martin orlick
ADA Update: New Website Accessibility Law Impacting Most Businesses
Jim Butler | October 31, 2023
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers | Authors of HotelLawBlog.com Many hotel owners already know they need to pay attention to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, both to provide a positive experience for guests and to avoid costly litigation. A proposed new California law, however, should bring their focus to website accessibility; if adopted, business owners, as well as their web developers, would be vulnerable to substantial statutory damages and attorney’s fee if sued by a plaintiff who succeeds in court. JMBM’s ADA Compliance and Defense Team outlines the potential impact of this law...
ADA Defense Lawyer: Does Your Hotel Have an Electric Vehicle Charging Station?
Martin H. Orlick | March 30, 2022
By Jim Butler, Martin Orlick You’re about to see a lot more Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) on your daily drive. Within months of taking office, the Biden Administration announced an initiative to build half a million new charging stations across the country. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act, which passed in November 2021, includes $7.5 billion towards this goal; the Administration’s signature domestic policy bill, the Build Back Better act, also includes funding to promote electric vehicles and expand the public charging network. California’s governor is promoting an ambitious plan of 500,000 electric vehicles on...
ADA Defense Lawyer: A Victory Against Serial Plaintiff: The “Reservation Rule” Lawsuit Against California Hotel Dismissed
Martin H. Orlick | January 25, 2022
By Jim Butler, Martin Orlick In another blow to serial ADA litigation against hotels, a judge in the Northern District of California has issued an opinion dismissing the case against JMBM client OCI, which owns and operates a Comfort Inn & Suites near the San Francisco International Airport. Brian Whitaker, who has filed nearly 2,000 ADA lawsuits in the last two years, claimed that OCI failed to include enough detail in its online description of accessible features, violating the ADA’s “Reservation Rule.” JMBM filed a motion to dismiss on behalf of OCI, which was granted on January 6, 2022. This is the second Reservation Rule ...
ADA Defense Lawyer: California’s Central District Tries to Curb ADA lawsuits
Martin H. Orlick | March 29, 2021
By Jim Butler, Martin Orlick California has seen an explosion of ADA cases in the past few years, leading the state to impose strict pleading standards and high filing fees for serial litigants. Litigants have previously found their way around this by filing in federal court, but the courts have made it clear that they will decline supplemental jurisdiction in these instances. Martin Orlick, Chair of JMBM’s ADA Compliance & Defense Group, explains below. Declining to exercise supplemental jurisdiction, the United States District Court Central District of California (Central District) is addressing high frequency litigants who file...
ADA Defense Lawyer: Whitaker v. Tesla Motors – the End of Cookie-Cutter ADA Complaints?
Jim Butler | February 17, 2021
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com For many years, businesses classed as public accommodations under the ADA have been the subject of “cookie-cutter” complaints that allege discriminatory conditions without providing any specific examples. Thousands of nearly identical complaints have been filed in federal courts nationwide, and their lack of detail makes it difficult for courts to provide a remedy that will prevent future harm. Martin Orlick, Chair of JMBM’s ADA Compliance & Defense Group, summarizes the recent decision in Whitaker v. Tesla Motors which may put an ...
Hotels Must List Accessible Features on the Web or Risk Lawsuits
Jim Butler | February 3, 2021
By Jim Butler and the Global Hospitality Group® Hotel Lawyers | Authors of www.HotelLawBlog.com As we’ve discussed in previous blogs, there has been an uptick in lawsuits filed against hotels alleging a failure to list accessible features on their website as required by the ADA. While many of these cases have been successfully defended in federal courts, new filings continue to surge and many plaintiffs are turning to state courts which have different requirements for dismissal. Martin Orlick, Chair of JMBM’s ADA Compliance & Defense Group, explains why we should expect these cases to continue in 2021 and what hotels should be...
