The California Legislature recently approved Senate Bill 1186, which is designed to curb the misuse and abuse of California’s ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) laws and protect business owners. The catalyst driving the Legislature’s action was what the Bill’s authors described as a serious problem in which claimants and attorneys file “shakedown lawsuits against businesses in an effort to gain an easy payday with no intention of improving access for the disabled community.” Landlords and property owners were often faced with exploitive demand letters for money and would choose to pay the claimant simply to avoid the time and expense of dealing with litigation. 

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