<P> Since the passage of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, disability access violations count among the practices that run afoul of the Unruh act . Combined with the California Disabled Persons Acts, disability access plaintiffs are allowed to tack on state claims for money damages onto requests for injunctive relief in ADA lawsuits . The act allows plaintiffs to claim treble damages with a minimum of $4000 per access violation plus attorneys fees . In most states, plaintiffs are entitled to only injunctive relief, having the disability access issue fixed . As a result of the damages claimed under Unruh Act, California accounts for 42% of all ADA litigation nationwide . However, in California, damages may be reduced in certain cases to $2,000 or $1,000 if construction related accessibility violations are corrected within 30--60 days of being served with a complaint . </P> <P> There was a proposed change, S.B. 242, that would have added use of language to the list of protected statuses . However, this bill was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger . </P>

Unruh civil rights act (section 51 of the civil code)