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Anthony Bouyer
Disability: paraplegic
Represented by: the Manning Firm, Atty. Joseph Manning
Number of lawsuits filed: hundreds
Targets: convenience stores, restaurants
Mr. Bouyer is a paraplegic who can walk using crutches, albeit for short distances. He usually parks and exits his car using a walker. He then walks to the back of his car, stowes his walker in the trunk, and removes a wheelchair. Using his wheelchair, he inspects a business.
In reading his testimony below, you'll find that he has strong upper body strength. Therefore he has no difficulty pushing his wheelchair up ordinary slopes. He also owns a power assist device called a SmartDrive, which attaches to the back of his wheelchair. It is capable of pushing his wheelchair up steep hills. In order to fabricate a claim in the course of one of his “inspections,” Mr. Bouyer leaves the SmartDrive inside his car.
Is Mr. Bouyer an advocate for the disabled or is he a profiteer? You be the judge. Examination by attorney Ara Sahelian:
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2 Q. So are you being deterred
3 from eating at the restaurant here?
4 Do you remember the name of the restaurant?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. What's the name?
7 A. Salsa Bar, I believe.
8 Q. Were you deterred from either at the Salsa
9 Bar --
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. -- in -- hang on a second -- in April of 2022?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Okay. And why were you being deterred?
14 A. Excessive slopes throughout the entire
15 accessible parking area.
16 Q. All right. So how many -- you've reviewed the
17 photographs. Tell me how many handicap parking spaces
18 were at the restaurant.
19 A. One.
20 Q. Okay. And where was that one located?
21 A. Right next to the restaurant.
22 Q. Okay. Did you park there?
23 A. I did.
24 Q. Did you check the time to see when -- when you
25 arrived there?
1 A. I did not.
2 Q. Okay. When was it roughly?
3 A. I didn't check the time.
4 Q. Okay. Was it 4:00 in the morning or midnight?
5 When was it roughly?
6 A. It was sometime in the afternoon.
7 Q. All right. And so you arrived there, and you
8 park in the handicap spot immediately; correct?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. And it was the one right next to the building;
11 right?
12 A. Yes. There's only one.
13 Q. All right. And how many feet away from the
14 wall was it from the restaurant's outer wall?
15 A. It's about -- I don't know.
16 Q. Was it, like, 10 feet or a hundred feet?
17 MR. HASHEMI: Objection. Asked and answered.
18 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
19 Q. I'm sorry.
20 A. It wasn't a hundred feet. It was -- I don't
21 know if it was 10 feet. I don't know if it was five
22 feet or 15 feet. I would say in between 20 -- zero and
23 20.
24 Q. So how far away was the accessible parking
25 space or the handicap parking space and the door into
1 restaurant -- the back door?
2 A. I don't know. Twenty feet. Thirty feet.
3 Q. You don't know if it was -- it's -- you don't
4 know if it's zero or 20 or 30; correct?
5 A. No. More like 20 or 30.
6 Q. Okay. And so once you arrived there, what did
7 you do?
8 A. I got out of the car.
9 Q. Same way that you described a few moments ago?
10 A. Same way I always get out.
11 Q. All right. And did you pull out your
12 wheelchair?
13 A. Yes, I pulled out my walker. I pulled out my
14 wheelchair.
15 Q. Okay. What did you do after you pulled out
16 your wheelchair?
17 A. I sat in it.
18 Q. Okay. And then what did you do?
19 A. I either closed the doors or -- and then I went
20 into the business.
21 Q. You went inside.
22 A. Correct.
23 Q. Did you use your SmartDrive?
24 A. No.
25 Q. So from the time you got out of the car to the
1 time you went to the back of the car to pull out your
2 wheelchair, what sort of difficulty; discomfort, if any,
3 did you experience?
4 A. Just being uncomfortable, being off balance,
5 feeling tense.
6 Q. All right. At what point along the way from
7 the time you got out to the time you got to the back of
8 the car did you feel uncomfortable or -- what did you
9 say? Off balance?
10 Was that your testimony?
11 A. Correct.
12 Q. Where along the way did you feel that?
13 A. The entire way.
14 Q. The entire way to you was what? Bumpy or on a
15 slope?
