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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1154
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
5684S.02I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapter 537, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to abusive website
access litigation.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 537, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
one new section, to be known as section 537.1250, to read as 2
follows:3
537.1250. 1. (1) This section shall be known and may 1
be cited as the "Act Against Abusive Website Access 2
Litigation". 3
(2) As used in this section, the following terms mean: 4
(a) "Access violation", any allegation that a public 5
accommodation fails to comply with the accessibility 6
requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act 7
or under state law; 8
(b) "Public accommodation", the same as defined in 42 9
U.S.C. Section 2000, et seq. For the purposes of this 10
section, "public accommodation" includes a website operated 11
by a resident of this state; 12
(c) "Resident of this state", any individual residing 13
in Missouri or any entity that has registered with the 14
Missouri secretary of state's office under chapter 351. 15
2. (1) The attorney general, on behalf of a class of 16
residents of this state under section 507.070 who are 17
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subject to litigation that alleges any website access 18
violation and any resident of this state who is subject to 19
litigation that alleges any website access violation, may 20
file a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction 21
within this state against the party, attorney, or law firm 22
that initiated such litigation for a determination as to 23
whether such litigation alleging a website access violation 24
is abusive litigation. 25
(2) A civil action alleging a website access claim is 26
considered abusive only if, based on the totality of the 27
circumstances, the court finds that the primary purpose of 28
the action was to obtain a monetary settlement unrelated to 29
improving accessibility or enforcing accessibility rights. 30
In making this determination, the court may consider: 31
(a) Whether the same plaintiff, attorney, or law firm 32
has filed a high number of substantially similar lawsuits 33
without meaningful efforts to resolve or improve 34
accessibility; 35
(b) Whether the plaintiff provided the defendant with 36
reasonable notice and an opportunity to correct the alleged 37
barrier prior to filing suit; 38
(c) Any history of sanctions or findings of bad faith 39
against the plaintiff or counsel; 40
(d) Whether the filing party or lawyer filing the 41
litigation is a resident of this state or is licensed to 42
practice law in this state; 43
(e) The nature of settlement discussions and the 44
reasonableness of settlement offers and refusals to settle. 45
The application of such settlement information shall be used 46
only as provided by this section and shall not otherwise 47
alter the rules of evidence applicable to such court; and 48
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(f) Whether any factors under Missouri supreme court 49
rule 55.03(c) exist in the litigation and whether sanctions 50
are appropriate under Missouri supreme court rule 55.03(d). 51
(3) A defendant who receives written notice of an 52
alleged website accessibility violation and in good faith 53
initiates substantial steps to correct it within ninety days 54
shall have a rebuttable presumption that any subsequent 55
litigation is not abusive. The presumption may be overcome 56
by showing that the defendant failed to complete reasonable 57
corrective measures within ninety days or acted in bad 58
faith. The trier of fact shall not determine whether such 59
litigation is abusive litigation until after such ninety-day 60
period expires or the alleged violation is corrected, as 61
determined by the court, whichever occurs first. 62
3. The attorney general may intervene or bring an 63
action on behalf of Missouri residents or entities that are 64
the targets of abusive website access litigation as defined 65
in this section. The attorney general may also issue 66
guidance or determinations clarifying when litigation 67
practices are deemed abusive, but such determinations shall 68
not preclude legitimate accessibility enforcement actions. 69
4. If the trier of fact determines that an initiator 70
of an action under subsection 2 of this section is a 71
defendant in abusive litigation, the court may award 72
reasonable attorney's fees and costs in bringing the action 73
under subsection 2 of this section as well as defending 74
against the abusive litigation to be paid by the party 75
bringing the abusive litigation. In addition, the court may 76
award punitive damages or sanctions not to exceed three 77
times the amount of attorney's fees awarded by the court. 78
5. At the conclusion of the litigation alleging a 79
website access violation, the court shall review any 80
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determination that such litigation is abusive and any award 81
of attorney's fees under the Missouri rules of professional 82
conduct to determine the reasonableness of the award before 83
issuing a judgment. 84
6. If the federal Department of Justice issues 85
standards concerning website accessibility under Title III 86
of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, the attorney 87
general shall notify the revisor of statutes that such 88
standards have been issued. Upon receipt of such 89
notification by the revisor, the provisions of this section 90
shall expire. 91
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