Seyfarth Synopsis: Florida's
recently-enacted House Bill 727 gives businesses a way to deter
serial plaintiffs from suing them in Florida courts.
Watching businesses deal with the at least 1,663 ADA Title III
access suits filed in federal court in Florida in 2016 motivated
Florida legislators to take action with House Bill 727 ("HB
727") which went into effect on July 1, 2017. One of
bill's sponsors, Rep. Tom Leek, claims that "[t]his law give the ADA
back to the people for whom it was written, Americans with
disabilities." We are not quite so optimistic.
Under HB 727, a business that hires a "qualified
expert" to inspect its premises to either verify conformity
with ADA facilities access requirements, or to develop a compliance
plan, can have that information considered in a lawsuit filed in a
court within the state of Florida, provided that the certificate of
conformity or remediation plan has been filed with the Department
of Business and Professional Regulation
