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that the modifications made to the pay telephones complied with
the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(ADA), Pub. L. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327.5 Petitioner was not
provided with a list of the modifications that were made to the
pay telephones assigned to him, and he did not know the cost of
these modifications.
Petitioner received monthly payments of $58.34 per telephone
in 1999 and 2000 from Alpha Telcom.6
Alpha Telcom grew rapidly through its pay telephone program
but was poorly managed and ultimately operated at a loss. On
August 24, 2001, Alpha Telcom filed for bankruptcy under chapter
11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
Southern District of Florida. The matter was later transferred
to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Oregon on
September 17, 2001. On February 25, 2002, petitioner filed a
proof of claim with the bankruptcy court.7
5 Aside from Alpha Telcom’s own representations, petitioner
received a flyer from an entity named Tax Audit Protection, Inc.
The flyer provided information about Alpha Telcom pay telephones.
It stated that owners of Alpha Telcom pay telephones qualified
for tax credits for compliance with the ADA. The flyer
identified a person named George Mariscal as the president of the
company.
6 The payments in 1999 were prorated according to when
Alpha Telcom installed the telephones.
7 The bankruptcy matter was dismissed on Sept. 10, 2003, by
motion of Alpha Telcom. The bankruptcy court held that it was in
the best interest of creditors and the estate to dismiss the
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