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The most plaintiff-friendly state regime in the United States. Statutory damages of $4,000 per visit make California the dominant venue for digital accessibility lawsuits.
Statute: Unruh Civil Rights Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 51) + California Disabled Persons Act
Minimum statutory damages of $4,000 per offense (per visit) plus attorneys' fees and injunctive relief.
Unruh adopts the ADA standard. WCAG 2.1 AA is the de facto benchmark courts apply.
Federal ADA still applies in addition to California state law.
Any ADA Title III violation is automatically a violation of the Unruh Act. That sounds technical but the consequence is huge: a plaintiff who wins on an ADA claim is entitled to a minimum of $4,000 in statutory damages per offense, plus attorneys' fees — without proving any actual harm. Most plaintiffs allege multiple visits, which multiplies the recovery.
Any person — including 'tester' plaintiffs who visit a website with the express purpose of evaluating accessibility. California courts have repeatedly upheld tester standing, in contrast to several federal circuits.
Both state court (Superior Court) and federal court (Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California). Filings have been split roughly 60/40 federal-to-state in recent years.
California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 425.50–425.55 require plaintiffs filing more than 10 construction-related accessibility cases per year to file a verified complaint and pay a $1,000 fee per case. Designed to deter abusive serial litigation.
Standing challenges (geographic proximity, intent to return), bona-fide-remediation arguments, and arbitration clauses where applicable. Standing is harder for defendants to win in California state court than in federal court.
Whatever the local statute says, the technical baseline is WCAG 2.1 AA. A 60-second axe-core scan will tell you where you stand.
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