ada

Domino Effect: Will SCOTUS Refusal to Hear ADA Website Case Yield Flood of Litigation?

October 9, 2019 by David Klein

October 9, 2019

On October 7, 2019, the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in the matter of Domino’s Pizza LLC v. Robles. This case involves an Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) claim in which Mr. Guillermo Robles, a blind man, filed a lawsuit against Domino’s Pizza LLC (“Domino’s”) because its website and mobile application (“app”) was inaccessible to him via his screen-reader software. The ADA website accessibility case is now expected to proceed to trial.

What is the Significance of the Supreme Court’s Denial for Other ADA Website Accessibility Cases?

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Website Accessibility Lawsuits Abound

August 21, 2019 by David Klein

August 21, 2019

Website accessibility lawsuits (i.e., lawsuits alleging discrimination on the basis that websites contain access barriers that limit navigation for disabled people) increased 177% percent from 2017 to 2018 alone. These website accessibility lawsuits have been brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability “in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods [and] services . . . of any place of public accommodation.” The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has recently affirmed its position that websites are places of public accommodation. On the litigation front, there is a split of opinion among federal courts as to whether a website alone (i.e., one not connected to a brick-and-mortar store) is a place of public accommodation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, regardless of where a company is located, all entities with an online presence should build/review their websites with an eye directed towards ADA compliance.

Why has the number of website accessibility lawsuits increased so exponentially? [Read More]

Website Accessibility Lawsuit Calls Foul on the Miami Heat

August 2, 2018 by David Klein

August 2, 2018

A Florida man has brought a class action lawsuit against the Miami Heat Limited Partnership (“Miami Heat”) for violating Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Andres Gomez, the Plaintiff named in the website accessibility lawsuit against the Miami Heat, is alleging that, as a blind man, the Miami Heat’s online store does not provide him with full accessibility.

What can your business do to prevent website accessibility lawsuits?

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W3C Updates Website Accessibility Standards

June 12, 2018 by David Klein

June 12, 2018

website-accessibility — Website Accessibility Standards

For the past four years, the World Wide Web Consortium (“W3C”) has been working to update version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) in order to keep pace with rapid developments in the technology space. On June 5, 2018, W3C published version 2.1 of the WCAG, adding seventeen additional criteria to address accessibility barriers, mainly related to mobile devices and disabilities that affect visual and cognitive functions. As website accessibility standards continue to evolve, businesses must spend considerable time and money in an effort to limit their liability in the face of increasing “surf-by” lawsuits.

What do these updates mean for website and mobile app operators?

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Website ADA Lawsuit Ruling Denies Telephone Auxiliary Aid Defense, but Limits Damages

June 7, 2018 by David Klein

June 7, 2018

website-ada-lawsuit — Website ADA Lawsuit

On May 21, 2018, a California state court granted summary judgment to plaintiff Cheryl Thurston (“Plaintiff”) in a website accessibility lawsuit brought under California’s Unruh Act, which provides that a violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) is also a violation of the Unruh Act. Plaintiff, a resident of California who is legally blind, filed this website ADA lawsuit against a restaurant, the Midvale Corporation d/b/a The Whisper Lounge (“Whisper Lounge”), in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles (BC663214). In its decision, the court awarded Plaintiff statutory damages in the amount of $4,000.00 and ordered the Whisper Lounge to comply with the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”) 2.0 AA.

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ADA Lawsuit Dismissed as Moot

May 3, 2018 by David Klein

May 3, 2018

Last month, a federal district court in the Commonwealth of Virginia granted a motion to dismiss (based, in part, on mootness grounds), in a website accessibility lawsuit brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). This ADA lawsuit was filed by Keith Carroll (“Plaintiff”), a resident of Virginia who is legally blind, against New People’s Bank, Inc. (“NPB”) in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia (1:17-cv-44).

How can a defendant in an ADA lawsuit moot a plaintiff’s claims?

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Website ADA Lawsuits and Personal Jurisdiction

March 30, 2018 by David Klein

March 30, 2018

Last week, a federal district court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts denied a motion to dismiss based on personal jurisdiction in a website accessibility lawsuit brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). This website ADA lawsuit was filed by Massachusetts resident, Stephen Théberge (“Théberge”), who is legally blind, along with Access Now and R. David New (collectively “Plaintiffs”), against defendant Sportswear, Inc. (“Sportswear”) in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (1:17-cv-11211-NMG).

What Amount of Contacts is Sufficient to Survive a Personal Jurisdiction Motion to Dismiss?

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1-800-Flowers.Com Sued in Website Accessibility Lawsuit

March 7, 2018 by David Klein

March 7, 2018

Recently, a federal district court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts refused to dismiss a website accessibility lawsuit against 1-800-Flowers.com brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by Access Now on behalf of three plaintiffs who are legally blind. The plaintiffs sued in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (1:17-cv-10273-IT) and alleged that the blind and visually impaired were denied equal access to sixteen (16) websites owned or operated by 1-800-Flowers.com.

How did 1-800-Flowers.Com Allegedly Violate the ADA?

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