A California restaurant has been sued because one of its bathroom mirrors was two inches too high. 

After the original mirror was vandalized, restaurant owner Ron Piazza replaced it with a new mirror that was set two inches higher than the old one, allegedly in non-compliance with California's disabilities laws.  Before Piazza became aware of and corrected the mistake, three plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit claim to have visited the restaurant a total of 27 times over a three-month period and allege that they suffered damages on each visit.

“It would have been very easy for them to let us know that the mirror was a couple of inches too high, and we could have taken care of that right away,” Piazza said.  “Had I not lowered the mirror, they probably would have continued to come and log more visits … It's very clear to me that they were instructed by someone who really knew the law on how many times to visit, what to look for.”

Thanks to a new national campaign sponsored by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform called “Faces of Lawsuit Abuse,” Piazza's story is being told to highlight abusive lawsuits and the impact on small businesses, many of which are family -- or locally --owned.

“Abuse lawsuits are not victimless,” said ILR President Lisa Rickard.  “Many people think big-dollar lawsuits are only filed against 'deep pocket' corporations.  Yet, in this current economic climate, many locally-owned businesses like Ron Piazza's are just one lawsuit away from closing their doors.”

To learn more about Faces of Lawsuit Abuse and to view a short video of Piazza's story, visit http://www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org.

—Source:  www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org