Seyfarth Synopsis: Trump Administration’s first Unified Agenda reveals DOJ has placed web accessibility, medical equipment, and furniture rulemakings under Title II and III of the ADA on Inactive List.
Federal agencies typically provide public notice of the regulations that are under development twice a year in the Unified Regulatory Agenda. The first Agenda the Trump Administration issued, which went
Continue Reading DOJ Places Website Rulemaking on the “Inactive” List
Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal judge in the Central District of California has allowed a blind plaintiff to continue his lawsuit about the accessibility of a public accommodation’s website under Title III of the ADA, despite the diametrically opposite views of his Central District colleague.
Within a week after a Florida federal judge handed down a trial verdict finding that Winn
Continue Reading Plaintiffs Score Another Victory in a Website Accessibility Lawsuit
Seyfarth Synopsis: Today’s first impression trial verdict finding retailer Winn-Dixie liable under Title III of the ADA for having an inaccessible website suggests that public accommodations should focus on their website accessibility efforts now.
As we reported yesterday, Florida federal District Court Judge Robert Scola last week presided over the first trial in the history of the ADA about
Continue Reading First Federal Court Rules That Having An Inaccessible Website Violates Title III Of The ADA
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recent guidance from the U.S. Access Board makes it more difficult for businesses to argue that the Accessible Icon constitutes “equivalent facilitation” under the ADA, even though jurisdictions such as New York and Connecticut require the use of this alternative disability access symbol.
As we previously reported, New York State and more recently, Connecticut, passed legislation
Continue Reading Accessible Icon Update: New Federal Guidance Deepens Quandary for Businesses Facing Contradictory State Requirements
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two Florida federal district court judges require websites to have a “nexus” to a physical location for coverage under Title III of the ADA, but a third judge requires more.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes Florida, Alabama, and Georgia) has yet to decide whether and to what extent Title III of the ADA applies to
Continue Reading Florida Courts Rule ADA Covers Websites With Nexus To Physical Store
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two recent decisions by federal judges to dismiss website accessibility lawsuits may cause more public accommodations to fight instead of settle these suits, but businesses must continue to weigh many factors before making that decision.
The litigation tide might be turning for public accommodations choosing to fight lawsuits brought by blind individuals claiming that the businesses’ websites
Continue Reading Public Accommodations are Starting to Win Website Accessibility Lawsuits
Seyfarth Synopsis: Fewer online videos from UC Berkeley will be available to the public as a result of a DOJ demand that the videos have closed captioning.
Starting March 15, 2017, more than 20,000 videos of classroom lectures and podcasts on UC Berkeley’s YouTube and iTunes channels will no longer be available for public viewing, according to a recent statement
Continue Reading UC Berkeley To Remove More Than 20,000 Online Videos From Public Access In Response To DOJ Captioning Demand
Seyfarth Synopsis: An executive order from President Trump will likely halt the Justice Department’s public accommodations website rulemaking.
President Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ) had stated that proposed regulations for public accommodations websites would be issued in 2018—eight years after the agency began its rulemaking process. The likelihood of such a proposed regulation being issued now is virtually non-existent.
Among
Continue Reading Executive Order Likely Dooms Website Regulations for Public Accommodations
Seyfarth synopsis: A Florida Judge Holds that SeaWorld’s website is not a place of public accommodation covered by Title III of the ADA but the decision has its limits.
Defendants fighting website accessibility lawsuits in the past several years have not had a great deal of success, so the recent decision by Florida federal Magistrate Judge Carol Mirando holding that
Continue Reading Florida Federal Court Holds That a Website is Not a Place of Public Accommodation
Seyfarth Synopsis: Fighting a web accessibility lawsuit could invite DOJ’s intervention, as did a Florida retailer’s recent Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings.
Fighting a website accessibility lawsuit is very tempting to many frustrated businesses, but can be a risky decision. One such risk – Department of Justice intervention in the lawsuit – came to fruition for one such business
Continue Reading A Cautionary Tale: DOJ Intervenes in Another Web Accessibility Lawsuit