The federal lawsuit alleges a network of ‘fake testers’ helped lawyers extort money from Oregon businesses.
A network of lawyers who allegedly extorted small businesses around the country with threats of Americans with Disabilities Act complaints now faces a $80 million class-action lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in federal court in Portland, alleges “fake testers” targeted four Portland-area businesses with threats of legal action over alleged disability access violations. The complaint alleges wire fraud and racketeering and asserts at least 4,000 victims nationwide are owed damages. Many paid out tens of thousands of dollars to avoid threatened legal action, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by The Oregonian.
The defendants include two Tennessee law firms and Portland lawyer Jessica Lee Molligan, who faces several related civil actions in Oregon including allegations of legal malpractice. Molligan had sued a Portland convenience store on behalf of a disabled man, Connor Slevin, who was paid for his participation in the suit. In November, a judge pointedly questioned her in a Portland courtroom over alleged violations of criminal procedure and professional ethics in her handling of the Slevin lawsuit.
The federal class-action suit accuses Memphis law firms Wade Law, and Wampler, Carroll, Wilson & Sanderson of working with a network of lawyers in more than 15 states to extort money from businesses in the name of disability rights between January 2022 through 2025.
In the complaint, states the defendants used an error-riddled electronic database to send thousands of demand letters seeking attorney fees to avoid court as well as file hundreds of lawsuits for supposed ADA violations.
Slevin, who uses a wheelchair, has admitted he was paid $200 each time he visited a business, purchased an item and uploaded a receipt. He was asked to sign an agreement granting the attorney group “blanket power of attorney” to negotiate settlements with targeted shops.
His testimony is now a key component of the class-action complaint in U.S. District Court in Portland. Slevin would then, through Molligan, send “cookie cutter” legal complaints alleging the shops violated disability access regulations. The forms were prepared by the Wampler firm, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states Slevin was among dozens of disabled people around the country engaged as fake testers looking to pocket money from targeted businesses. They were told by Wampler lawyers to not concern themselves with locating actual ADA violations at the businesses because that work had already been done, according to the class-action complaint.
Slevin and Molligan were sued by one Beaverton business owner who paid $22,000 for parking lot improvements after receiving a demand letter. Slevin has sued Molligan for $4 million alleging malpractice.
“(Molligan) attempted to conceal certain acts and omissions as alleged in this complaint from (Slevin), in order for defendant to financially enrich herself at plaintiff’s expense,” the complaint states.
The Oregon plaintiffs include AB Hollywood, Baek Family Partnership , MY LLC and The Penney Kim Trust. AB Hollywood, which owns a small strip mall on NE Sandy Boulevard, was the entity that filed a motion alleging Molligan violated professional ethics.
Molligan, who faces a bar investigation in addition to the malpractice lawsuit, has defended herself in court filings, saying she didn’t know how much Slevin was paid and believed he was paid to reimburse expenses.
Slevin was not alone in Oregon filing ADA complaints on behalf of the Tennessee attorneys. Another man, Justin Burley-Beaver, claims he filed typically three businesses per month for $600 total. His name is attached to two dozen disability access lawsuits against small businesses in Oregon. The lawsuit states a different man in St. Louis involved in the alleged racket attached his name to 45 ADA lawsuits against businesses.
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