55.56.
(a) Statutory damages under either subdivision (a) of Section 52 or subdivision (a) of Section 54.3 may be recovered in a construction-related accessibility claim against a place of public accommodation only if a violation or violations of one or more construction-related accessibility standards denied the plaintiff full and equal access to the place of public accommodation on a particular occasion.(b) A plaintiff is denied full and equal access only if the plaintiff personally encountered the violation on a particular occasion, or the plaintiff was deterred from accessing a place of public accommodation on a particular occasion.
(c) A violation personally encountered by a plaintiff may be sufficient
to cause a denial of full and equal access if the plaintiff experienced difficulty, discomfort, or embarrassment because of the violation.
(d) A plaintiff demonstrates that he or she was deterred from accessing a place of public accommodation on a particular occasion only if both of the following apply:
(1) The plaintiff had actual knowledge of a violation or violations that prevented or reasonably dissuaded the plaintiff from accessing a place of public accommodation that the plaintiff intended to use on a particular occasion.
(2) The violation or violations would have actually denied the plaintiff full and equal access if the plaintiff had accessed the place of public accommodation on that particular occasion.
(e) Statutory damages may be assessed
pursuant to subdivision (a) based on each particular occasion that the plaintiff was denied full and equal access, and not upon the number of violations of construction-related accessibility standards identified at the place of public accommodation where the denial of full and equal access occurred. If the place of public accommodation consists of distinct facilities that offer distinct services, statutory damages may be assessed based on each denial of full and equal access to the distinct facility, and not upon the number of violations of construction-related accessibility standards identified at the place of public accommodation where the denial of full and equal access occurred.
(f) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, a defendant’s liability for statutory damages in a construction-related accessibility claim against a place of public accommodation is reduced to a minimum
maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each offense if the defendant demonstrates that it has corrected all construction-related violations that are the basis of a claim within 60 180 days of being served with the complaint, and the defendant demonstrates any of the following:
(A) The structure or area of the alleged violation was determined to be “CASp-inspected” or “meets applicable standards” and, to the best of the defendant’s knowledge, there were no modifications or alterations that impacted compliance with construction-related accessibility standards with respect to the plaintiff’s claim that were completed or commenced between the date of that determination and the particular occasion on which the
plaintiff was allegedly denied full and equal access.
(B) The structure or area of the alleged violation was the subject of an inspection report indicating “CASp determination pending” or “Inspected by a CASp,” and the defendant has either implemented reasonable measures to correct the alleged violation before the particular occasion on which the plaintiff was allegedly denied full and equal access, or the defendant was in the process of correcting the alleged violation within a reasonable time and manner before the particular occasion on which the plaintiff was allegedly denied full and equal access.
(C) For a claim alleging a construction-related accessibility violation filed before January 1, 2018, the structure or area of the The
alleged violation was a new construction or an improvement that was approved by, and passed inspection by, the local building department permit and inspection process on or after January 1, 2008, and before January 1, 2016,
within five years prior to the date the claim was served and, to the best of the defendant’s knowledge, there were no modifications or alterations that impacted compliance with respect to the plaintiff’s claim that were completed or commenced between the completion date of the new construction or improvement and the particular occasion on which the plaintiff was allegedly denied full and equal access.
(D) The structure or area of the alleged violation was new construction or an improvement that was approved by, and passed inspection by, a local building department official who is a certified access specialist, and, to the best of the defendant’s knowledge, there were no modifications or alterations that affected compliance with respect to the plaintiff’s claim that were completed or commenced between the completion date of the new construction or improvement and the particular occasion on which the
plaintiff was allegedly denied full and equal access.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, a defendant’s liability for statutory damages in a construction-related accessibility claim against a place of public accommodation is reduced to a minimum of two thousand
dollars ($2,000) maximum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each offense if the defendant has corrected all construction-related violations that are the basis of the claim within 180 days of being served with the complaint and demonstrates both either of the following:
(A)The defendant has corrected all construction-related violations that are the basis of a claim within 30 days of being served with the complaint.
(B)
(A) The defendant is a small business that has employed 25 or fewer employees on average over the past three years, or for the years it has been in existence if less than three years, as evidenced by wage report forms filed with the Economic Development Department, and has average annual gross receipts of less than three million five hundred thousand dollars ($3,500,000) over the previous three years, or for the years it has been in existence if less than three years, as evidenced by federal or state income tax returns. The average annual gross receipts dollar amount shall be adjusted biannually by the Department of General Services for changes in the California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, as compiled by the Department of Industrial Relations. The Department of General Services shall post that adjusted amount on its
Internet Web site.
(B) The defendant is a small business as defined in Section 14837 of the Government Code.
(3) This subdivision shall not be applicable to intentional violations.
(4) Nothing in this subdivision affects the awarding of actual damages, or affects the awarding of treble actual damages.
(5) This subdivision shall apply only to claims filed on or after the effective date of Senate Bill 1186 of the 2011–12 Regular Session of the Legislature. Nothing in this subdivision is intended to affect a complaint filed before that date.
(g) This section does not alter the
applicable law for the awarding of injunctive or other equitable relief for a violation or violations of one or more construction-related accessibility standards, nor alter any legal obligation of a party to mitigate damages.
(h) In assessing liability under subdivision (d), in an action alleging multiple claims for the same construction-related accessibility violation on different particular occasions, the court shall consider the reasonableness of the plaintiff’s conduct in light of the plaintiff’s obligation, if any, to mitigate damages.