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Lungren Bill For Businesses And Disabled

mark handler

mark handler

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Lungren Bill For Businesses And Disabled

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 9:22 PM

http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/1386995/Lungren-Bill-For-Businesses-And-Disabled-.html

Sacramento, CA-- Congressman Dan Lungren has introduced a bill to discourage ADA lawsuits and provide better access for the disabled.

H.R 3356, otherwise known as the ACCESS Act, will make it easier for business owner/operators to stay open and still perform Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) code upgrades.

"Too often these lawsuits are filed and the accuser takes the settlement money and moves on down the road," said Lungren. "Access for the disabled does not get fixed because the business owner has spent his money on the lawsuit. The business owner loses out and disabled Americans still can't patronize the place. Only the pockets of the one bringing the suit are enriched."

Joining him in support of the bill are the National Federation of Independent Businesses and California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.

Dan Lungren's 3rd Congressional District includes Calaveras County.

Written by Tina Falco
 
Lungren Bill To Put The Squeeze on Opportunistic ADA Lawsuits and Provide Access For the Disabled

11/08/11

http://lungren.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=39&sectiontree=6,39&itemid=1083

Gold River, CA – With jobs at stake and the threat of lawsuits alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities ACT (ADA) forcing businesses to pay up or shut down, Congressman Dan Lungren (R-Gold River-CA) last week introduced a bill to discourage vexatious litigants and make it easier for business owner/operators to stay open and still perform ADA code upgrades so they may better serve the disabled.

“Too often these lawsuits are filed and the accuser takes the settlement money and moves on down the road. Access for the disabled does not get fixed because the business owner has spent his money on the lawsuit. The business owner loses out, disabled Americans still can’t patronize the place -- only the pockets of the one bringing the suit are enriched,” said Lungren, who launched H.R. 3356, otherwise known as the ACCESS Act (ADA Compliance for Customer Entry to Stores and Services).

At 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, Lungren will host a press conference at the Squeeze Inn Burger Joint, 5301 Power Inn Road, Sacramento. Joining him in support of his bill will be leadership from several area chambers of commerce, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse and several business owners including Travis Hausauer of the Squeeze Inn.

“Abusive ADA lawsuits do nothing to improve access for the disabled; they merely line the pockets of the lawyers who file them, thereby taking away jobs and tax revenue,” said Tom Scott, Executive Director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. “By establishing a short window of time for businesses to fix alleged ADA violations without legal action, we can help rid our courts of lawsuits motivated by greed and instead focus on ensuring that customers have a safe and comfortable experience while frequenting businesses in our communities.”

###

Congressman Dan Lungren serves as the Chairman of the House Administration Committee in addition to serving on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees.
 
While I understand what he's trying to do with this legislation I don't see the point of it. California is really the only state where this is a problem and that is because of state legislation, not Federal legislation. Wouldn't it be quicker and a better use of legislative resources to pass legislation in the California house and senate to rectify this problem if it truly is a problem. Federal prosecution of businesses that violate the ADA has been basically nonexistent and no other state allows lawsuits based on the ADA.
 
Squeeze Inn Owner Asking Congress To Protect Businesses From Lawsuits

11:02 AM, Nov 10, 2011

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CBS13) - The owner of a California burger joint is teaming up with a congressman in an attempt to pass a federal law giving business owners breathing room from expensive lawsuits over handicap access.

Travis Hausauer, the owner of the Squeeze Inn, was forced to close down his original restaurant location after an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit complained that the structure's tiny size discriminated against the disabled.

"It was an older, kind of eclectic place," Hausauer said. "There's quite a few of them in California that have had to close down now because of the ADA laws."

Hausauer said he couldn't afford to fix the building and pay the lawyers, so he closed and moved the restaurant to a new location.

The lawsuit was filed by an attorney who has filed nearly 400 other similar ADA lawsuits.

"Drive-by lawsuits" citing the ADA has become a chronic legal issue in California, according to Civil Justice Association of California legislative director Katherine Pettibone.

"Often times it isn't actually about increasing access, it's about going in and making a demand for money. 'Pay me and I'll go away,' " Pettibone said.

