By Lotus Cannon and Minh Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis:  SDNY Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismisses with prejudice a website accessibility lawsuit with vague allegations about plaintiffs’ standing.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has been a highly favored venue for serial plaintiffs bringing website accessibility lawsuits for years – at least in part because many

Continue Reading SDNY Judge Gets Tough on Serial Website Plaintiffs

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

Seyfarth Synopsis: In 2023, the number of ADA Title III lawsuits filed in federal court declined but still exceeded 8,200 for a second year in a row.

From 2013 to 2021, federal court ADA Title III case filings climbed steadily to a staggering 11,452 in 2021.  The number

Continue Reading Plaintiffs Filed More than 8,200 ADA Title III Federal Lawsuits in 2023

By Minh Vu, Kristina Launey, and Susan Ryan

Seyfarth Synopsis: The decline in ADA Title III lawsuits that began in 2022 continues in 2023.  New York remains the filing hotspot.

Continuing the trend discussed in our 2022 blog posts here and here, the number of lawsuits filed in federal courts alleging violations of Title III of the

Continue Reading 2023 Mid-Year Report: ADA Title III Federal Lawsuit Numbers Continue to Decline

By Kristina M. Launey & Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: AB 1757 would adopt WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the de facto standard for websites and mobile apps that can be accessed from California and impose liability for statutory damages on business establishments and website developers.

In a classic gut and amend move mid-way through the Legislative Session, on June

Continue Reading New California Assembly Bill on Website Accessibility Could Result in a Lawsuit Tsunami

By John W. Egan and Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis: New York federal courts have generally been friendly to plaintiffs in website accessibility lawsuits, but a few recent decisions are demanding more of plaintiffs to establish standing.

While federal New York courts (particularly the Southern District) have historically been a friendly jurisdiction for ADA website plaintiffs, there have been

Continue Reading Plaintiff-Friendly New York Courts Change Course in Three Recent Decisions in Website Accessibility Cases

By Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth synopsis:  The opening brief in Acheson Hotels v. Laufer, the first case to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in more than 18 years, was filed today.

Today, Petitioner/Defendant Acheson Hotels LLC filed its opening brief in the first ADA Title III case before SCOTUS in over eighteen years.  In our view, the decision

Continue Reading SCOTUS UPDATE:  Opening Brief Filed in Acheson Hotels v. Laufer

By John W. EganDov 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 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 Minh N. Vu

Seyfarth Synopsis:  The Supreme Court will decide whether to hear its first website accessibility case now that briefing on Domino’s Petition for Certiorari is complete.

Earlier today, Plaintiff Guillermo Robles filed his opposition to Domino’s request to the U.S. Supreme Court for review of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision to let Robles’s lawsuit against
Continue Reading Plaintiff Robles Files His Opposition To Domino’s Petition For Certiorari

By Minh N. Vu and Kristina M. Launey

Domino’s filed its petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court today, June 13, 2019, asking the Court to review and overturn the Ninth Circuit’s decision which allowed a website accessibility lawsuit to proceed against Domino’s.  Domino’s styled the question presented as “Whether Title III of the ADA requires a
Continue Reading Domino’s Files Petition for US Supreme Court Review of Unfavorable Website Access Decision