16 Which one?
17 A. Both.
18 Q. Okay. Bumpy and on a slope.
19 Did you have your level gauge with you?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Did you measure?
22 A. Yes, I measured.
23 Q. Okay. Where did you measure along the way?
24 A. In the access aisle.
25 Q. All right. Where did you place the level gauge
1 along the access aisle?
2 A. I'm not sure. Somewhere in the mid section.
3 Q. What did you measure?
4 A. I measured the slope.
5 Q. What -- what reading did you get?
6 A. I don't remember the reading.
7 Q. Did you write it down somewhere?
8 A. No, I didn't write it down.
9 Q. Did you take a picture of the slope gauge?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. All right. And were you in your wheelchair
12 when you did that, or were you on your walker when you
13 measured?
14 A. I was in my wheelchair.
15 Q. All right. And how many measurements did you
16 take along the access aisle?
17 A. I believe one.
18 Q. One. Okay. And your --
19 Your level gauge is 12 inches long; correct?
20 A. Correct.
21 Q. Now, at what point along the way from the
22 driver's-side door to the back of your car did you begin
23 feeling off balanced?
24 A. The entire way.
25 Q. Okay. So starting where? Starting right at --
1 A. As soon as I put my feet on the ground.
2 Q. All right. So were you -- were you scared to
3 fall? Or I should say were you scared of falling.
4 A. I was, yes. I was nervous.
5 Q. All right. Is there any reason why you didn't
6 go back and sit in the car and leave?
7 A. I was already out.
8 Q. So you were already out.
9 Is there any reason why you didn't go right
10 back into the car and leave?
11 A. No. I was already out. So I just kept going.
12 Q. Okay. So you said, as soon as you stepped out
13 of the car, you started feeling off balance; correct?
14 A. Right.
15 Q. All right. So at that point, you decided to
16 continue on -- correct -- despite the fact that you were
17 nervous and off balance; correct?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. Wasn't that taking a risk of falling?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. And why did you take that risk?
22 A. Because sometimes -- sometimes when you get
23 out, it's off balance. Once you start moving forward,
24 it becomes easier. It becomes more level. I don't
25 know. There are -- a lot of things could happen.
1 Q. So why did you take the risk, though?
2 Wasn't that a little reckless to be walking
3 when you're off balance?
4 A. I took the risk because I didn't know whether
5 it would even out or not. I thought it could even out.
6 Q. Would it not have been safer if you simply went
7 back into the car as soon as you got out?
8 A. No.
9 MR. HASHEMI: Objection. Argumentative. Calls
10 for speculation.
11 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
12 Q. In your opinion, would it not have been safer
13 to immediately, once you felt that you were off balance,
14 in your opinion, to sit back into the car and leave and
15 not take a chance at falling?
16 A. In my opinion, no.
17 Q. Why not?
18 A. Because then I would never go anywhere.
19 Q. So is it your testimony that no matter where
20 you go the same problem exists?
21 MR. HASHEMI: Objection. Argumentative. Lacks
22 foundation.
23 THE WITNESS: No.
24 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
25 Q. Okay. But your complaint says you're being
1 deterred from going back. So that -- that -- is that --
2 Does that mean that you're afraid to go back?
3 A. What does it mean? It means that there's a
4 barrier there.
5 MR. SAHELIAN: Madam Court Reporter, please
6 read my question.
7 (The previous question was read back
8 by the court reporter as follows:
9 "QUESTION: Okay. But your
10 complaint says you're being deterred
11 from going back. So that -- that --
12 is that -- does that mean that you're
13 afraid to go back?")
14 MR. HASHEMI: Argumentative.
15 THE WITNESS: Yes.
16 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
17 Q. So as you sit here today, you're afraid to go
18 back.
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. But when you were there, you chose to continue
21 towards the back of the car even though you were afraid;
22 correct?
23 A. Correct.
24 Q. Now, paragraph 26 of the complaint says that,
25 once you are informed that the place has become fully
1 accessible, that you will return within 45 days for the
2 purpose of confirming accessibility.
3 Do you remember reading that?
4 A. No, I don't remember reading it.
5 Q. Do your complaints generally make that
6 statement?
