[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13932]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     FREEZING OUT DRIVE-BY LAWSUITS

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Arctic Circle in Eureka, California, 
used to be a place where you could get a great burger and a cold 
milkshake. But not anymore thanks to a lawsuit. A serial plaintiff 
alleged that their counters were too high and their doors were not 
quite wide enough. So without a chance to fix the alleged infractions, 
the drive-by lawsuit shuttered the doors of Arctic Circle.
  The Americans with Disabilities Act has made tremendous progress in 
increasing accessibility. But small businesses across America are being 
targeted by serial plaintiffs who troll for minor, correctable ADA 
infractions. If the business had notice, they could cure the problem 
rather than pay the shakedown by the lawyers.
  My bill, the ADA Reform Act, requires businesses to be notified of an 
alleged violation and be given time to fix the issue before a lawsuit 
can commence. If businesses fail to correct the infractions, the 
plaintiff can and should sue.
  It is time to stop attorneys from lining their pocketbooks off the 
backs of disabled Americans and small businesses in our country.
  And that is just the way it is.

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