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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

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

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Accessibility computer icon button

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

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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

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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

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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

Today, Thursday, May 21, 2020, is the ninth annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD).  The purpose of GAAD is to provide opportunities for conversing, thinking, and learning about digital access and inclusion for people with different disabilities.  There is a ton of useful programming, which may be of interest to businesses’ in-house counsel, accessibility program managers and employees, IT and…
Continue Reading Global Accessibility Awareness Day Educational Events – TODAY! May 21, 2020

By Kristina M. Launey & Minh N. Vu

We’ve sheltered in place and finished our tally.  The numbers are in for total website accessibility lawsuit filings in federal courts in 2019, they show a small decrease from 2018. The total number of website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court (i.e. lawsuits alleging that plaintiffs with a disability could not…
Continue Reading The Curve Has Flattened for Federal Website Accessibility Lawsuits

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By: Minh N. Vu and Samuel Sverdlov

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Purveyors of porn are being sued for offering online videos without closed captioning.

We really can’t make this stuff up. Lawsuits by deaf plaintiffs against public accommodations for failing to provide closed captioning for videos on their websites are not uncommon. But last week, a deaf man sued three porn websites…
Continue Reading Deaf Man Demands Closed Captioning for Porn Videos in Federal Lawsuit

By Kristina M. Launey and Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: Website accessibility lawsuit filings in federal court in 2019 are on track to exceed 2018.  Will we see an increase in filings as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision not to review the Ninth Circuit’s Order in Robles v. Domino’s?

As of June 30, 2019, we counted 1204 website…
Continue Reading Federal Website Access Lawsuit Numbers Increase 7 Percent in 2019, With Possible Bump from Supreme Court Denial of Cert in Domino’s