Another Valley lawmaker joins fight against predatory ADA lawsuits

Another Central Valley lawmaker has joined the fight to stop people from using the Americans with Disabilities Act to file “predatory lawsuits” against businesses in an effort to collect cash settlements.

Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, joined more than a dozen legislators in co-sponsoring a federal bill to give small businesses an opportunity to comply with ADA regulations and protect them from drive-by lawsuits.

But despite support from state and federal lawmakers to reform the ADA law, it hasn’t stopped one Atwater resident on her path of targeting more than 20 local businesses in ADA lawsuits. Aurora Cervantes, 55, added two more to her roster: the Merced IHOP and Donut King on Jan. 6.

The number of ADA lawsuits have spiked in the past year, hitting about 60 businesses in Stanislaus and Merced counties alone. Most businesses are sued for minor technical issues, such as not having appropriate disability signs, and are forced to pay cash settlements to litigants. The businesses get no warning before they’re slapped with a lawsuit.

That’s what happened to Vannak Sao. Looking at the Friday edition of the Merced Sun-Star, Sao’s heart sank.

The longtime owner of Donut King in Merced saw his name in the newspaper because he was being sued for ADA violations. And later that day, he was served with a lawsuit. “I’m very surprised and I lost my appetite,” the 48-year-old said Wednesday. “No one has ever complained before. We thought we were up to code.”

According to court records, Cervantes claimed having “difficulty finding the proper designated disabled parking space for vans” at Donut King and IHOP. She suffers from lupus, say her lawsuits, which have been identical in their wording and focus on businesses in Atwater, Merced and Turlock.

Sao, who has owned Donut King since 2005, said he doesn’t remember seeing Cervantes and doesn’t believe she ever visited his business.

The new bill sponsored by Denham, called the ACCESS Act, would prevent similar lawsuits by giving businesses written notification of an ADA infraction, followed by 60 days to respond with a plan to correct the violation. The owners would then have 120 days to fix the problem.

In an interview with the Sun-Star, Denham said he began working on ADA reforms when he served in the state Senate. The ACCESS Act was introduced on Friday and currently has 14 other legislators as co-sponsors, including Denham.

The congressman supported a similar bill last year that didn’t make it to the president’s desk because of “political hurdles” and getting through the committee process, he said. But this time is different, Denham said, and he’s hopeful the bill will overcome those hurdles.

“We’ve seen abuses not only in our own community, but across the nation,” Denham said Wednesday. “We are seeing out-of-state lawyers that are profiting and we’re seeing our local businesses shut down. We are feeling the immediate impact in the Valley, but it’s happening across the country.”

Denham joins a host of others pushing to modify the ADA law. State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani, D-Manteca, last week unveiled Senate Bill 67 to “reduce the profit incentive to file frivolous lawsuits based on minor and technical deficiencies,” she said in a press release.

State Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, and Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, teamed up last month to introduce legislation that would allow businesses time to fix deficiencies and reducing damages for violations.

Sao said he hopes lawmakers can put a stop to what he views as a “scheme” to get money. Sao plans to consult with the city of Merced to find out how he can become ADA-compliant.

“I think it’s the fair thing to do,” he said. “We work so much every day – seven days a week. If I had $5,000 to give away, I would give it to the Children’s Hospital – not someone that doesn’t deserve it.”

This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Another Valley lawmaker joins fight against predatory ADA lawsuits."