Congressman Dan Lungren (R-3rd District) has introduced a bill that would allow business owners facing ADA non-compliance complaints a two-month window to fix their building before an ADA lawsuit could ever be filed.

Hausauer said he believes the legislation would have saved the original Squeeze Inn.

"In the long run, we're a success story, but there are so many other businesses who just shut their doors and you never hear about them," he said.

Lungren's bill will soon head to the Congress Judiciary Committee. There is no scheduled timeline for when the bill will be heard on the Congress floor.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/national/article/219897/81/Congress-asked-to-protect-businesses-from-lawsuits
 
Congressman Proposing Changes To ADA Laws

Business Owners Say Lawsuits Are Harmful

Sharokina Shams/KCRA

POSTED: 7:00 am PST November 10, 2011

http://www.kcra.com/news/29734893/detail.html

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) -- Congressman Dan Lungren is proposing changes to federal regulations that are meant to help the disabled -- the same laws that many business owners believe unfairly target them.

The laws require that disabled people are able to access buildings, and often lead to the building of wheelchair ramps or the widening of doorways.

However, business owners have argued that attorneys sue businesses that are not compliant with the law, often with no direct complaint from a disabled person, and rather, just to profit from a lawsuit.

Lungren is scheduled Thursday to announce his proposal, which would change the laws to allow businesses to fix the access problems before having to defend themselves against a lawsuit. Under the proposal, a plaintiff would have to notify a business in writing of the problems. The business would have 60 days to respond and then another 120 days to fix the problems and become compliant with the laws.

Lungren will announce the proposal at the Squeeze Inn, the popular Sacramento hamburger restaurant that suffered financial hardship, partly because it was sued twice over disabled access issues.

Read more: http://www.kcra.com/news/29734893/detail.html#ixzz1dJzFCf00
 
They should also put in to the law that any money won in a lawsuit against a business be spent to make the business compliant.

Three bids pick the best one. Use contractors approved by the AHJ. No fly by night scam jobs.
 
Hey its a good day for me, I think Mr. Lungren must've read one of my recent posts regarding disability lawsuits.

Glad to see someone is stepping up to the plate, hope to hear it passes intact.

Not to sound ungrateful but it's shameful that we must pass a law to sue them pass a law to limit the suit.
 
Predatory ADA lawsuits fought on Auburn, federal fronts

http://auburnjournal.com/detail/193070.html?content_source=&category_id=2&search_filter=&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id=

By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer

Help may be on the way for businesses threatened or already stung by so-called drive-by ADA lawsuits initiated by predatory attorneys.

With the realization that lawyers are wrestling revenue away from businesses by filing potentially abusive Americans With Disabilities Act lawsuits for breach-of-access provisions, U.S. Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, announced Thursday that he has introduced legislation that could stave off a flurry of civil actions.

Auburn has been hard-hit with a string of lawsuits. One list circulated this week at a meeting of the Auburn Chamber of Commerce government affairs-economic development committee, showed 67 different Auburn-area businesses identified as defendants in ADA legal actions.

Bruce Cosgrove, Auburn chamber chief executive officer, said Thursday that while ADA requirements are the law and that businesses ultimately have to comply with them, there is a need for greater awareness on what needs to be done and can be done that his business organization hopes to help fill.

Plans are already underway for a forum to help business owners and landlords understand some of the major requirements, Cosgrove said.

Also on the drawing board is a list that would provide business owners with a list of top ADA requirements.

“What they’re going to learn is that there’s so much more they need to know,” Cosgrove said. “Hopefully, this can help reduce the impact of lawsuits.”

Under Lungren’s bill – which was made public Thursday in Sacramento – attorneys and clients intending to sue under the act will have to provide notice of ADA violations.

Lungren made the announcement at the Squeeze Inn – a “poster” business for the drive to stamp out predatory legal actions against small businesses. A long-time burger business with a loyal following but non-ADA compliant access, the Squeeze Inn was forced to relocate because of a legal action.

Lungren’s bill would require an attorney’s notice of legal action to be specific enough that business owners would know how they violated the act and what actions they must take to bring their facilities into compliance.

Business owners would provide a written response within 60 days outlining improvements they would make to comply with the ADA. They would then have 120 days to make improvements.

“Too often these lawsuits are filed and the accuser takes the settlement money and moves on down the road,” said Lungren, who previously served as state attorney general. “Access for the disabled does not get fixed because the business owner has spent his money on the lawsuit.”

The business owner loses out, disabled Americans still can’t patronize the place and only the people bringing the suit profit, he said.

Tom Scott, executive director of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse said abusive ADA lawsuits do nothing to improve access for the disabled.

“By establishing a short window of time for businesses to fix alleged ADA violations without legal action, we can help rid our courts of lawsuits motivated by greed,” Scott said.

Cosgrove said that he has learned in discussions with other chambers in other areas that Auburn isn’t the only area dealing with a flood of abusive lawsuits based on ADA law.

“Rep. Dan Lungren isn’t alone – there are other legislators trying to do the same thing,” Cosgrove said. “This isn’t just Auburn. We’re not being singled out. But the city hasn’t been bypassed either.”
 
Damn Mark, just when my head was filling up with hot air

Here's old news but nonetheless just goes to show.

Disabled attorney defends his 1000+ ADA lawsuits | news10.netwww.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=76046
 
Keystone said:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=lawyer%20filed%20over%201000%20ada%20lawsuits&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news10.net%2Fnews%2Fstory.aspx%3Fstoryid%3D76046&ei=6me9TvOdJaHX0QGfy4nRBA&usg=AFQjCNE5i1j41E00HqLE_1e1o-W_dJTGtQ
Click to expand...
Here's a quote from that story: The owner of a Rocklin restaurant who became one of Johnson's more recent targets contacted News10 to complain about the fairness of the lawsuit he was served with in November.

Chris Rubino said he spent $700 to repaint hash marks on the side of a disabled parking spot in front of Rubino's Ristorante. He acknowledged it took him a year to do so after receiving Johnson's first warning letter

"It's not a lot of money, but with the economy the way it is, it's just hard to come up with that extra cash right now," Rubino said.

Johnson said he gave Rubino more than enough time to comply before filing the lawsuit. He said all of his lawsuits have come only after business owners are given written notice making them aware they are in violation of the ADA.

"I give them time to fix it. When they choose not to fix it, I seek the assistance of the court," Johnson said.

I'm not sure if he does it that way every time but in this case he gave them warning and ample time to correct the problem before filing suit. The same thing that the proposed law will do.
 
Msradell, I did hear the generous timeframe for compliance and do realize the actual cost of repainting is without a doubt an inexpensive fix but you have to admit this attorney may be on a crusade, vendetta, what ever, atleast 1079 lawsuits since 2003. Come on, thats one lawsuit filed about every 3 days, heck even less days than that cause the courthouse is closed on weekends. With the low settlement fee, 4K to 6K, an insurance policy provider is just going to pay it rather than fight it and any attorney knows that. If that is the amount of people that have been sued to date I can only fathom the number of additional owners that have complied, point being some people weather legal or not just lose site of what is reasonable. In this case it seems to be quantity over quality...
 
Keystone said:
Msradell, I did hear the generous timeframe for compliance and do realize the actual cost of repainting is without a doubt an inexpensive fix but you have to admit this attorney may be on a crusade, vendetta, what ever, atleast 1079 lawsuits since 2003. Come on, thats one lawsuit filed about every 3 days, heck even less days than that cause the courthouse is closed on weekends. With the low settlement fee, 4K to 6K, an insurance policy provider is just going to pay it rather than fight it and any attorney knows that. If that is the amount of people that have been sued to date I can only fathom the number of additional owners that have complied, point being some people weather legal or not just lose site of what is reasonable. In this case it seems to be quantity over quality...
Click to expand...
I agree but the businesses have also had 20 years to comply! I'm handicapped and face access problems every day, if businesses don't comply on their own net should be prosecuted. Since the DOJ doesn't really do anything to enforce the ADA and on local or small issues there really isn't much other way to get compliance.
 
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