Ramiro Arvizu and Jaime del Campo are the owners of La Casita Mexicana, a small restaurant in Bell, California that has become increasingly popular for its authentic Mexican dishes. Yet one day, Jaime and Ramiro were shocked to receive notice that they had been sued, along with dozens of neighboring businesses, by a plaintiff who has filed more than 500 lawsuits – including many against small Latino-owned businesses.
Roberto Guerrero found himself with a similar problem. The owner of Cumaica Coffee in San Francisco was also sued by a serial plaintiff. Several neighboring businesses were sued by the same plaintiff, and at least two were forced to close.
Unfortunately, these stories of lawsuit abuse are all too typical for small business owners, an increasing number of whom are Latino Americans. In fact, U.S. Census figures show that Latino Americans are creating small businesses at a rate three times higher than the rate for the non-Latino population.
To reach out to this growing community, ILR has created a new Spanish language version of its Faces of Lawsuit Abuse website (www.abusosdedemandas.org) and launched two new videos, in English and Spanish versions, that tell the stories of Jaime and Ramiro as well as Roberto. The new videos join the 22 existing Facesvideos, which feature stories of individuals, small businesses and communities impacted by lawsuit abuse. We are also featuring the two videos in a month-long media campaign that will feature national television, radio and online advertising in both English and Spanish.
The new videos and the new website can be viewed through the following links:
Faces of Lawsuit Abuse: www.facesoflawsuitabuse.org
Abusos de Demandas: www.abusosdedemandas.org
Jaime & Ramiro’s story: In English, In Spanish
Roberto’s story: In English, In Spanish
