Beginning in 2014, a series of lawsuits were filed against California desert businesses for technical ADA law violations. Businesses could either pay an average of $5,000-$10,000 to drop the suit, or fight the lawsuit at a potential cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Most lawsuits were filed without any physical inspection of the properties in question, leading many to believe that the lawyers involved were extorting businesses just for profit. Reporter Andrew Dieleman has the details on a new law that would protect California businesses…
On Thursday, California Congressional Representative Paul Cook voted in favor of the ADA Education and Reform Act, a bipartisan bill that could
serve as the first step in protecting California Businesses from technical ADA lawsuits. If passed into law, the bill would require a written notice to be sent to businesses with ADA violations before a lawsuit can be filed. The businesses would then have 60 days to develop a plan to fix the problems and another 60 days to complete the needed changes. Over the past few years, at least twelve desert community businesses were hit with these lawsuits. The bill passed the House vote, but must pass a Senate vote before having a chance to be signed into law.
