Having an ADA Evaluation with a schedule to cure, prepared by the owner, for addressing any non-compliant item(s), shows that you are proactive and are making a “good faith effort to comply”, which is a huge plus if a ADA civil action is filed against your facility.

Why An ADA Evaluation

The following is why you should retain an Architect/ADA Specialist to perform an ADA Evaluation on your property:

• Compliance with your local jurisdiction’s ADA building code, may not be in full compliance with the Federal or State ADA law; however if your local jurisdiction’s ADA building code is more restrictive than the Federal ADA law, you are required to follow the most restrictive of the two.

• Small businesses are usually the target for the attorneys who file, what has become known as “drive by civil actions”. This term is used because these civil actions typically focus on a facility’s parking lot, without specifics. Parking lot violations are the “low hanging fruit”, and one can usually find at least one non-conforming item on a site.

• The cost to defend an ADA civil action is usually significant, due to the expense of retaining an architect/ADA Specialist and an attorney to gather information to confirm or disprove the alleged violations. It is less costly to settle the civil action out of court and fix any violations than to fight the civil action.

• These nuisance civil actions are a real problem. There was a single attorney who has filed over 1,700 ADA civil actions against commercial and retail properties in the valley in  2016 alone. How long will it be before your facility will be on that list?

• There are three ways to achieve compliance; 1) a self-evaluation of your facility, 2) retain an architect/ADA Specialist to do an ADA Evaluation for your facility, or 3) wait for a civil action to be filed against your facility, and then address any non-complying item(s). The best way to avoid, or substantially reduce the cost of an ADA civil action, is to insure that your facility is in full compliance with the Federal and State ADA law and your local jurisdiction’s current ADA building code.