On May 21, a California state court in Los Angeles held on summary judgment that the Whisper Lounge restaurant violated California’s Unruh Act by having a website that could not be used by a blind person with a screen reader, and ordered the restaurant to make its website comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level 2.0 AA. The
Continue Reading CA Court Rules Unruh Act Requires Website to Conform to WCAG 2.0 AA, But Denies Damages for Multiple Visits to Website
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs who pursued numerous web accessibility actions under Title III of the ADA are now using website accessibility to test the limits of a different area of law – employment law – California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Over the past few years, we have frequently written about the proliferation of demand letters and lawsuits alleging that a
Continue Reading Beyond Title III: Website Accessibility Lawsuits Filed Alleging Inaccessible Online Employment Applications
By Minh N. Vu and Kristina M. Launey
Although “drive-by” ADA Title III lawsuits alleging physically inaccessible public accommodations facilities will continue to be a mainstay for the plaintiff’s bar, a new type of lawsuit has recently emerged: The “surf-by” lawsuit. In the past month, we have seen an onslaught of case filings and demand letters threatening lawsuits from private
Continue Reading Businesses Nationwide Hit By Wave of Lawsuits Alleging Inaccessible Websites
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a plaintiff must show intentional, willful, affirmative discriminatory action by a public accommodation to prevail on a claim for violation of California’s Unruh Act (one of the state’s ADA Title III-corollary statutes). There are actually two avenues through which a plaintiff can establish an Unruh Act violation:
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit: Unruh Act Claims (Not Based on the ADA) Require Affirmative, Intentional, Wilful, Discriminatory Action
By Jon D. Meer, Myra B. Villamor, and Andrew C. Crane
Many businesses choose to settle frivolous “accessibility discrimination” lawsuits that serial plaintiffs bring under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and similar state laws, such as the California Disabled Persons Act (“CDPA”) and Unruh Act. The temptation to settle is great because plaintiffs typically make settlement demands
Continue Reading Retailer Fights Back Against Serial ADA Plaintiff and Wins Trial Verdict
Yesterday Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 1186, which will reform California’s disability access laws by, among other things, reducing statutory damages to $1,000 or $2,000 provided certain conditions are met. See our prior discussion of the legislation here.
Continue Reading Disability Access Reform in California, Finally
UPDATE: The bill passed both houses of the Legislature and was sent to the Governor’s desk on September 1, 2012.
California businesses have for years prayed for relief from drive-by disability access lawsuits. SB 1608 of 2008 was widely-hoped to be that savior, but has proven to have relatively little effect. All other attempts at
Continue Reading Will the CA Legislature Pass Disability Access Reform Legislation?
By Minh N. Vu
On June 22, we reported on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’ ruling that Netflix’s video streaming website is a “place of public accommodation” covered under Title III of the ADA, even though the website has no nexus to a physical place. This ruling was not surprising given First Circuit precedent that dictated
Continue Reading California Federal Court Holds That the ADA Does Not Cover Netflix's Video Streaming Website
So held U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England, in the Eastern District of California, last week in a suit filed by Robert Segalman, who is blind and requires use of a wheelchair. Segalman alleged that Southwest Airlines’ improper stowage and transport of his power wheelchair caused him injury, in violation of the Air Carrier Access Act
Continue Reading Court Rules California Disability Discrimination Claims Not Necessarily Preempted By Air Carrier Access Act, But Allows Amendment to Sub in ADA for ACAA Claims
By Jon Meer & Myra Villamor
It is a common practice among a growing group of serial plaintiffs to slap businesses with frivolous “accessibility discrimination” lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar state laws such as the California Disabled Persons and Unruh Acts. In these cases, a person with a disability claims that he was “discriminated against
