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By: John W. Egan and Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Two recent New York district court decisions underscore how serial website accessibility plaintiffs are encountering greater challenges to demonstrate their standing to pursue ADA claims in federal court.

SDNY Judge Orders Jurisdictional Discovery

In Fernandez v. Buffalo Jackson Trading Co., LLC, U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan granted the defendant’s…

Continue Reading New York Federal Courts Are Not Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for Serial Plaintiffs in Website Accessibility Lawsuits Anymore

By Kristina M. Launey & Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs filed 2,452 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2024 – a 13% decrease from 2023. 

Website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court fell for the second consecutive year in 2024, with a significant decrease from 2023 filings.  The total number of lawsuits filed in federal court alleging that…

Continue Reading Federal Court Website Accessibility Lawsuit Filings Continue to Decrease in 2024
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By: Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent case from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida illustrates how businesses should handle scenarios where service animals present health risks to others with severe allergies.

We all know that public accommodations must allow service animals accompanying individuals with disabilities onto their premises, but what if doing so places…

Continue Reading Can Businesses Exclude Service Animals Based on the Allergies of Others? 
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By: Lotus Cannon and Kristina Launey

Seyfarth Synopsis: Are web-only businesses subject to Title III? A Minnesota federal court joins the controversy and says yes.

Courts around the country are split on the issue of whether a “place of public accommodation” subject to Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act must have a physical location where it serves the…

Continue Reading Minnesota District Court Says Web-Only Businesses Are Subject to Title III of the ADA

By Minh N. Vu, Kristina Launey, and Susan Ryan

Seyfarth Synopsis: The two-year decline in ADA Title III filings stopped in 2024, with plaintiffs increasing filings back to 8,800 complaints in 2024.

When we first started tracking ADA Title III lawsuits in 2013, the total for the year was only 2,722.  The number climbed steadily to an all-time…

Continue Reading ADA Title III Federal Lawsuit Numbers Rebound to 8,800 in 2024
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By: Pamela C. Huynh, Minh N. Vu and John W. Egan

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Concerned that serial plaintiffs are not actually ensuring that defendants are removing access barriers under their confidential settlement agreements, EDNY Judge Cogan takes charge. 

Be careful what you ask for – that’s the adage that a serial plaintiff and her attorney should have considered before asking…

Continue Reading Serial Plaintiff Seeking to Enforce a Delinquent Settlement Payment Gets a Sharp Judicial Rebuke from EDNY Federal Judge
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By Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: 2024 saw some interesting developments and an uptick in lawsuit filings from 2023; expect less ADA Title III enforcement and rulemaking activity from DOJ in 2025.

The first quarter of this century concluded with yet another busy year for ADA Title III litigation.  While we are still finalizing the numbers, 2024 saw a meaningful…

Continue Reading Our 2024 ADA Title III Recap and Predictions for 2025
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By: Ashley Jenkins and Kristina Launey

Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal court recently held that a football stadium must make reasonable modifications to its seating policy to allow a wheelchair user with a ticket for a non-wheelchair accessible seat access to view the game in person.

The football season is well underway, and a recent decision from a federal California Court…

Continue Reading Football Stadium May Have Fumbled Wheelchair User’s Seating Request, Federal Court Rules
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By: John W. Egan and Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision holding that web-only businesses cannot be sued over the accessibility of their website under the ADA is the first of its kind in the Southern District of New York and may cause forum-shopping serial plaintiffs and their counsel to shift to state court. 

The Chief Judge Laura…

Continue Reading SDNY Chief Judge to ADA Plaintiff: Court Closed for Business to Online-Only ADA Web Cases

By Minh Vu, Kristina Launey and Susan Ryan

Seyfarth Synopsis: The decline in ADA Title III lawsuits that began in 2022 comes to a halt in 2024 and California retakes its mantle of “national filing hotspot.”

ADA Title III filings have decreased each year since 2022.  2024 changes the narrative with an uptick in filings, albeit a small one. …

Continue Reading 2024 Mid-Year Report: ADA Title III Federal Lawsuit Numbers Rebound (A Little)