The St. Paul City Council is poised to settle a federal lawsuit that will cost the city up to $200,000 to replace or lower the height of most of its electronic parking meter pay stations — some 180 out of 200 across the city.

The city also will have to adjust the height of its remaining coin-operated meters and pay plaintiff Jerald Boitnott and his attorneys $45,000.

Boitnott this year filed a similar Americans with Disabilites Act lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the city of Minneapolis, which chose in October to settle for $60,000 and agreed to replace its electronic pay stations by May 2023.

A St. Paul city council vote on the settlement is scheduled for Wednesday, and council members are limited in what they can say on pending legal matters. But Boitnott’s civil and criminal history speaks for itself.

After serving 24 years in prison for first-degree murder related to a dispute over record albums, Boitnott was granted supervised release in 2012.

Boitnott, who remains under legal supervision for life with Dakota County Community Corrections, has since refashioned himself as a defender of the disabled.

Since 2014, Boitnott has filed at least 30 civil suits in Minnesota, most of them accusing corporations such as TCF Bank, Napa Auto Parts, Bakers Square, Aldi, Wendy’s, Little Caesar’s, Taco Bell and Famous Dave’s of potentially falling out of compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. About 19 cases have been filed in federal court or referred to federal court.

He has targeted smaller St. Paul businesses, too, with legal suits over the past year against Candyland on Wabasha Street, Keenan’s Bar on West Seventh Street, Mama’s Pizza on Rice Street and Latuff Bros. Autobody on University Avenue.

Rather than take a potentially pricey and time-consuming case to court, many defendants have chosen to settle Boitnott’s suits for undisclosed sums, leaving him with payouts in the tens of thousands of dollars. Several defendants signed non-disclosure agreements and were limited in what they could say.

Efforts to find a working number for Boitnott or get comment through his attorneys were not successful.

Boitnott is represented in his lawsuits by Patrick Michenfelder and Chad Throndset, whose St. Michael, Minn.-based law firm has represented various plaintiffs in recent years in ADA compliance lawsuits against Candyland’s Minneapolis location, Cecil’s Deli, Mickey’s Dining Car, Red’s Savoy, Mancini’s, the Grand Ole Creamery and DeGidio’s, among other St. Paul establishments.

Peter Latuff said he successfully fought Boitnott’s claims in Ramsey County District Court, but the case — filed in Oct. 2018 and officially dismissed in Oct. 2019 — took a year.

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Boitnott also levied allegations about the vertical threshold change at the shop’s public entrance, the height of the sales counter and the location of its flush control on the open side of the toilet.

$15,000 TO FIGHT ADA LAWSUIT

“It’s just amazing. I can’t believe this person is allowed to do this. I’m surprised this is still going on, that they haven’t put a stop to this,” said Candyland owner Brenda Lamb.

At the St. Paul location, Candyland uses original retail counters from the 1940s that do not meet modern ADA height requirements, according to Boitnott’s suit, which was served on the store but never went to court.

The location, however, has long maintained a small table where customers with disabilities can sit.

Lamb said she spent $15,000 in legal fees defending the St. Paul location alone.

“He didn’t file it in court because he felt that we met with the requirements,” she said.

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On Wednesday, St. Paul taxpayers may join the long line of defendants who have paid Boitnott money.

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St. Paul district to wait on reopening schools, citing lack of staff In addition to the $45,000 legal settlement, the mayor’s proposed budget includes up to $200,000 for revising the city’s electronic CALE meter system to meet ADA height requirements.

“The actual cost to the city is expected to be lower,” said Lisa Hiebert, a spokesperson for the city of St. Paul Public Works. “We’re working with the vendor.”

The majority of the city’s pay stations — approximately 180 of the 200 in the city’s inventory — are expected to be lowered, Hiebert said. The city will also alter the height of its coin-only meters.