeve will be approached soon, he says.
"We don 't want to turn this into a fight "with the disabled,Mr.Foley says. Meantime, Dirty Harry will be on the warpath, hunting down victims and seeking justice. "I just think for the benefit of everybody, they should cut out this racket because these are morally corrupt people who are doing this."