Review of Disabled Persons Act Applicability to Websites Withdrawn; California Agency Issues Guidance on CASp Benefits; and Novel New Serial Lawsuits Filed Against Car Dealerships
As we’ve discussed previously, California is a hotbed for disability access suits – both based upon alleged physical accessibility violations of California law and the ADA and based upon alleged inaccessible websites.
Continue Reading California Accessibility Update
By Kristina M. Launey and Minh N. Vu
Plaintiffs suing businesses in California for alleged disability access violations usually assert claims under a number of statutes, including the Disabled Persons Act (DPA) (Cal. Civil Code § 54 et seq.) and the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Cal. Civil Code § 51 et seq.), as well as the federal Americans with Disabilities
Continue Reading Cal. Supreme Court Says Prevailing Defendants Are Entitled to Attorneys’ Fees in Disabled Persons Act Injunctive Relief Cases
Yesterday Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 1186, which will reform California’s disability access laws by, among other things, reducing statutory damages to $1,000 or $2,000 provided certain conditions are met. See our prior discussion of the legislation here.
Continue Reading Disability Access Reform in California, Finally
UPDATE: The bill passed both houses of the Legislature and was sent to the Governor’s desk on September 1, 2012.
California businesses have for years prayed for relief from drive-by disability access lawsuits. SB 1608 of 2008 was widely-hoped to be that savior, but has proven to have relatively little effect. All other attempts at
Continue Reading Will the CA Legislature Pass Disability Access Reform Legislation?
By Todd C. Hunt
On the heels of Cullen v. Netflix, Inc., reported here last month, two other federal judges in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California followed the lead established by the Ninth Circuit more than a decade ago in ruling in a putative class action that websites not connected to “physical spaces” are not
Continue Reading Courts in the Ninth Circuit Consistent in Holding Title III Website Access Requires Nexus to a Physical Space
By Minh N. Vu
On June 22, we reported on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’ ruling that Netflix’s video streaming website is a “place of public accommodation” covered under Title III of the ADA, even though the website has no nexus to a physical place. This ruling was not surprising given First Circuit precedent that dictated
Continue Reading California Federal Court Holds That the ADA Does Not Cover Netflix's Video Streaming Website
So held U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England, in the Eastern District of California, last week in a suit filed by Robert Segalman, who is blind and requires use of a wheelchair. Segalman alleged that Southwest Airlines’ improper stowage and transport of his power wheelchair caused him injury, in violation of the Air Carrier Access Act
Continue Reading Court Rules California Disability Discrimination Claims Not Necessarily Preempted By Air Carrier Access Act, But Allows Amendment to Sub in ADA for ACAA Claims
By Jon Meer & Myra Villamor
It is a common practice among a growing group of serial plaintiffs to slap businesses with frivolous “accessibility discrimination” lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws such as the California Disabled Persons and Unruh Acts. In these cases, a person with a disability claims that he was “discriminated against
