To amend title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to require, as a precondition to commencing a civil action with respect to a place of public accommodation or a commercial facility, that an opportunity be provided to correct alleged violations, and for other purposes.

April 26, 2001

Mr. INOUYE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

To amend title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to require, as a precondition to commencing a civil action with respect to a place of public accommodation or a commercial facility, that an opportunity be provided to correct alleged violations, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Americans with Disabilities Notification Act'.

SEC. 2. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990; AMENDMENT TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT ALLEGED VIOLATIONS AS PRECONDITION TO CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS AND COMMERCIAL FACILITIES.

Section 308(a)(1) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12188(a)(1)) is amended--

(1) by striking `(1) AVAILABILITY' and all that follows through `The remedies and procedures set forth' and inserting the following:

`(1) AVAILABILITY OF REMEDIES AND PROCEDURES-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the remedies and procedures set forth';

(2) in subparagraph (A) (as designated by paragraph (1)), by striking the second sentence; and

(3) by adding at the end the following subparagraphs:

`(B) OPPORTUNITY FOR CORRECTION OF ALLEGED VIOLATION- A court shall not have jurisdiction over a civil action for which a plaintiff filed a complaint under subparagraph (A) with the court unless--

`(i) before filing the complaint, the plaintiff provided to the defendant in the action notice of the alleged violation, and the notice was provided by registered mail or in person;

`(ii) the notice identified the specific facts that constitute the alleged violation, including identification of the location at which the violation occurred and the date on which the violation occurred;

`(iii) 90 or more days elapsed after the date on which the notice was so provided before the plaintiff filed the complaint;

`(iv) the notice informed the defendant that the civil action could not be commenced until the expiration of such 90-day period; and

`(v) the complaint states that, as of the date on which the complaint is filed, the defendant has not corrected the alleged violation.

`(C) CERTAIN CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR CORRECTION- If a plaintiff files a complaint under subparagraph (A) to bring a civil action, but does not meet the criteria under subparagraph (B) to provide jurisdiction to the court involved, the following shall apply:

`(i) SANCTION- The court shall impose an appropriate sanction on the attorney for the plaintiff (and, notwithstanding the court's lack of jurisdiction over the action, the court shall have jurisdiction to impose and enforce the sanction).

`(ii) ATTORNEY'S FEES AND COSTS- If the plaintiff subsequently meets the criteria and the civil action proceeds, the court may not under section 505 allow the plaintiff any attorneys' fees (including litigation expenses) or costs.'.

END