Senate Bill No. 251

Introduced by Senator Roth

February 18, 2015

An act to amend Sections 52 and 55.52 of the Civil Code, relating to disability access.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 251, as introduced, Roth. Civil rights: disability access.

Existing law establishes remedies for discrimination on the basis of various specified personal characteristics, including disability. The Construction-Related Accessibility Standards Compliance Act establishes standards for making new construction and existing facilities accessible to persons with disabilities and provides for construction-related accessibility claims for violations of those standards.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 52 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

52.  

(a) Whoever denies, aids or incites a denial, or makes any
discrimination or distinction contrary to Section 51, 51.5, or 51.6,
is liable for each begin delete and every end delete offense for the actual begin delete damages, and
any amount that may be determined by a jury, or a court sitting
without a jury, up to a maximum of three times the amount of
actual damage but in no case less than four thousand dollars
($4,000), and any attorney’s fees that may be determined by the
court in addition thereto, end delete begin insert damages end insert suffered by any person denied
begin delete the end delete begin insert those end insert rights begin delete provided in Section 51, 51.5, or 51.6. end delete begin insert and both of
the following: end insert

begin insert

(1) An amount to be determined by a jury, or a court sitting
without a jury, not more than three times the amount of actual
damages but not less than four thousand dollars ($4,000).

end insert begin insert

(2) Attorney’s fees as may be determined by the court.

end insert

(b) Whoever denies the right provided by Section 51.7 or 51.9,
or aids, incites, or conspires in that denial, is liable for each begin delete and
every end delete offense for the actual damages suffered by any person denied
that right and, in addition, the following:

(1) An amount to be determined by a jury, or a court sitting
without a jury, for exemplary damages.

(2) A civil penalty of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000)
to be awarded to the person denied the right provided by Section
51.7 in begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert action brought by the person denied the right, or
by the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney. An
action for that penalty brought pursuant to Section 51.7 shall be
commenced within three years of the alleged practice.

(3) Attorney’s fees as may be determined by the court.

(c) Whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert
person or group of persons is engaged in conduct of resistance to
the full enjoyment of any of the rights described in this section,
and that conduct is of that nature and is intended to deny the full
exercise of those rights, the Attorney General, begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert district
begin delete attorney or end delete begin insert attorney, a end insert city attorney, or any person aggrieved by
the conduct may bring a civil action in the appropriate court by
filing with it a complaint. The complaint shall contain the
following:

(1) The signature of the officer, or, in his or her absence, the
individual acting on behalf of the officer, or the signature of the
person aggrieved.

(2) The facts pertaining to the conduct.

(3) A request for preventive relief, including an application for
a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or other
order against the person or persons responsible for the conduct, as
the complainant deems necessary to ensure the full enjoyment of
the rights described in this section.

(d) Whenever an action has been commenced in begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert court
seeking relief from the denial of equal protection of the laws under
the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States
on account of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability,
the Attorney begin delete General or any end delete begin insert General, end insert district begin delete attorney end delete begin insert attorney, end insert
or city attorney for or in the name of the people of the State of
California may intervene in the action upon timely application if
the Attorney begin delete General or any end delete begin insert General, end insert district begin delete attorney end delete begin insert attorney, end insert
or city attorney certifies that the case is of general public
importance. In that action, the people of the State of California
shall be entitled to the same relief as if it had instituted the action.

(e) Actions brought pursuant to this section are independent of
any other actions, remedies, or procedures that may be available
to an aggrieved party pursuant to any other law.

(f) Any person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unlawful
practice in violation of Section 51 or 51.7 may also file a verified
complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing
pursuant to Section 12948 of the Government Code.

(g) This section does not require any construction, alteration,
repair, structural or otherwise, or begin delete modification of any sort
whatsoever, end delete begin insert modification end insert beyond that construction, alteration,
repair, or modification that is otherwise required by other
provisions of law, to any new or existing establishment, facility,
building, improvement, or any other structure, nor does this section
augment, restrict, or alter in any way the authority of the State
Architect to require construction, alteration, repair, or modifications
that the State Architect otherwise possesses pursuant to other laws.

(h) For the purposes of this section, “actual damages” means
special and general damages. This subdivision is declaratory of
existing law.

(i) Subdivisions (b) to (f), inclusive, shall not be waived by
contract except as provided in Section 51.7.

SEC. 2.  

Section 55.52 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

55.52.  

(a) For purposes of this part, the following definitions
apply:

(1) “Construction-related accessibility claim” means begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert civil
claim in a civil action with respect to a place of public
accommodation, including, but not limited to, a claim brought
under Section 51, 54, 54.1, or 55, based wholly or in part on an
alleged violation of any construction-related accessibility standard,
as defined in paragraph (6).

(2) “Application for stay and early evaluation conference” means
an application to be filed with the court that meets the requirements
of subdivision (c) of Section 55.54.

(3) “Certified access specialist” or “CASp” means any person
who has been certified pursuant to Section 4459.5 of the
Government Code.

(4) “Meets applicable standards” means the site was inspected
by a CASp and determined to meet all applicable
construction-related accessibility standards pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 55.53. A site that is “CASp
inspected” on or before the effective date of the amendments made
to this section by begin delete Senate Bill 1186 of the 2011-12 Regular Session
of the Legislature end delete begin insert Chapter 383 of the Statutes of 2012 end insert means that
the site “meets applicable standards.”

(5) “Inspected by a CASp” means the site was inspected by a
CASp and is pending a determination by the CASp that the site
meets applicable construction-related accessibility standards
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 55.53. A
site that is “CASp determination pending” on or before the effective
date of the amendments made to this section by begin delete Senate Bill 1186
of the 2011-12 Regular Session of the Legislature end delete begin insert Chapter 383 of
the Statutes of 2012 end insert means that the site was “inspected by a CASp.”

(6) “Construction-related accessibility standard” means a
provision, standard, or regulation under state or federal law
requiring compliance with standards for making new construction
and existing facilities accessible to persons with disabilities,
including, but not limited to, any provision, standard, or regulation
set forth in Section 51, 54, 54.1, or 55 of this code, Section 19955.5
of the Health and Safety Code, the California Building Standards
Code (Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations), the federal
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336; 42
U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), and the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (Appendix A to Part 36
of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations).

(7) “Place of public accommodation” has the same meaning as
“public accommodation,” as set forth in Section 12181(7) of Title
42 of the United States Code and the federal regulations adopted
pursuant to that section.

(8) “Qualified defendant” means a defendant in an action that
includes a construction-related accessibility claim that is asserted
against a place of public accommodation that met the requirements
of “meets applicable standards” or “inspected by a CASp” prior
to the date the defendant was served with the summons and
complaint in that action. To be a qualified defendant, the defendant
is not required to have been the party who hired any CASp, so
long as the basis of the alleged liability of the defendant is a
construction-related accessibility claim. To determine whether a
defendant is a qualified defendant, the court need not make a
finding that the place of public accommodation complies with all
applicable construction-related accessibility standards as a matter
of law. The court need only determine that the place of public
accommodation has a status of “meets applicable standards” or
“inspected by a CASp.”

(9) “Site” means a place of public accommodation.

(b) Unless otherwise indicated, terms used in this part relating
to civil procedure have the same meanings that those terms have
in the Code of Civil Procedure.