If served with an ADA lawsuit in California, do not contact the plaintiff and call defense counsel immediately. The response window is short and differs between federal court (shorter) and California state court. Early-stage moves — standing challenges under Calcano, a Cot'N Wash defense for pure e-commerce, supplemental-jurisdiction declines under Arroyo, and documented good-faith remediation — can materially change the outcome.
If you've been targeted by an ADA lawsuit, you have three possible responses: ignore it, settle it, or fight it.
Simple, expensive, and exactly what the other side wants. If you don't respond, the plaintiff will ask the court for an "entry of default", often within a week of the answer deadline, which itself is less than a month from the date you were served. The court then issues a judgment based only on what the plaintiff's lawyer has filed.
That judgment typically has three parts: $4,000 in statutory damages to the disabled plaintiff, attorney's fees ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 depending on the firm and the case, and a court order requiring you to repair the alleged barriers within a specific time. This is the worst possible outcome, most money paid, plus mandatory repairs no matter the cost. Many business owners still choose this path by burying their heads in the sand.
This is how plaintiff firms make their money. Most ADA cases settle for $3,000–$5,000. A handful of aggressive firms hold out for more, $7,000 typically, sometimes $9,000–$10,000. As part of the settlement, the plaintiff usually demands repairs, often with a six-month timeline.
The advantage of settlement is certainty: predictable cost, defined ending. Many plaintiff firms will accept payment plans. They also don't always follow up on the repair demand, which sounds good but is dangerous, because the property remains exposed to a follow-up lawsuit. Some businesses have faced multiple suits in the same year for that reason.
Changes in California law have opened up a fast, cost-effective path to fight these cases and win, but you'll have to pay your own attorney's fees. Most lawyers don't understand how to litigate accessibility cases efficiently and quote a price based on a normal court case: $10,000, $20,000, or more. Compared to a $5,000 settlement, that math doesn't work, so most clients reluctantly settle.
We've built our practice around running these cases efficiently. We can fight, and win, these cases for less than the cost of settlement.
Whatever you choose, you have a hard deadline: 21 days in federal court, 30 days in state court. Don't wait. Call us for a free consultation and we'll lay out the realistic options for your specific case.
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