Successor May Have Standing to Pursue Injunctive Relief for the Deceased

In Saurman v. Peter’s Landing Property Owner, LLC, the California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District reversed a summary judgment and $98,852 sanctions awarded against a husband, a successor to a deceased wife who claimed Americans with Disabilities (“ADA”) Act, Unruh Act, and Disabled Persons Act violations.

In Saurman, the husband, a successor in interest of a disabled person, his wife, who was allegedly killed by an unlawful barrier in a place of public accommodation, sought to recover in a wrongful death lawsuit for alleged ADA violations, violation of state disability access laws, under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Disabled Persons Act (“DPA”) for injunctive relief. Summary Judgment was entered in favor of Defendants for lack of standing and reversed on appeal.

A successor in interest does not have standing in a federal court to bring an ADA claim for injunctive relief. However, the Appellate Court concluded whether a plaintiff has standing to commence an ADA claim in California state court is determined under state law. Here, the Appellate Court found standing in the husband because California Code of Civil Procedure section 377.30(a) expressly states:

A cause of action that survives the death of the person entitled to commence an action . .. passes to the decedent’s successor in interest.

The Unruh Act and the DPA allow plaintiffs to seek injunctive relief. In Saurman, the defendant restaurant and the defendant property owners did not dispute that the premises remained in the same condition as existed at the time of the wife’s fall. Thus, the Appellate Court determined that the husband had standing to seek injunctive relief against the restaurant and property owner.

Should your predecessor die with a claim against a California person or entity arising out violations of the law and you want to enjoin future violations so no one else is injured in the same manner, now there is precedent for doing just that. Seek competent legal advice before you proceed because there are procedural and substantive limits to what a successor can obtain.

The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.