7 MR. HASHEMI: Objection. Compound. Document
8 speaks for itself. Lacks foundation as to every other
9 complaint out there.
10 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
11 Q. How many complaints have you reviewed and
12 signed in the last year, Mr. Bouyer?
13 MR. HASHEMI: Calls for speculation.
14 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
15 Q. Would it be over 50?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. So how many of those 50 do you recall reading
18 carefully before signing?
19 MR. HASHEMI: Objection. Argumentative.
20 Vague.
21 THE WITNESS: I read all of them.
22 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
23 Q. Okay. Do you --
24 A. I skim.
25 Q. Do you recall reading that paragraph that I
1 just read to you in any of the other complaints --
2 A. No.
3 Q. -- that you will return within 45 days after
4 you are informed that the place has become fully
5 accessible?
6 A. No.
7 MR. HASHEMI: Calls for speculation. I'm not
8 sure what other complaints you're talking about. The
9 document -- if you have a document that --
10 MR. SAHELIAN: Mr. Hashemi, you're --
11 MR. HASHEMI: Hang on. If you have a document
12 that you want him to testify about, show it to him.
13 MR. SAHELIAN: Mr. Hashemi, you're leading
14 your -- your client. I don't have --
15 MR. HASHEMI: I'm speaking to you,
16 Mr. Sahelian. I'm not talking to my client. If you
17 want to talk -- if you want him to testify about a
18 document, show it to him.
19 MR. SAHELIAN: I don't have to.
20 MR. HASHEMI: No, you don't. You're absolutely
21 right. That's why the testimony is meaningless.
22 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
23 Q. So we'll go back to my question, Mr. Bouyer.
24 You've -- you've testified that you've skimmed 50 or
25 more complaints in the past year or two.
1 Do you recall reading this paragraph over and
2 over again that you will be returning within 45 days?
3 MR. HASHEMI: Objection. Lacks foundation.
4 Argumentative. Misstates prior testimony.
5 You can answer, Mr. Bouyer, to the extent you
6 understand the question and you have personal knowledge.
7 THE WITNESS: I don't -- I don't remember.
8 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
9 Q. And do you go back within 45 days?
10 A. No. They're usually not corrected in 45 days.
11 It's usually much longer than that.
12 Q. The question is do you go back within 45 days
13 after you're informed that the accommodation has become
14 fully accessible.
15 A. Sometimes, yes.
16 Q. And what evidence do you have of that?
17 MR. HASHEMI: I am going to instruct him not to
18 answer that question. This question now is completely
19 and blatantly in violation of the Rifkind v. Superior
20 Court ruling.
21 MR. SAHELIAN: That what? I'm asking if he has
22 any evidence of having gone back within 45 days.
23 MR. HASHEMI: You're asking him to -- you're
24 asking him the exact same type of questioning that was
25 forbidding in the Rifkind decision. He is not obligated
1 to answer that question.
2 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
3 Q. All right. Now, you did say, Mr. Bouyer --
4 MR. SAHELIAN: By the way, Mr. Hashemi, what is
5 the cite on this famous Rifkind case?
6 MR. HASHEMI: It's not that famous. It's
7 common. I don't have it off the top of my head.
8 MR. SAHELIAN: And what is -- what does the --
9 what does the case say that I can't ask?
10 MR. HASHEMI: Rifkind v. Superior Court. You
11 can't go down a complaint and start asking questions
12 about allegations and facts, evidence, and things of
13 that nature.
14 MR. SAHELIAN: Oh, I see. Okay.
15 BY MR. SAHELIAN:
16 Q. So paragraph 27 of your complaint says that you
17 were denied full and equal access yet you testified just
18 a moment ago that you went inside the restaurant;
19 correct?
20 A. Correct.
21 MR. HASHEMI: Objection. Argumentative as to
22 the last statement that was made by Counsel.
23 MR. SAHELIAN: Yes, I know. I'm a bad boy.
24 Sorry about that, Mr. Hashemi. I hope you still like me
25 after this depo.
1 MR. HASHEMI: Of course. Nothing you can do to
2 change that.
3 MR. SAHELIAN: All right. Thank you.
4 I've got good news for you, Mr. Hashemi. I
5 have no other questions.
6 MR. HASHEMI: No. You're kidding.
