ADA FHA General
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Encouraging ADA compliance – punishment and damages just don’t work.
For the last several years I have tracked the rate of ADA litigation filing in the United States. California consistently leads the nation in ADA lawsuits. It also has the nation’s most punative accessibility statute, the Unruh Act. Florida is consistently second in the number of filings despite the fact that it has no provisions… Continue reading
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What were they thinking? Indemnity and accessibility under the ADA and FHA
The rule is simple, but crazy. A contractual indemnity provision that shifts liability for FHA or ADA violations is unenforceable. Equal Rights Center v. Niles Bolton Ass., 602 F.3d 597 (4th Cir. 2010). Owners, operators, contractors and others who may have independent liability for ADA or FHA violations cannot contract among themselves to determine who… Continue reading
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Good News for ADA Defendants – Plaintiffs required to prove discrimination.
My friend and fellow ADA blogger William Goren wrote about Grider v. City of Aurora, 2013 WL 6633404 (D.Colo. 2013) within a week after the December 16, 2013 order denying the prevailing defendants their attorneys fees. [http://www.williamgoren.com/blog/2013/12/22/breed-restrictions-service-dogs-violation-ada/] He correctly pointed out that fights over breed restriction ordinances were likely to prove expensive for cities who… Continue reading
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The Devil to Pay: ADA litigation settlement dynamics
Like most lawsuits of all kinds, ADA cases almost always settle, usually sooner rather than later. Except where damages are an issue, as in California, the settlement has only three components: what ADA violations will be fixed, when will they be fixed, and how much money will the plaintiff and plaintiff’s attorneys get. The presence… Continue reading
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Personal injury damages for ADA violations – it can happen.
It is universally agreed that the ADA does not create a private cause of action for damages, but that doesn’t mean an ADA violation won’t result in a judgment for damages. I was reminded of this by the November 4, 2013 decision in Christian v. United States, 2013 WL 5913845 (N.D.W. Va. 2013). In Christian… Continue reading
