California Senate Bill 84 if past by the California legislature “prohibits a construction-related accessibility claim for statutory damages from being initiated in a legal proceeding against a defendant unless the defendant has: 1) been served with a letter specifying each alleged violation of a construction-related accessibility standard; and 2) the alleged violations have not been corrected within 120 days of service.
This bill also provides that a defendant is not liable for statutory damages, costs, or plaintiff’s attorney’s fees for an alleged violation that is corrected within 120 days of service of a letter. The provisions of this bill apply to a defendant who employs 50 or fewer individuals as of the date of the receipt of the letter or for any period over the past three years from the date of the receipt of the letter.”
According to the authors of SB 84 since “the pandemic there has been a surge in ADA lawsuits filed across California, typically by very few repeat plaintiffs. Two plaintiffs filed more than 1,000 combined ADA lawsuits across California from 2020-2021 and are some of the most frequent filers in Northern California, according to an NBC Bay area analysis. In 2021, California had more disability access lawsuits filed than the remaining 49 states, combined.”
“Across the state, businesses are being targeted for failing to be in compliance with disability access guidelines, resulting in lawsuits that cost the business thousands, and put money in the pockets of serial plaintiffs without ever actually improving accessibility to people with disabilities.
Amongst the suits filed are those for a bathroom mirror being one and a half inches too high, the handicap sign on a restroom being the wrong shape, and the color of the handicap parking space sign not being the specified shade of blue.”
“Because California law provides that the plaintiff is entitled to a minimum damages that can start as high as $4,000 per violation, triple the damages, and may be awarded attorney’s fees, mom-and-pop businesses are finding themselves fixing a $10 mirror, but owing tens of thousands of dollars to the plaintiff’s attorneys for their fees.”
“The average settlement can be as much as $14,000, but the cost of litigating will easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. This leads to businesses settling out of court for far more than what it would cost to repair the violation. As such, this problem is putting many small businesses out-of-business, and its further adding to the stigma that California is a bad place to open a business and create jobs. Balance must be struck to protect both our disabled population, as well as business owners being targeted from untoward use of the law. SB 84 strikes this balance by placing the emphasis on increased access through curing an alleged violation.”
This bill is author sponsored and supported by the Civil Justice Association of California and other business organizations. The bill is opposed by Disability Rights California and other organizations that support the civil rights of disabled people.
According to a report on the proposed law by Courthouse News, Senator Roger Niello, a Fair Oaks Republican and coauthor of the bill said “The predatory law firms have accelerated their abuse all over the state.” Senators from both sides of the aisle have joined Niello as coauthors.
The report goes on to say “Democrats stood by Niello’s side, signing onto his bill and urging its passage. State Senator Aisha Wahab, a Silicon Valley Democrat, said she had discussions about the bipartisan effort last fall, working on the best way to correct the problem. Wahab wants to ensure those with disabilities have proper access while helping small business owners.”
“I do hope to see that move all the way to the governor’s desk,” she added.