header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 28
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir


[KHTS] – Dozens of Santa Clarita Valley business owners and Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, met in Valencia on Friday to discuss how to handle small business lawsuit abuse.

santa-clarita-business-owners-attend-lawsuit-abuse-summit-91885-The goal of California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, or CALA, representatives who led the workshop, was to educate business owners on how lawsuits could impact their business and where they think legislation is headed.

More than 70 Santa Clarita business owners attended the seminar at Salt Creek Grille.

“(The event is) certainly about lawsuit abuse, but it’s also about the cost of litigations, the impact lawsuits have on our society and communities,” said Tom Scott, executive director of CALA. “We want to hear from business owners about how they’ve been affected, we want to hear from the assemblymember about his perspective being up in Sacramento dealing with the issue. To me, it’s really just trying to educate people more about how legal reform creates jobs.”

CALA representatives and Wilk talked about how lawsuits with the American Disabilities Act and theSafe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act can hurt and even close businesses.

“There are so many ADA lawsuits around the state. I have dealt with some people who have filed more than 2,000 lawsuits in the past year,” said David Warren Peters, CEO and general counsel for the California Justice Alliance APC. “It’s a big deal given that most of these lawsuits are often directed against very, very small businesses. I’ve probably represented a dozen donut shops and you have got to sell a lot of donuts to come up with the five-figure settlements that a lot of these lawsuits are seeking.”

The ADA prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, State and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation, according to the website.

The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, also known as Proposition 65, requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment, according to the Prop. 65 website. By providing this information, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about protecting themselves from exposure to these chemicals.

After the CALA representatives and Wilk gave their speeches, local small business owners were able to share their own “horror stories” about lawsuit abuse and give feedback to Wilk and the CALA reps.

“The fact of the matter is, we’ve got to grow our economy and unfortunately with the situation that we’re in, I don’t see anytime soon when we’re going to reduce taxes,” Wilk said, “so there are other things we can do to encourage people to invest in our state — whether it’s reforming workers compensation, reducing regulations, or doing court reform.

“My goal today is to try to glean potential legislative ideas to introduce next session.”

More lawsuits are arising from the Internet from those who are visually impaired whose “computer readers” are not compatible with certain websites, Peters said.

“What’s going to happen is that we’re going to see a shift from the larger businesses to smaller businesses (in ADA lawsuits),” Peters said. “With ADA lawsuits, you physically have to go out to the properties, but with website lawsuits you can sit online and sue 100 businesses a day.”

The CALA officials and Wilk hoped the event would help to “create a more stable business climate that will encourage people to invest and hire people to work for (the small businesses), Wilk said.

“People talk about taxes, they talk about regulations but California’s business climate sucks,” Scott said. “So what are we going to do about it? One of those issues is improving California’s legal climate.”

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale invites the community to "Let the Sunshine In," a delightful evening of food, wine and song at the annual Cabaret & Cabernet fundraising benefit.
April 20: Santa Clarita Master Chorale’s Cabaret, Cabernet Fundraiser
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the below Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters:
March 27 Ocean Water Warning
As an integral ingredient necessary to help the Santa Clarita Valley to flourish, feedback from the business community is the secret sauce for achieving great things.
SCVEDEC Asks For the Business Community’s Opinion on Santa Clarita
Raise your heart rate while raising funds for the Santa Clarita Sister Cities Dollars-for-Desks campaign to provide school desks for students in Sariaya, Santa Clarita's Sister City in the Philippines.
April 13: Sister Cities Zumba-thon Fundraiser
Remo, Inc. is is the world's leading manufacturer and developer of synthetic drumheads and shells. They’ve been in business for 60 years
SCVEDC Company Spotlight: Drumming Up Big Business with Remo, Inc.
California State Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) and Assemblyman James Ramos (D-Highland) have introduced AB 3074 the "School or athletic team names: California Racial Mascots Act."
Schiavo Introduces Bill to Prohibit ‘Derogatory’ School Mascot Names
Los Angeles County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department  in collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Pitch Competition for the cohorts of JCOD's Incubation Academy.
March 28: JCOD Incubation Academy Helps Grassroots Non-Profits For the Second Year
Children’s Bureau is seeking foster families and now offers two virtual ways for individuals and/or couples to learn how to help children in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to provide legal permanency by adoption.
April 18: Children’s Bureau Hosts Virtual Orientation
The Sunburst track was constructed in 1887 by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was a part of the main line running between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Enjoy Spring With a Ride On The Sunburst Track
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a Personal Finance Summit today where he announced his support for Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), legislation that would require a personal finance education course for California high school graduation.
State Superintendent Announces Support for Personal Finance Graduation Requirement
1847 - Probable birth date of Pico Canyon oil driller Charles Alexander Mentry [story]
C.A. Mentry
The first Music Jam Session at The MAIN was held on Thursday, Feb. 22 and was a hit. Come out and join in for the next one on Thursday, March 28 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
March 28: The MAIN to Host Musicians’ Jam Session
Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman of the Office of Inspector General has issued a report entitled "Tenth Report Back on Implementing Body-Worn Cameras in Los Angeles County."
Office of Inspector General Issues Latest Report on LASD Body Cams
College of the Canyons women's tennis played to a convincing 7-2 conference win over Ventura College on Moica to strengthen its potential playoff resume.
Canyons Closes Out Ventura 7-2 in Final Home Match
Join the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce with the Latino Business Alliance at the Cinco de Mayo Networking Celebration on Tuesday, May 7.
May 7: Latino Business Alliance Cinco de Mayo Celebration
The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control is hosting March Meowness promotion where all cat adoptions are just $15 from now until April 9.
Adopt a Cat During March Meowness at Castaic Animal Center
California State University, Northridge is partnering with the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and the Tataviam Land Conservancy to battle the impact of climate change in disadvantaged communities throughout the San Fernando Valley by establishing “urban forests.”
CSUN Partners with Fernandeño Tataviam Band to Build Urban Forests
Join the Santa Clarita Artists Association on Monday, April 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Barnes and Noble, 23630 Valencia Blvd., Valencia, CA 91355, for the SCAA monthly meeting and guest demonstrator.
April 15: SCAA Presents Debbie Abshear Watercolor Demo
Residents are invited to join members of the Santa Clarita City Council for a special ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the addition of Santa Clarita's 38th park, Skyline Ranch Park, 18355 Skyline Ranch Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91351, to the Santa Clarita parks system on Saturday, April 6, at 10 a.m.
April 6: Grand Opening for Santa Clarita’s 38th Park
The Santa Clarita Valley Senior Center is preparing for the annual fundraising event, Celebrity Waiter, with the theme “California Dreamin’” on Saturday, April 27 at Bella Vida, 27180 Golden Valley Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91351.
Table Sponsorships Still Available for Celebrity Waiter Dinner
Springtime in Santa Clarita brings not only vibrant blooms and opportunities to embrace the outdoors with warmer weather, but also an array of free, family-friendly events and this Saturday is no exception.
Ken Striplin | A Fun, Festive, Egg-Filled Day
SCVNews.com