At her bar, The Wicked Wolf, Thea Mercouffer strives to create welcoming spaces — poetry nights, art galleries and open gatherings for a diverse, LGBTQ-centric crowd or anyone who feels out of place elsewhere. So it stung, recently, when she was accused of discrimination against a man in a wheelchair.
A lawsuit, brought by a man who has filed at least 20 similar claims in Los Angeles County since May 2024 — and another 50 in San Diego since 2021 — accused Mercouffer of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires businesses to make sure people with disabilities can access their facilities.
In Mercouffer’s case, plaintiff Marvin Barnett said he was subjected to “difficulty, discomfort and embarrassment” when there were no wheelchair-accessible tables, counters or restrooms in The Wicked Wolf…