California Merchants Battle ADA Lawsuits

Business owners in the town of Lodi say they are "victims of lawsuit abuse" by people who are exposing loopholes in the current law.

February 27, 2012

LODI, Calif. - Ricky Gill, a 24-year-old Republican who is campaigning for California's 9th Congressional District seat, joined a group of Lodi business owners last week to talk about a mounting problem that is causing them financial stress: Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits.

The Recordnet.com reports that a crowd of 50 merchants who attended last week??s event is either defending an ADA lawsuit or has received a letter stating they have 60 days to comply or face a lawsuit. In each case, notes the news source, the business owners say the lawsuits ?" "many of them filed by lawyers who represent themselves" ?" are not filed so that their stores and restaurants will become ADA compliant. Instead, the business owners say they are "victims of lawsuit abuse by people who are not customers but only want to make money on loopholes they claim exist in the law."

Julie Griffiths, regional director of California Citizens Against Legal Abuse, commented that when a letter of notification is sent, business owners usually have 60 days to achieve compliance and pay a minimum $4,000 in damages.

Gill, who is also a small business owner, commented that "frivolous litigation hurts the ability to grow and meet expanded pay roll??I think we can introduce some structural fixes that can make sure the law is followed, but is also fair to business owners."

Gill told the crowd that he would like to work with Congress to make changes to current ADA regulations, such as increasing the amount of time businesses have to make improvements before they can be sued or pay a fine, as well as make ADA plaintiffs who lose a case reimburse the defendant??s legal fees.

NACS Webinar on ADA Compliance
New ADA regulations take effect on March 15. Of those 1,000 new rules, approximately 450 of them will directly affect convenience stores. NACS is offering a webinar on March 1 at 2:00 pm EST to help retailers navigate and understand the new ADA regulations. While the majority of the convenience store operators are aware of the need for ADA compliance, many have found it difficult to weed through the language of the new regulations, to know where to start and what to do in making sure their stores are compliant.

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