Waipahu restaurant target of disability suit

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

WAIPAHU — Kuniomi Uehara held a four-page, federal lawsuit in his hands and could not believe — or even entirely understand — the allegations against his Japanese restaurant and bar.

Kuni Uehara, owner of Restaurant Kuni in Waipahu, is being sued for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit, in part, alleges that the restaurant's bathrooms are inaccessible to wheelchairs. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

The accusations stung Uehara, a 59-year-old immigrant from Okinawa who bought the 2,600-square-foot restaurant/bar in 1974 and always considered himself a good citizen, neighbor and businessman.

"So far, no trouble," he said. "I don't understand. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Uehara received his lawsuit in the mail last week and became one of hundreds of small business owners who have been targeted for alleged ADA violations in the past 18 months by three lawyers working separately.

"The big shopping centers and the hotels and the big retailers — there aren't many of them left that we haven't already sued," said attorney Lunsford Dole Phillips, who himself uses a wheelchair.

Now they're going after small businesses.

"It started at the top and now it's working its way down," Phillips said.

Phillips filed suit against Restaurant Kuni and Kuni's Lounge in September alleging, in part, that the separate men's and women's bathrooms were inaccessible and that there was no accessible parking or seating.

He's seeking a federal court order for full compliance within 90 days, damages of $1,000 — or three times the actual damages, whichever is greater — and payment of expert and attorney's fees and litigation costs.

The suit was similar to the hundreds that Phillips has filed since the ADA went into effect in 1992.

"Kuni's is very typical," Phillips said. "There have been a lot of ones like that preceding it and there will be a lot of ones following it."

Gary Smith, president of the Hawai'i Disability Rights Center, worries that the explosion of Hawai'i lawsuits makes business owners resentful of the ADA and reluctant to comply.

While his organization doesn't hesitate to file suits of its own, the Hawai'i Disability Rights Center now prefers a more conciliatory touch. It will point out problems to businesses and suggest affordable ways of overcoming them.

Then the organization will check back in three to six months to see if the changes went into effect.

"We're trying to use a little friendlier approach," Smith said, "give people an opportunity to resolve the problem before they're slapped with a lawsuit."

Most repairs are simple and cost anywhere between $500 and $5,000, said Bruce Clark, the owner of Accessibility Planning and Consulting, a private contractor that retrofits businesses to ADA compliance.

The more expensive changes usually come from renovating bathrooms and doorways to accommodate wheelchairs, he said.

But the law only requires changes that are physically possible — and affordable, Clark said.

"That's the way the law read in 1992," Clark said. "But if you're still not in compliance at this point it would be a hard argument to prove that you haven't had any money in the last 11 years to remove any barriers."

Uehara has no idea how much it will cost him to comply with the ADA. He guessed maybe as much as $30,000.

But he really has no idea what to expect.

All he knows for certain is that he recently raised prices 10 percent to 15 percent for the first time in 10 years.

"Costs up, labor price up," Uehara said. "I can't raise prices any more."

Phillips has tried talking to three people from Restaurant Kuni — two of whom spoke relatively poor English, he said.

Phillips wants to point out that small businesses are also eligible for federal tax credits worth half the cost of repairs that range from $500 to $10,500.

"They get half of what they spend over $500," Phillips said. "So the real cost of their $2,500 barrier removal is really only $1,500."

Phillips also wants to explain that he will be patient and reasonable with Restaurant Kuni and Kuni's Lounge.

"I know how tough it is for small businesses," Phillips said. "They've got language problems, they've got tight budgets, small margins of profit. Then someone comes along and says, 'Here's one more thing you've got to do and you've got to do it right now because it's 10 years overdue.' "

But Phillips also wants Hawai'i's small businesses to know something else: he and his federal ADA lawsuits aren't going away.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.