By: Ashley S. Jenkins and Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: Hotels have been fighting a tsunami of hotel reservations website lawsuits with good results so far.
In the past few years, a dozen or so plaintiffs represented by a handful of law firms have sued many hundreds of hotels for allegedly not providing enough accessibility information about their accessible rooms
Continue Reading A Status Update on Hotel Reservations Website Lawsuits
By Lotus Cannon and Minh vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: After holding a consolidated evidentiary hearing, District Judge Brenda K. Sannes concluded that Plaintiff Deborah Laufer did not have standing to bring 17 lawsuits alleging that hotels failed to provide adequate accessibility information on their online reservations systems.
Last month, June 2021, Judge Sannes of the Northern District of New York dismissed
Continue Reading NY Federal Judge Puts the Kibosh on 17 Reservations Website Lawsuits Filed by Same Plaintiff
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent order from the Eleventh Circuit signals that the court is seriously considering a rehearing in Gil v. Winn-Dixie.
As previously reported, the Eleventh Circuit made waves recently overturning a 2018 Florida federal court’s trial verdict ruling that Winn Dixie’s inaccessible website violated the ADA. On April 15, the plaintiff filed a Petition
Continue Reading Winn Dixie Saga Continues: Eleventh Circuit Actively Considering Rehearing Request
Seyfarth Synopsis: A second California Court of Appeal rules that websites with a nexus to a physical place of business are covered by Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, while a California trial court insists that online-only websites are covered as well, contradicting the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
On June 18, 2020, the California
Continue Reading California State Courts Continue to Issue Pro-Plaintiff Decisions in Website Accessibility Cases
By Kevin Fritz
Seyfarth Synopsis:The Northern District of New York sees far fewer ADA Title III lawsuits than its Eastern and Southern counterparts and apparently has no patience for serial plaintiffs with flimsy boilerplate filings.
Judge Brenda Sannes of the Northern District of New York is apparently not going to let serial plaintiffs and their lawyers get judgments in their
Continue Reading Northern District of New York Orders Serial Plaintiff to Justify Standing in Over 27 Separate Hotel Reservations Website Lawsuits
By Kevin Fritz and Latoya Liang
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a recent decision, the Seventh Circuit agreed with the Fourth Circuit in holding that a plaintiff who is legally barred from using a credit union’s services cannot demonstrate an injury in fact that can support standing to sue.
The plaintiff in Carello v. Aurora Policeman Credit Union, a blind man,
Continue Reading The Seventh Circuit Holds “Indignation” Is Not an Injury-In-Fact
By Minh N. Vu and Kristina M. Launey
Domino’s filed its petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court today, June 13, 2019, asking the Court to review and overturn the Ninth Circuit’s decision which allowed a website accessibility lawsuit to proceed against Domino’s. Domino’s styled the question presented as “Whether Title III of the ADA requires a
Continue Reading Domino’s Files Petition for US Supreme Court Review of Unfavorable Website Access Decision
By: Kristina M. Launey and Samuel Sverdlov
Seyfarth Synopsis: A SDNY judge dismissed a website accessibility lawsuit finding that the company mooted the allegations in the complaint by remediating the accessibility barriers and that the Court lacked personal jurisdiction since the company does not transact business in New York.
New York federal courts are a hotbed for ADA Title III
Continue Reading SDNY Dismisses Website Accessibility Lawsuit Based on Mootness and Lack of Personal Jurisdiction
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Transportation says that an airline’s provision of an accessible alternative website violates the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), so are such websites an acceptable means of providing access under the ADA?
In response to the onslaught of website accessibility lawsuits against public accommodations covered by Title III of the ADA, some website accessibility consulting companies
Continue Reading Airline’s Provision of Alternative Accessible Website Triggers Hefty Fine Under the Air Carrier Access Act
Seyfarth Synopsis: DOJ’s response to members of Congress about the explosion in website accessibility lawsuits contains some helpful guidance for public accommodations fighting these claims.
As we reported in June, 103 members of the House of Representatives from both parties asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “state publicly that private legal action under the ADA with respect to websites is
Continue Reading DOJ Says Failure to Comply With Web Accessibility Guidelines is Not Necessarily a Violation of the ADA