ADA Title III

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By Eden Anderson

Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal judge precluded the plaintiff from multiplying his statutory damages under the Unruh Act by his alleged number of visits to the defendant’s business.

California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act (“Unruh Act”) provides for the recovery of the greater of actual damages or $4,000 in statutory damages for “each particular occasion” of access denial.  (Civil…
Continue Reading Federal Judge Rejects Plaintiff’s Attempt to Inflate Unruh Act Statutory Damages by Making Multiple Visits to Business

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By Kristina Launey

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

By the Seyfarth ADA Title III Specialty Team

Seyfarth Synopsis:  The Seyfarth ADA Title III Specialty Team shares thirty tips for how to provide great service to people with disabilities in three fun and informative videos.

Celebrate Global Disability Awareness Day by learning more about how to provide a great experience for your customers with disabilities!  Our popular three-part video…
Continue Reading Commemorate Global Disability Awareness Day By Getting Useful Tips on How to Better Serve Customers with Disabilities

By Kristina M. Launey & Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: ADA Title III website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal courts in 2020 jumped a surprising 12% over 2019, in spite of a mid-year pandemic dip in filings.

The numbers are in for total website accessibility lawsuit filings in federal courts in 2020, and to our surprise they show a…
Continue Reading Federal Website Accessibility Lawsuits Increased in 2020 Despite Mid-Year Pandemic Lull

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By Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis:  The Eleventh Circuit’s much-anticipated decision in Gil v. Winn Dixie sets a higher bar for plaintiffs in website accessibility lawsuits and creates a conflict among judicial circuits that could result in Supreme Court review; Gil promptly filed a Petition for Rehearing en banc.

After two and a half years of deliberation, the Court of…
Continue Reading Eleventh Circuit Says Winn Dixie’s Inaccessible Website Does Not Violate The ADA

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Congressmen Budd, Hudson, and Correa reintroduce the Online Accessibility Act which would govern the application of the ADA to websites and mobile applications.

By Kristina M. Launey

On February 18, 2021, U.S. Representatives Ted Budd (R-NC), Richard Hudson (R-NC), and Lou Correa (D-CA) re-introduced the Online Accessibility Act in Congress as H.R. 1100. The bill would codify the…
Continue Reading Renewed Attempt at ADA Web Accessibility Legislation

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By Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth synopsis:  California District Judges are not convinced that hotel reservations websites have to provide detailed accessibility information.

As we reported last month, a plaintiff’s firm in California that calls itself the Center for Disability Access has filed on behalf of fewer than 10 plaintiffs nearly 500 lawsuits against hotels in California claiming that the…
Continue Reading CA Reservations Website Litigation Update: More Cases Dismissed and Three Appeals Filed

By Minh Vu, Kristina Launey, and Susan Ryan

Seyfarth Synopsis: ADA Title III lawsuits filed in 2020 fell slightly from last year’s high, but still topped 10,000 for the second time since we started tracking these lawsuits in 2013.

Maybe it was adjusting to working from home, overseeing children during the work day, or just the shock…
Continue Reading The Pandemic Slowed 2020 Federal ADA Title III Filings But 2021 May Be a Record Breaker

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By Eden Anderson

Seyfarth Synopsis: Ninth Circuit concludes in trilogy of disability access cases that complaints must specifically allege unlawful conditions.

Over the years, ADA Title III complaints filed by the plaintiff’s bar have gotten progressively more vague with respect to the barriers alleged.  This is no coincidence: Some have stated outright that they keep those allegations vague so businesses…
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Makes Clear In Trilogy of Decisions That Disability Access Complaints Without Specific Barrier Allegations Will Be Dismissed

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By Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth synopsis:  A federal judge dismisses the first two of hundreds of pending lawsuits filed against hotels for allegedly not providing enough accessibility information on their reservations websites.

Last fall, a prolific plaintiff’s firm in California began filing lawsuits against hundreds of hotels in California on behalf of seven plaintiffs.  The plaintiffs alleged that the information…
Continue Reading Two Hotels Secure Dismissals of Hotel Reservations Website Lawsuits Brought by California Serial Plaintiffs’ Firm