Appellate Court Concluded That ADA Statute’s Silence On Fee Award Against Plaintiff’s Attorneys Was Dispositive.
Statistically speaking, California state and federal courts (especially federal courts) are inundated with ADA disability lawsuits, many based on Website disabilities for disabled persons. The next case establishes, as far as ADA claims are concerned, dismissals or judgments against an ADA plaintiff, even where the case is deemed frivolous, does not impose an attorney’s fees award against plaintiff’s counsel (as opposed to the plaintiff).
Morgan v. Zarco Hotels Incorporated, Case No. B332319 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Aug. 21, 2024) (unpublished) was a situation where a plaintiff brought an American with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit against hotel for certain alleged website accessibility issues. The defense filed a summary judgment motion complete with a declaration from a hotel accessibility expert showing that the defendant was compliant with respect to a plaintiff using screen reader software (SRS) to navigate the Internet. Plaintiff never opposed the summary judgment motion, choosing to dismiss the case. Among other things, the defense filed a motion to recover attorney’s fees against plaintiff and her attorneys under the ADA fee-shifting statute, which does allow fees to a prevailing defendant if plaintiff’s case is deemed to be frivolous. The lower court denied fees against plaintiff, but it ordered plaintiff’s counsel to pay $55,414.84 in fees to the defendant.
The 2/2 DCA reversed, finding that the ADA fee-shifting provision (42 U.S.C. § 12205) was silent with respect to a fee award against a litigant’s counsel, such that it should not be construed to allow for such recovery, citing to similar cases under the federal civil rights statute, ERISA, Title VII, and the anti-SLAPP statute among others.
Comments