A business in Northern California was one of six business and property owners in their area recently to receive a letter from an attorney demanding, at a price, each property become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities ("ADA") Act. The attorney's letter warned the business owners that because they had not complied with the mandates, they might be required to pay three times his client's damages, with a minimum payment of $4,000 for each offense. The attorney claimed that his client was a disabled person who was a potential business customer and was denied access to the business because of ADA requirements.One of the business owners stated that his own attorney advised that, while the letter was not legally binding, it was "fair warning" and that he was "better off settling now and becoming ADA compliant than to fight it".

Are these claims legitimate? Are they a racket and brought by "drive-by" litigants? 

According to the US Department of Justice, the ADA has achieved greater access for people with disabilities across the country through lawsuits and settlement agreements. Many legitimate customers are frustrated with the inabilities and/or difficulties they encounter when patronizing a business, and rightfully turn to the ADA for legal relief. This contrasts with those property owners and their insurers who are highly frustrated with multiple lawsuits from the same plaintiffs and lawyers. 

No one disputes that from both a business standpoint and a legal standpoint, disabled customers should be made to feel welcome in every business. However, a way needs to be found that allows businesses that have been found out of compliance with ADA, sufficient time to address the problem, without it putting them out of business due to the costs involved. One proposed California measure, AB 1878, gives the state's small businesses an opportunity to correct an ADA violation before a lawsuit can be filed. Another measure would require the state architect to compile a list of all federal and state disability access regulations and any conflicts in state and federal regulations be identified.

At Sarrail, Castillo & Hall, we represent both disabled clients and property owners in ADA litigation; for instance, one of our clients has been denied access to their physician's offices while another was denied access to a local hotel; we represented a local business owner who was sued by a "drive-by" litigant and have since advised that property owner (and have presented the information to groups of property owners) on essential steps to take to protect against future litigation. Contact us at 650-685-9200 for more details on how we can assist you with your ADA-related litigation.