Ally of Disabled Sparks Big Fight in Small Town

Mary Marques-Caramico moved to this peaceful town of turn-of-the-century homes and bed-and-breakfasts less than two years ago and has quickly become one of its most recognized residents -- much to her chagrin.

Tooling around town in her motorized wheelchair, she said she has been yelled at, spit at and nearly run down by a car. She regularly gets nasty phone calls and e-mails.

“I used to be a very outgoing and receptive person to people on the street. Now I find I am skeptical of anyone who approaches me,” she said.

The reason for the local wrath: Marques-Caramico filed 11 federal lawsuits this year against local motels, businesses and the city, alleging failure to provide adequate handicap access.

A self-styled advocate for the disabled, Marques-Caramico, 50, said she was simply trying to prod Pacific Grove into doing what it should have done years ago, which is to provide reasonable handicap access as mandated under the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act.

But the debate around Pacific Grove is whether she is truly seeking justice or just cash.

Local business owners and government officials concede that many of the town’s cramped old buildings are difficult for the disabled to navigate.

But they said that’s to be expected in a town of 15,000 with about 1,200 structures built before 1926 and classified as historic.

Many of the town’s homes and businesses are built close to the street with narrow stairways leading to entries, which leaves little room for wheelchair ramps.

Converting small, old restrooms into those capable of handling wheelchairs poses additional problems, officials said.

Around many of the town’s coffee shops and bed-and-breakfasts, Marques-Caramico is regarded as a litigation pirate who uses ADA-based lawsuits in an attempt to extract quick cash settlements out of small businesses. Those business owners complain that they have difficulty complying and can’t afford to fight her in federal court.

“It seems to me almost like extortion,” said Pacific Grove City Councilman Ron Schenk. “These are little businesses trying to make a living in a down economy. They need this like they need a hole in the head.”

Last week, Schenk joined a group of local business representatives and city officials in a meeting with U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel) in Pacific Grove City Hall to seek help from Washington.

Farr said that he sympathized but suggested they were looking in the wrong place. If they wanted help clarifying building codes for handicap access, they needed to look to Sacramento, he said.

The unsettled situation has left business owners fearful of being next on Marques-Caramico’s list. “You wouldn’t believe the paranoia,” said Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce President Moe Ammar.

Keith Cable, a Gold River attorney who represents Marques-Caramico, said if anyone has reason to be paranoid, it is his client. “The town has kind of circled their wagons, singled her out as some kind of troublemaker. She just wants her civil rights.”

Marques-Caramico said one case has been settled; she declined to provide the judgment amount.

Pacific Grove is not unique in facing a series of handicap-access lawsuits by a disability rights activist. Cities and towns across the state and nation are dealing with similar actions.

Several businesses in neighboring Carmel have been hit with handicap-access lawsuits by another disability activist. Disability rights activist George Louie has sued hundreds of businesses around the state.

The Pacific Grove situation, though, has taken on a more personal tone because Marques-Caramico continues to live in town and patronize local businesses.

Marques-Caramico, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, said she briefly lived in Pacific Grove in the 1990s and once had a dispute with a local fast-food restaurant after being told she couldn’t bring her dog inside. Marques-Caramico said she explained that her dog was a service animal, trained to perform tasks for the disabled, and as such was allowed into businesses under ADA guidelines.

Marques-Caramico said the experience prompted her to become a disability rights activist. She moved to Oregon in 1998 and launched Assistance Animal Access Consulting Services, and through her Web site offers advice and counseling not just on service animals but also on the federal law.

She decided to move back to Pacific Grove in 2002 and made a few initial trips to shop for housing. She said she had great difficulty finding a motel in town that was equipped to handle wheelchairs. “I would call and they would say they had no rooms” for the disabled, she said. “That’s what started it. They just weren’t willing to do anything.”

Earlier this year, Marques-Caramico began suing: six motels, two restaurants, a pet store and the city itself, all of which she said have handicap-access problems.

“Most of us would like to have handicapped accessibility,” said Anton Inn owner Gail Enns, who has been sued by Marques-Caramico.

“We would like to have their business and their support. This puts us in an adversarial situation of working against them. We should be working with the handicapped, not against them.”