The Legal Loophole Pushing California Businesses Toward Closure | Taha Saleh

The Legal Loophole Pushing California Businesses Toward Closure | Taha Saleh

From California Insider by The Epoch Times

May 14, 2026 · 37 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the impact of ADA lawsuits on California businesses and features insights from various guests on the legal challenges and reforms needed.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was designed to give people with disabilities equal access to public life. In California, home to more ADA lawsuits than any other state, a legal loophole has turned that law into a settlement machine, targeting small businesses, many already in compliance. While the cost to businesses is real, the benefit to people with disabilities is far less clear. Who is the law actually protecting? In this episode, we sit down with Taha Saleh, owner and operator of T.A. Saleh, on what a single lawsuit threat cost him to resolve; Victor Gomez, executive director for California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), on who is being targeted and whether the current system is actually serving people with disabilities; and Roger Niello, state senator, on the reform bill that passed the Senate with nearly no opposition and what it would take to change it. *Views expressed in this video/article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of California Insider.

People in this episode

Host: California Insider

Guests: Taha Saleh, Victor Gomez, Roger Niello

Topics covered

  • ADA lawsuits
  • small business challenges
  • disability rights
  • legal reform
  • California politics

Keywords

  • ADA
  • lawsuits
  • California
  • small business
  • disability access
  • legal loophole
  • reform bill

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, California Insider, The Epoch Times

Books & works: Americans with Disabilities Act

Places: California

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