Seyfarth Synopsis: Three businesses prevail in website accessibility lawsuits in New York and California.
Defending website accessibility lawsuits can be an expensive and difficult battle for public accommodations, but there have been a few bright spots for businesses this summer.
1. On July 14, 2021, Judge Brian Cogan of the United States District Court
Continue Reading Businesses Score a Few Recent Wins in Website Accessibility Lawsuits
By Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: California federal trial court grants summary judgment for plaintiff, finding Domino’s violated the ADA by having a website that is inaccessible to the blind and orders Domino’s bring its website into compliance with the WCAG 2.0 guidelines.
Five years after the lawsuit was first filed, federal district court judge Jesus Bernal ruled on June
Continue Reading Court finds Domino’s Pizza Violated the ADA by Having an Inaccessible Website and Orders WCAG Compliance
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 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
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
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 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
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recently-filed lawsuit contains a lengthy critical report by a digital accessibility consultant of accessibility issues created by an accessibility widget.
Amidst the thousands of lawsuits filed over the past few years alleging business’ websites and mobile apps are not accessible to blind individuals, businesses have scrambled to find ways to make their websites and apps accessible. Often
Continue Reading Criticisms of “Quick-Fix” Website Accessibility Products Highlighted in New Lawsuit
By Minh Vu and Julia Sarnoff
Seyfarth Synopsis: Congressmen Budd and Correa try to address website and mobile app accessibility in a new bill called the “Online Accessibility Act.”
On October 2, 2020, Representatives Lou Correa (D-CA) and Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced a bill called the “Online Accessibility Act” (H.R. 8478) (the “OAA”) which would amend the ADA to add
Continue Reading House Bill Introduced to Require Accessible Consumer Facing Websites and Mobile Apps
By Minh N. Vu
Seyfarth Synopsis: California state courts are becoming an even friendlier jurisdiction for plaintiffs filing lawsuits about allegedly inaccessible websites.
The U.S. Court Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has longstanding precedent that only businesses with a brick and mortar location that customers can physically visit are “public accommodations” covered by Title III of the Americans with Disabilities
Continue Reading A Second California State Court Judge Says the ADA Covers Online-Only Businesses