A state Supreme Court decision is being heralded as a victory by disability activists but termed problematic for small-business owners.
By SONJA BJELLAND The Press-Enterprise Riverside, California, Saturday, June 13, 2009
PDF: Read the California Supreme Court ruling
The unanimous ruling changes past precedent and makes it possible for businesses to be sued for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act without proving the business did so intentionally.
A small-business group says the decision exposes business owners to frivolous lawsuits.
In 2005, Loma Linda resident Kenneth Munson sued Del Taco Inc. when he could not get his wheelchair through a restroom door and had to go to another nearby business. In addition, the San Bernardino restaurant had a sloped sidewalk that made it difficult to enter. The restaurant lost at the federal appellate level and the case moved to the California Supreme Court.
Del Taco spent about $66,000 remodeling to solve the problem, and the two sides had agreed to $12,000 in damages.
In the 23-page opinion, the justices said the decision is in line with changes the Legislature made to disability laws and provides an incentive for businesses to comply with regulations.
John Lonberg said the ruling validates efforts by him and others who fight for access.
“They can’t hide behind the idea that they didn’t intend to discriminate,” said Lonberg, who has been paralyzed below the chest 24 years.
He is suing the city of Riverside for failing to make curbs and sidewalks accessible to the handicapped. The city is appealing a federal judge’s award of more than $200,000.
Inland activist Ruthee Goldkorn said the ruling makes people with disabilities equal to other protected groups because no one else had to prove the discrimination was intentional.
“Let my people in is not a complex concept,” said Goldkorn, who runs No Barriers disability access consulting and serves on the executive board of Californians for Disability Rights.
The National Federation of Independent Business/California will be working with other small business groups to see what remedies might be viable through the Legislature, said John Kabateck, executive director of the foundation’s California office.
He said the process has been maligned over time as lawyers prey on small businesses knowing they are willing to settle out of court.
“This allows those seeking money more than justice to get an easy pass,” Kabateck said.
Karen Harned, executive director of the group’s small-business legal center in Washington, D.C., said the ruling encourages people to file lawsuits over small violations while not winnowing out those who knowingly violate the law or discriminate.
“It’s not like a speed limit,” she said. “It’s harder to figure out whether you’re in compliance to begin with.”
Reach Sonja Bjelland at 951-368-9642 or sbjelland@PE.com
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