mark handler
SAWHORSE
Published: July 15, 2011 Updated: 10:25 a.m.
Michael Glueck: A common sense solution to frivolous ADA lawsuits
By MICHAEL ARNOLD GLUECK, M.D. / The Newport Beach doctor writes extensively about medical and legal issues
There comes a time when all good men and women must stand up to the legal bullies – those who exploit the laws they write to fill their coffers and wallets at he expense of small business owners and your jobs.
When the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) was signed into law more than 20 years ago, the intent was to provide complete access for the disabled in public places. Sadly, opportunists have abused the law by filing tens of thousands of ADA lawsuits meant not to improve access for the disabled, but to extract money from small business owners
Now, U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) is proposing a common sense bill, HR 881 (The ADA Notification Act of 2011), which would eliminate thousands of predatory ADA lawsuits, and actually improve public access for disabled individuals.
Currently, the ADA does not require any notice before a lawsuit can be filed.
Enforcement of the ADA is through civil litigation. Many ADA lawsuits have been filed for issues of relatively minor noncompliance; such a sign being the wrong color or having the wrong wording. Due to California's lawsuit-friendly legal climate, 42 percent of ADA lawsuits filed in the United States are filed in California, causing many small businesses to close and wiping out jobs.
California legislators have repeatedly rejected reforms like HR 881. In 2008, the California Legislature created the California Commission on Disability Access, but the commission has failed to make any significant progress in reducing abusive claims. Despite the commission's best intentions, California's accessibility standards continue to conflict with the federal ADA, exceeding 500 pages of minutely detailed standards that change constantly.
Small business owners are unable to determine with certainty the exact changes they need to make to comply with the law, and those who can afford it have to hire costly experts. Unfortunately, because the law is so subjective, the experts often disagree, leaving the businesses open to costly lawsuits.
Representative Hunter's common sense proposal would require a plaintiff to provide a defendant with notification and an opportunity to correct a violation voluntarily before the plaintiff may commence a civil action and force the business owner to incur legal costs.
Under HR 881, the potential plaintiffs would think twice about filing lawsuits with false, inappropriate, or exaggerated claims because the law provides time to properly fix any ADA violations. HR 881 would limit the number of lawsuits that could be filed to only those in which a defendant was truly unwilling to make appropriate changes.
Eliminating frivolous lawsuits would have the added benefit of allowing legitimate claims to move through the legal system faster. In Orange County, HR 881 could have prevented one plaintiff from filing 243 lawsuits seeking financial damages for minor ADA violations such as unsecured floor mats and round door handles. Perhaps the biggest losers in this example are the taxpayers, who are on the hook for as much as $85,000 in court filing fees to process these 243 lawsuits.
At a time when our state and local governments struggle to balance their budgets and court doors are closing to save desperately needed funds, the $85,000 spent on these lawsuits certainly could have been put to a better use.
HR 881 would help curb this practice of filing hundreds of lawsuits that cost taxpayers millions and benefit no one but the personal injury lawyers who profit from them. This would ensure that those who truly need access to our limited judicial resources can get them.
Simplfying ADA regulation benefits our economy. Many businesses have closed because of accessibility lawsuits and others have unnecessarily spent tens of thousands of dollars litigating claims. Small businesses are critical to California's economic recovery. As our economy struggles to recover, we need to focus on job creation – not costly litigation.
Representative Hunter understands that in California, we need more jobs, not more lawsuits.
Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., Newport Beach, writes extensively about medical and legal issues, and is a Leadership Committee Member of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA).
Michael Glueck: A common sense solution to frivolous ADA lawsuits
By MICHAEL ARNOLD GLUECK, M.D. / The Newport Beach doctor writes extensively about medical and legal issues
There comes a time when all good men and women must stand up to the legal bullies – those who exploit the laws they write to fill their coffers and wallets at he expense of small business owners and your jobs.
When the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) was signed into law more than 20 years ago, the intent was to provide complete access for the disabled in public places. Sadly, opportunists have abused the law by filing tens of thousands of ADA lawsuits meant not to improve access for the disabled, but to extract money from small business owners
Now, U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) is proposing a common sense bill, HR 881 (The ADA Notification Act of 2011), which would eliminate thousands of predatory ADA lawsuits, and actually improve public access for disabled individuals.
Currently, the ADA does not require any notice before a lawsuit can be filed.
Enforcement of the ADA is through civil litigation. Many ADA lawsuits have been filed for issues of relatively minor noncompliance; such a sign being the wrong color or having the wrong wording. Due to California's lawsuit-friendly legal climate, 42 percent of ADA lawsuits filed in the United States are filed in California, causing many small businesses to close and wiping out jobs.
California legislators have repeatedly rejected reforms like HR 881. In 2008, the California Legislature created the California Commission on Disability Access, but the commission has failed to make any significant progress in reducing abusive claims. Despite the commission's best intentions, California's accessibility standards continue to conflict with the federal ADA, exceeding 500 pages of minutely detailed standards that change constantly.
Small business owners are unable to determine with certainty the exact changes they need to make to comply with the law, and those who can afford it have to hire costly experts. Unfortunately, because the law is so subjective, the experts often disagree, leaving the businesses open to costly lawsuits.
Representative Hunter's common sense proposal would require a plaintiff to provide a defendant with notification and an opportunity to correct a violation voluntarily before the plaintiff may commence a civil action and force the business owner to incur legal costs.
Under HR 881, the potential plaintiffs would think twice about filing lawsuits with false, inappropriate, or exaggerated claims because the law provides time to properly fix any ADA violations. HR 881 would limit the number of lawsuits that could be filed to only those in which a defendant was truly unwilling to make appropriate changes.
Eliminating frivolous lawsuits would have the added benefit of allowing legitimate claims to move through the legal system faster. In Orange County, HR 881 could have prevented one plaintiff from filing 243 lawsuits seeking financial damages for minor ADA violations such as unsecured floor mats and round door handles. Perhaps the biggest losers in this example are the taxpayers, who are on the hook for as much as $85,000 in court filing fees to process these 243 lawsuits.
At a time when our state and local governments struggle to balance their budgets and court doors are closing to save desperately needed funds, the $85,000 spent on these lawsuits certainly could have been put to a better use.
HR 881 would help curb this practice of filing hundreds of lawsuits that cost taxpayers millions and benefit no one but the personal injury lawyers who profit from them. This would ensure that those who truly need access to our limited judicial resources can get them.
Simplfying ADA regulation benefits our economy. Many businesses have closed because of accessibility lawsuits and others have unnecessarily spent tens of thousands of dollars litigating claims. Small businesses are critical to California's economic recovery. As our economy struggles to recover, we need to focus on job creation – not costly litigation.
Representative Hunter understands that in California, we need more jobs, not more lawsuits.
Michael Arnold Glueck, M.D., Newport Beach, writes extensively about medical and legal issues, and is a Leadership Committee Member of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA).
