The Indian Business Owner TIBO Magazine - Volume 001 | Page 12

How to Protect Your Business from an
Accessibility-Related Lawsuit
I’m often asked by clients what they can do to prevent
being sued for ADA/Accessibility violations at their
business and I tell them the all same thing – the
only way to be safe from a lawsuit is to have your
property 100% compliant with all current accessibility
standards. Unfortunately, full compliance is not
reasonable for the majority of businesses due to
physical and financi al constraints.
So what is the next-best option for protecting
your business? Find out the risk exposure for an
accessibility lawsuit at your business and take
advantage of the protections afforded under current
law.
Below is an overview of the three most pertinent laws
that are currently on the books in California as well as
a brief summary of the protections/benefits provided
under each law.
SB 1608 - 2008
Senate Bill 1608 created the Certified Access
Specialist program. Certified Access Specialist, or
CASp, is a certification given by the Division of the
State Architect only to those who are experienced,
trained, and tested individuals who can inspect
buildings and sites for compliance with applicable
state and federal construction-related accessibility
standards. A CASp is the only certification in the
State of California that is recognized as being experts
accessibility and a CASp inspection is the only type of
inspection that triggers protections from accessibility
lawsuits under state law.
Under SB 1608 a property inspected by a CASp prior
to being served with a lawsuit may be eligible for the
following benefits/protections:
• 90 Day court stay
• Early evaluation conference with a judge or clerk
10 |TIBO Magazine - Fall 2016

SB 1186 - 2012
Senate Bill 1186 allows for reduction in damages,
eliminated stacking of claims, and eliminated
demand-for-money letters (extortion letters).
Under SB 1186 a business may be eligible for the
following benefits/protections:
• Reduced statutory damages from $4,000.
occurrence to $1,000/occurrence if the property
has been inspected by a CASp prior to being
served with a complaint, all violations alleged in
the complaint are corrected within 60 days of
receipt of the complaint
• Reduced statutory damages from $4,000/
occurrence to $2,000/occurrence if the business
is a small business (defined as having 25 or fewer
employees and no more than $3.5 million in gross
receipts), and all alleged violations are corrected
within 30 days of being served with the complaint
SB 629 – 2016
Senate Bill 269 created a 120 day window to allow
businesses to correct violations prior to being liable for
minimum statutory damages but only for business that
meet certain criteria.
Under SB 629 a business is not responsible for any
statutory damages if the following requirements are
met:
• Business is a small business (employed 50 or fewer
employees on average over the past 3 years)
• Property has been inspected by a CASp
(specifically the area of alleged violation) and
the inspection was performed PRIOR to the
complaint being filed (note “filed” – not served)
• The defendant has corrected all alleged violations
within 120 days of the date of the CASp
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