SACRAMENTO – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein says if California lawmakers don’t act to clamp down on “predatory” disability access lawsuits she may author federal legislation to do just that.

In a March 8 letter to fellow Democrat and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, Feinstein accused plaintiffs lawyers of coercing business owners into paying five-figure settlements by threatening potentially costlier lawsuits targeting minor violations under the state’s access and civil rights laws.