Legal News

Lawyers say litigation to continue despite new law

By Richard Binder

A new law in California designed to curb thousands of lawsuits filed in recent years against businesses alleging inadequate access to the disabled was signed by the governor two months ago and becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2009. The law is a truce between disability advocates and business groups, which argue that the litigation is a form of extortion driven by a handful of serial plaintiffs and their attorneys.  Business groups also claim that, since most of the defendants are small businesses that don't have the resources to fight the claims, the cases frequently settle for thousands of dollars.

But lawsuits are more numerous in California, where a state law allows plaintiffs to obtain additional damages of up to $4,000 for ADA violations, and attorneys on both sides of the issue say the new law  is unlikely to have much effect on the litigation. (Unless you're this guy.)

Read the full story at NLJ.
 

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on December 15, 2008 (boomark / email).