By John W. Egan, Dov Kesselman, and Ashley S. Jenkins
A recent “Dear Colleague” letter issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education (OCR) places colleges and universities on notice of recent enforcement activities under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section
Continue Reading OCR and DOJ Send A Message to Higher Ed: Make Your Websites Accessible
By John W. Egan and Ashley S. Jenkins
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Kansas law will allow resident businesses to sue ADA website plaintiffs and their counsel over “abusive” litigation to recover defense fees and potentially punitive damages.
The Kansas legislature recently passed The Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation that, starting on July 1, 2023, will allow Kansas businesses to sue
Continue Reading New Kansas Website Accessibility Law Provides Local Businesses With A Litigation Sword
By Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth synopsis: A New York federal judge invokes the All Writs Act to dismiss a later-filed website accessibility lawsuit against the same defendant to protect the integrity of an existing consent decree that already requires the defendant to make its website accessible.
Businesses that are sued under Title III of the ADA for allegedly having a
Continue Reading A Consent Decree Can Provide Some Protection Against Future Website Accessibility Lawsuits
By Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: SCOTUS grants certiorari on an ADA Title III case for the first time in 18 years to resolve a circuit split on whether an ADA plaintiff has standing to sue without having any intention of frequenting the business.
“Does a self-appointed Americans with Disabilities Act ‘tester’ have Article III standing to challenge a place
Continue Reading SCOTUS Agrees to Resolve A Circuit Split on Tester Standing in ADA Title III Cases
By Lotus Cannon and Minh Vu
Seyfarth synopsis: Leading the country with 3,173 federal ADA Title III lawsuits in 2022, plaintiff-friendly court decisions will likely keep New York in the top spot.
It is no surprise that New York has become the nation’s leader in ADA Title III and website accessibility litigation, bypassing California by a substantial margin in
Continue Reading New York Continues to Be a Friendly Venue for ADA Title III Plaintiffs
By Ashley Jenkins & Minh Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: After ten years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) finally issued a report on the accessibility of federal government websites which exposes widespread accessibility barriers.
The adage, “Do as I Say, Not as I Do” seems to be the motto of the federal government when it comes to compliance with digital accessibility standards.
Continue Reading Long Overdue Report Shows Deficient Accessibility for Many Federal WebsitesBy Minh Vu, Kristina Launey and Susan Ryan
Seyfarth Synopsis: The number of ADA Title III lawsuits filed in federal court dropped by 24 percent, the lowest since 2017, and California is no longer the epicenter.
ADA Title III case filings in federal court had been on a sharp upward trajectory since we started compiling these statistics in 2013.
Continue Reading ADA Title III Federal Lawsuits Numbers Are Down But Likely To Rebound in 2023
By John W. Egan and Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: Under a new Consent Decree with the DOJ, 24 Arizona eye surgery centers can no longer require patients with mobility disabilities to pay for third-party services to transfer them on and off operating tables, must pay $1M in damages and penalties, and implement comprehensive ADA policies and training.
Continue Reading Eye Surgery Centers to Pay $1M in Damages and Penalties to Resolve Alleged ADA ViolationsBy Kristina M. Launey & Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs filed 3,225 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2022 – a 12% increase over 2021.
2022 was another record setting year for website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court. The total number of lawsuits filed in federal court alleging that plaintiffs with a disability could not use websites
Continue Reading Plaintiffs Set a New Record for Website Accessibility Lawsuit Filings in 2022
By Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: UC Berkeley and the DOJ resolve an 8-year investigation with a comprehensive Consent Decree that requires UC Berkeley to make virtually all the content on its online platforms accessible to people with disabilities within three years and adopt comprehensive policies and procedures to ensure accessible online content.
After eight years, the U.S. Department of
Continue Reading UC Berkeley Enters Into Consent Decree with DOJ About Its Websites and Other Online Content