Section 423.4 Of Title 11.7. California Freedom Of Access To Clinic And Church Entrances Act From California Penal Code >> Title 11.7. >> Part 1.
423.4
. (a) A person aggrieved by a violation of Section 423.2 may
bring a civil action to enjoin the violation, for compensatory and
punitive damages, and for the costs of suit and reasonable fees for
attorneys and expert witnesses, except that only a reproductive
health services client, provider, or assistant may bring an action
under subdivision (a), (c), or (e) of Section 423.2, and only a
person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment
right of religious freedom in a place of religious worship, or the
entity that owns or operates a place of religious worship, may bring
an action under subdivision (b), (d), or (f) of Section 423.2. With
respect to compensatory damages, the plaintiff may elect, at any time
prior to the rendering of a final judgment, to recover, in lieu of
actual damages, an award of statutory damages in the amount of one
thousand dollars ($1,000) per exclusively nonviolent violation, and
five thousand dollars ($5,000) per any other violation, for each
violation committed.
(b) The Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney
may bring a civil action to enjoin a violation of Section 423.2, for
compensatory damages to persons aggrieved as described in subdivision
(a) and for the assessment of a civil penalty against each
respondent. The civil penalty shall not exceed two thousand dollars
($2,000) for an exclusively nonviolent first violation, and fifteen
thousand dollars ($15,000) for any other first violation, and shall
not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for an exclusively
nonviolent subsequent violation, and twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) for any other subsequent violation. In imposing civil
penalties pursuant to this subdivision, the court shall consider a
prior violation of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances
Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 248), or a prior violation of a statute
of another jurisdiction that would constitute a violation of Section
423.2 or the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of
1994, to be a prior violation of Section 423.2.
(c) No person shall be found liable under this section for conduct
in violation of Section 423.2 done on a particular occasion where
the identical conduct on that occasion was the basis for a finding of
liability by that person under the federal Freedom of Access to
Clinic Entrances Act of 1994 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 248).