Daily Business Report: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
He’s filed more than 2,000 disability lawsuits
in California. This case could set precedent
By Nigel Duara | Cal Matters
In Summary
He couldn’t find a parking spot for his specialized van at a San Diego lobster shop. The lawsuit that followed is a test of how California upholds disabled rights.
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It all started with a parking spot.
On a breezy afternoon in September 2017, Chris Langer couldn’t find one that would accommodate his van and the ramp he uses for his wheelchair behind a San Diego lobster shop.
What transpired next has been the subject of arguments before two federal courts and opened a wide door to more federal disability lawsuits in California, home to more of these lawsuits in the last litigious decade than any other state.
Four months after that fall day, Langer filed a disability access lawsuit in federal court against the lobster shop, a smoke shop in the same building and the building’s owners, Milan and Diana Kiser, claiming a violation of his rights.
Langer has filed more than 2,000 claims like those over the past decade or so. For the last two years, his case against the Kisers was headed to defeat, with a federal judge ruling against him and questioning his motivation.
But last month, Langer prevailed before a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorneys who argue federal disability cases say that victory, which itself is being appealed, could open the floodgates to more federal disability rights lawsuits after a brief slowdown last year.
If Langer wins the next round, attorneys who represent businesses sued in disability cases worry that the case would set a precedent for a broader claim of standing to sue among plaintiffs in California disabled access lawsuits.
Top photo: Accessibility signs at the entrances of a business in Chinatown in San Francisco on Feb. 18, 2023. (Photo by Shelby Knowles for CalMatters)
Northrop Grumman selected
to enhance networks for U.S. Air Force
Northrop Grumman Corporation will participate in Phase 1 of the Common Tactical Edge Network (CTEN) consortium, an opportunity to leverage digital engineering to build and demonstrate the backbone of a connected battlespace for the U.S. Air Force. The CTEN Phase 1 award was announced after Northrop Grumman successfully demonstrated proven network, communications, and processing solutions to enable Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) by connecting sensors and platforms to distribute data across all domains.
Senate confirms Andrew Schopler’s
nomination to serve as U.S. district
judge for Southern District of California
The United States Senate voted 56-39 on Tuesday to confirm President Joseph R. Biden’s nomination of U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew G. Schopler to serve as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of California.
Following his oath, Schopler will fill a judgeship vacant since Jan. 22, 2021, when District Judge Larry A. Burns assumed senior status.
Schopler will continue to maintain chambers in San Diego.
Schopler has served as a magistrate judge for the Southern District of California since Sept. 30, 2016. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, Schopler worked as deputy chief of the Major Frauds and Special Prosecutions Section at the Office of the U.S. Attorney in San Diego from 2014 to 2016.
San Diego Museum of Art selects Foster + Partners
as design architect for renovation project
The San Diego Museum of Art has selected international architectural firm Foster + Partners as the design architect for a future renovation project of the museum. Local firm LPA Design Studio will be collaborating with Foster + Partners as the Architect of Record. The project will begin its detailed planning phase in the coming months and is expected to break ground in 2026.
The museum’s renovation plan aims to increase art display and further enrich the public’s interaction with exhibitions and education programs while respecting the architectural style and historical significance of Balboa Park.
The renovation project will encompass and focus on the museum’s west-wing infrastructure and facilities, with the goal of creating a new Education Center, a pavilion that will activate visitors to celebrate art and connect with the outdoors, and a new rooftop space providing panoramic views of Balboa Park.
Foster + Partners is known for their innovative and sustainable design, including Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Prado Museum in Madrid, Apple Park, Norton Museum of Art, Hearst Headquarters, and the Great Court at the British Museum.
Crow PR and ParkerWhite formalize
creative strategic alliance
Crowe PR, a national public relations agency specializing in health care technology, consumer goods, and hospitality brands, and ParkerWhite, an award-winning B2B and B2C branding and digital marketing firm focused on health care and wellness, announced their strategic alliance in the medical technology space.
The two women-owned San Diego agencies have complementary expertise in MedTech, both working with global public corporations and game-changing start-ups to generate awareness, build and strengthen their brands, and grow market share.
Known for its ROI-focused approach to marketing and public relations, Crowe provides media relations, thought leadership, social amplification, crisis communications, influencer marketing, and content creation. ParkerWhite, focused on working with brands that are disrupting their categories and creating a positive change in people’s lives, offers brand strategy, creative services, website design and development, digital marketing, social media, and video/television production services.
Olivia Wilcox joins TW2 Marketing
as marketing coordinator
TW2 Marketing, a leading San Diego-based marketing and public relations firm, announces that Olivia Wilcox has joined the firm as a marketing coordinator.
In her role, Wilcox will broaden client relations through news release development and distribution, social media planning, marketing research, media and account coordination and more.
Prior to joining TW2, Wilcox was an account coordinator at Lumina Communications in San Diego, where she gained experience working with clients in the tech and cybersecurity industry.
While at Lumina, Wilcox worked directly with multiple clients helping to secure media coverage in leading publications such as Dark Reading, Protocol, Business Insider, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.
In 2019, Wilcox started her career in marketing at Davison Marketing Group, where she facilitated project plans and schedules, acted as a media liaison for client advertising and news and managed calendars and timelines for both clients and team members.
Beau Lynott appointed to the Private
Investigator Disciplinary Review Committee
Beau Lynott, of San Diego, has been appointed to the Private Investigator Disciplinary Review Committee by Gov. Gavin Newsom. He has been managing investigator at First Legal Investigations since 2022. Lynott was an investigator and operations manager at Hospitality Consultants from 2007 to 2022. He served as an election worker for the County of San Diego from 2019 to 2021. He has been a statistician for CBS Sports since 2003 and a contributor to San Diego Magazine since 2022. The position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Lynott is registered without party preference.
Vista’s Brevian Energy selected to join
ACORE Accelerate Membership Program
Vista-based Brevian Energy, a commercial microgrid solutions provider, is one of eight companies selected to join the ACORE Accelerate Membership Program as part of its third cohort, which will extend from 2023 to 2025.
The ACORE Accelerate Membership Program, a 2022 recipient of the Department of Energy’s Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize, supports the success of small, emerging renewable energy companies owned and/or operated by leaders who identify as women, Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic, or Native American. Participating companies receive a complimentary two-year membership, an education stipend, dedicated staff, free access to ACORE’s paid events, targeted industry briefings, pro-bono legal and advisory services, and exclusive networking opportunities, among other benefits.
LifeForce Games announces next
level of gaming: Game Generator
SAN DIEGO — LifeForce Games, the Web3 game development studio, announces the next level of gaming with its soon-to-launch Game Generator. In anticipation of their upcoming attendance at GDC (Game Developers Conference), Co-CEOs Cathy Carroll and Ryan Inman are excited to announce that their relatively small team at LifeForce Games has cracked the code of the next level of gaming and content creation. Alongside the Game Generator are their already Steam-listed games, Forge Horizon, a third-person shooter, and Spark Defense, the first-of-its-kind MOBA Defense, which will both be available this year.
City of San Diego seeks $5 million
in new state affordable housing funds
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego City Council approved a resolution authorizing the City of San Diego to apply for up to $5 million in affordable housing funds from the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD). If approved, San Diego would use the funds to support the immediate construction or acquisition of new homes for low-income residents and those currently experiencing homelessness.
Free educational resources for
National Consumer Protection Week
SAN DIEGO — San Diego County Credit Union is providing educational resources for the community in support of National Consumer Protection Week, March 5-11. On Wednesday, March 8, SDCCU will present two free webinars aimed at educating the community on how to keep themselves, their loved ones and their finances safe. Webinar topics include Current Scams and How to Protect Your Finances, and Elder Financial Abuse Prevention. Upcoming topics, dates and times can be found at sdccu.com/fww.
Feeding San Diego gets donation from
plant-based protein bar company
SAN DIEGO — Feeding San Diego, the county’s leading hunger-relief and food rescue organization, has received its annual donation from corporate partner GoMacro, a leading plant-based nutrition bar company with offices in San Diego. The donation stems from 2022 sales of a Give Back Bar, the Everlasting Joy MacroBar. Year-round, a percentage of annual net proceeds from the sales of this MacroBar go to Feeding San Diego to support its hunger-relief programs. The partnership between GoMacro and Feeding San Diego has been in place since 2016.
SOCi raises $120 million
to invest in AI marketing products
SAN DIEGO — SOCi Inc., the marketing platform for multi-location brands, announced it has raised a total of $120 million to invest in a revolutionary line of AI marketing products and to expand into new markets. The round is led by JMI Equity, a growth equity firm focused on investing in leading enterprise software companies, with participation from Vertical Venture Partners, Blossom Street Ventures, and strategic investor Renew Group Private Limited, owner of 5-hour Energy International and other products.
MemComputing selected to join
NSIN Propel Hawaii Accelerator
SAN DIEGO — MemComputing Inc., developer of disruptive high-performance computing technology, announced it has been selected as one of 12 startups nationwide to join the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN) Propel Hawaii Accelerator. This cohort enables MemComputing to work with the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) N6 and other U.S. Indo-Pacific Commands to bring its next generation computing technology to the warfighter.
FMG announces launch of
new AI-powered platforms
SAN DIEGO — FMG Suite, a company specializing in marketing software and services for financial advisers, announced the launch of a new AI-powered content personalization engine for social media content. This game-changing technology is a product of a powerful combination of two AI platforms: the Vestorly AI-powered content curation and compliance platform acquired by FMG in 2022 and OpenAI GPT. Together, these platforms allow FMG to provide compliant, one-click personalization of its content, starting with social media posts and expanding to emails, blog posts, video scripts, newsletters, landing pages, and more.
Health Center Partners names Dr. Jay W. Lee
medical director of Integrated Health Partners
SAN DIEGO — Health Center Partners of Southern California, health care policy advocate for community health and under-served patient populations, announced the appointment of Jay W. Lee, M.D., to medical director of its subsidiary, Integrated Health Partners (IHP) of Southern California, a clinically integrated network consisting of nine-member health centers in San Diego and Riverside counties. Previously, he was chief medical officer at Share Our Selves Community Health Center in Costa Mesa.
Genefic opening new corporate
headquarters in North County
SAN DIEGO — Dalrada Financial Corporation, a problem-solving innovator that takes on complex, multi-disciplinary challenges in health care, clean energy, precision manufacturing, and technology, announced that its health care division, Genefic, will open a new location in North County that will serve as Genefic’s offices and corporate headquarters. The new facility – a two-story, nearly 8,500-square-foot standalone building in Rancho Bernardo’s Montadura Business Park, features multiple private offices and conference rooms and offers easy access to and from the I-15 freeway, a primary roadway for Southern California.
Xenco Medical named one of
World’s Most Innovative Companies
SAN DIEGO — Pioneering surgical technology company Xenco Medical has been named as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company Magazine in its 2023 list. The annual list recognizes the world’s most groundbreaking companies whose technologies are ushering in transformational change. A trailblazer in its application of materials science to surgical instrument and implant design, Xenco Medical’s advanced, materials science-driven portfolio of disposable composite polymer surgery systems and biomimetic titanium foam spinal implants have been adopted by health care facilities nationwide..”
