“MYTHS, MISCONCEPTIONS AND SOLUTIONS REGARDING ADA ACCESSIBILITY LAWSUITS”

Additional Resources

FEDERAL AND CALIFORNIA STATE LAWS:

A. Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.
B. California Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civil Code § 51 et seq.)
C. California Disabled Persons Act (Civil Code §§ 54-55.2)
D. California Building Standards Code (Title 24 of Code of Regulations)
E. Senate Bill 1608 (Newly-enacted California Legislation, effective 1/1/2009, adding inter alia, Civil Code §§ 55.3, 55.51, 55.55 and amending Business & Professions Code § 5600 and Health & Safety Code § 18949.29)

USEFUL RECENT CASE AUTHORITY:

Munson v. Del Taco, Inc. (2009) 46 Cal. 4th 661 [a plaintiff who seeks damages claiming the denial of full and equal treatment on the basis of disability in violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the ADA need not prove intentional discrimination]

Nicholls v. Holiday Panay Marina, L.P. (2009) 173 Cal. App. 4th 966 [discusses the threshold issue of whether the marina is a place of public accommodation]

Kittok v. Leslie's Poolmart, Inc. (C.D. Cal. 2009) 687 F.Supp.2d 953 [fact that plaintiff and her counsel filed multiple similar suits is of little import if this case is meritorious; the persistence of plaintiffs in bringing multiple lawsuits alleging unequal access to places of public accommodation does not demonstrate wrongdoing by plaintiffs anymore than it shows a hesitation of businesses to comply with the law]

Californians For Disability Rights v. Mervyn's LLC (2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 571 [claim that store did not provide adequate pathways, making merchandise inaccessible to persons using wheelchairs or other mobility devices; useful for complete synopsis of disability civil rights law]

Les Jankey v. Poop Deck (9th Cir. 2008) 537 F.3d 1122 [reversing denial of attorney's fees to plaintiff who did not provide any prelitigation notice]

Ron Wilson v. Frances Murillo (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 1124 [discusses anti-retaliation and anti-interference provisions of the ADA; see fn. 3, commenting on Wilson's numerous ADA lawsuits as not being frivolous or harassing, nor Wilson being a vexatious litigant]

Doran v. 7-Eleven, Inc. (9th Cir. 2008) 524 F.3d 1034 [plaintiff who has standing as a result of at least one barrier at a place of public accommodation may, in one suit, permissibly challenge all barriers in that public accommodation that are related to his or her specific disability; permits expert site inspection to add new violations]

Patrick Madden v. Del Taco, Inc. (2007) 150 Cal.App.4th 294 [duty to remove architectural barriers (concrete trash container on ramp) extends to existing buildings regardless of a triggering alteration, where removal is readily achievable]