NFIB: CA Supreme Court Ruling on AED’s is a Win for Small Business
www.NFIB.com
For Immediate Release
Contact: Michelle Orrock, [email protected]
NFIB: CA Supreme Court Ruling on AED’s is a Win for Small Business
Washington, D.C., June 23, 2014 – John Kabateck, NFIB CA Executive Director, made the following statement in response to the Supreme Court of California’s decision in the case Verdugo v. Target. NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center previously joined with the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) in filing an amicus brief in this case, urging the Court to reject the Plaintiffs’ attempt to require California businesses to have and maintain Automated External Defibrillators (“AED”) on their premises.
“All small businesses have a strong incentive to provide customers with a safe environment. Employers understand that in order to keep the customers they have, and attract new ones, they must ensure that their businesses remain safe for patrons. And it’s well established that businesses must avoid creating dangerous conditions that might cause an injury to someone. But in this case the Plaintiffs were asking the California Supreme Court to impose new duties on employers—going beyond anything the Legislature has ever required.
Had they succeeded in convincing the Court that businesses must have and maintain AEDs on site, the decision would have invited potential law suits against any business that fails to acquire an AED. That would only contribute to over-litigation, which has become a systemic problem in California. We are pleased that today the Court decided to side with California’s small businesses—a decision that avoids new and unprecedented burdens and liabilities for our state’s entrepreneurs.”
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The NFIB Small Business Legal Center is a 501(c)(3) organization created to protect the rights of America’s small business owners by providing advisory material on legal issues and by ensuring that the voice of small business is heard in the nation’s courts. The National Federation of Independent Business is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals
