CALIFORNIA: Two California Chamber of Commerce-supported “job creator” bills that improve access for disabled customers and limit frivolous litigation against businesses will be heard as a special order of business in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. A third job creator bill on the topic, SB 67 (Galgiani; D-Stockton) has not been set for hearing.
AB 52 (Gray; D-Merced) seeks to improve access for disabled customers and limit frivolous litigation against businesses for construction-related accessibility claims by providing an opportunity for the businesses to timely resolve any potential violations.
AB 54 (Olsen; R-Modesto) seeks to improve access for disabled patrons without harming businesses through frivolous lawsuits by providing businesses with a 60-day right to correct the violation for a claim based upon a constructed related accessibility standard that was changed or modified in the prior three years.
Due to California’s current statutory framework for construction-related accessibility claims, small businesses have, unfortunately, been targeted by a limited group of attorneys to leverage extortion-type settlements for technical construction-related standards, which do not actually impede physical access to the facility for disabled patrons.
For example, the California Commission on Disability Access has a Top 10 list of construction-related accessibility claims set forth in demand letters or complaints, which includes alleged violations for failure to have the appropriate signage or symbol.
Such violations do not necessarily impede physical access to the facility and could be easily resolved. However, businesses are pressured into paying settlements for these lawsuits instead of focusing financial resources on improving access at the business.
Both bills will provide businesses with an opportunity to fix the alleged violation within specified timeframes of receiving a civil complaint, which will encourage improved access in California.
AB 52 will reduce statutory damages for businesses that have corrected any construction-related accessibility standard within 180 days of receiving a civil complaint. In exchange for fixing the alleged violation, AB 52 would reduce the statutory damages from $4,000 to $1,000.
This reduction creates a fair balance between providing a remedy for the fixed violation, yet also recognizing the good faith efforts of the business at efficiently resolving the alleged violation.
AB 54 provides business owners with 60 days to correct an alleged accessibility violation that is based upon a recently enacted construction-related accessibility standard.
If the violation is resolved within the 60-day period, the business owner would not be assessed any statutory damages. AB 54 creates a balanced approach to the current lawsuit abuse regarding construction-related accessibility claims by providing a limited opportunity to correct for recently modified construction-related accessibility standards of which the business owner may not have been aware.
SB 67 (Galgiani; D-Stockton) limits frivolous litigation against small businesses for alleged construction-related accessibility violations, by eliminating statutory damages and providing only injunctive relief and attorney’s fees.
This will allow those claims that have merit to still be filed, and discourage the frivolous claims from being pursued. SB 67 also extends the period to resolve the alleged violation in order to reduce the statutory damages from $4,000 to $1,000. This reduction creates a fair balance between providing a remedy for the fixed violation, yet also recognizing the good faith efforts of the business at efficiently resolving the alleged violation.
SB 67 will allow a small business to utilize its resources in a manner that improves accessibility for all patrons, so that it can continue to succeed and expand in California
Both AB 52 and AB 54 will be considered by the Assembly Judiciary Committee .
