Poupak Barekat

Disability: Injured leg, uses a cane to help her walk

Represented by: the Manning Firm, Atty. Joseph Manning

Number of lawsuits filed: dozens

Targets: retail in general

Central to Ms. Barekat's typical complaints are allegations that she experienced anxiety walking over uneven paths with excessive slopes. As an example, she filed a lawsuit against the owners of a shopping center alleging that she visited a coffee shop, located about 20 minutes away from her residence, that she parked at an accessible parking space, and walked three doors down to get a cup of coffee. She alleged that she found the ground to be uneven, and that she experienced difficulty and anxiety as a result. Her own expert - one hired and paid by her attorneys - testified that the ground was flat. (See below). 

There were no ADA violations along her path of travel at the shopping center. Yet, her attorneys insist on the payment of statutory damages - in the tens of thousands. Ironically, Ms. Barekat was observed walking from the public parking structure to the courthouse, in Norwalk, flanked by her attorneys (see the picture, above), along a path containing slopes exceeding 4%, a 2" wide drainage trough, and abrupt changes in level.

Is Ms. Barekat an advocate for the disabled or is she a profiteer? You be the judge. Examination by attorney Ara Sahelian:

___________

· · · Q.· · BY MR. SAHELIAN:·  “Do you see that there's a crack that runs in

·2· ·the path of travel and then one that is sideways?· Do you

·3· ·see that, that runs along the blue stripe?

·4· · · · KENNETH ARRINGTON· · Yes, sir.

·5· · · · Q.· · All right.· Did you measure to see if there

·6· ·are changes in height along those two cracks?

·7· · · · A.· · There was nothing that I had seen that

·8· ·exceeded a quarter-inch.

...

11· · · · Q.· · -- is it your testimony that despite the fact

12· ·that there is a crack there, there are no changes of

13· ·level along the crack?

14· · · · A.· · It's my position that at the time that I took

15· ·the survey, that there was not.· The nature of cracks

16· ·changes as time goes on.· And moisture gets into the

17· ·asphalt, the cracks get bigger.· So at the time that I

18· ·took my survey, no, there was -- there were no issues.

19· · · · Q.· · So to pull it, put it in laymen's terms so

20· ·that I can understand -- as I mentioned to you, I'm not

21· ·that smart -- those cracks are flat?

22· · · · A.· · Relatively, yes.” (Arrington Deposition, 32:1-22)

It's difficult to make sense of Ms. Barekat's allegations when her own expert contradicts her testimony. She also alleges that she encountered excessive slopes: 

      MS. BAREKAT  “the slope was not very

·3· ·steep, but it was definitely steep enough to, you know,

·4· ·be seen with -- with the eye, let alone as I started to

·5· ·walk across it, you can definitely feel the unevenness,” 

     (Barekat Deposition, 19: 2-5)

Again, Mr. Arrington disagrees:

“15· · · · Q.· · BY MR. SAHELIAN:· All right, let's move on.

16· ·Assuming she exited the car and followed the crack

17· ·parallel to the blue stripe and then followed the

18· ·straight crack leading to the truncated domes, what would

19· ·be the slopes that she would encounter starting with the

20· ·first crack?

21· · · · A.· · Well, the center right that I took would have

22· ·been a 0.4 percent.· And the middle portion would have

23· ·been a 1.9 percent.” (Arrington Deposition, 34: 15-23).”

(Note: the ADA Standards at §502.4 allow slopes under 2.0 percent).