Seyfarth Synopsis: A new Ohio law will require notice and opportunity to cure as a prerequisite for a plaintiff’s recovery of attorney’s fees in physical accessibility lawsuits. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Transportation says that an airline’s provision of an accessible alternative website violates the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), so are such websites an acceptable means of providing...more
12/31/2018
/ Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) ,
Airlines ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Aviation Industry ,
Consent Order ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Public Accommodation ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: Due process, DOJ’s failure to enact regulations, and whether the ADA covers websites arguments dominated the recent Domino’s Ninth Circuit oral argument....more
10/22/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Due Process ,
Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
On October 12, in sunny Pasadena, California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the Robles v. Dominos case. ...more
10/15/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Due Process ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: Not long after a similar Congressional appeal, Senators sent a letter to Attorney General Sessions urging action to stem the tide of website accessibility lawsuits plaguing businesses....more
9/17/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: If ADA Title III federal lawsuit numbers continue to be filed at the current pace, 2018’s total will exceed 2017 by 30%, fueled largely by website accessibility lawsuit continued growth....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The World Wide Web Consortium just published an expanded version of the WCAG to add 17 more requirements to address new technologies and other digital barriers for individuals with disabilities....more
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,...more
6/4/2018
/ Accessibility Rules ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Summary Judgment ,
Technology ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
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...more
4/13/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Popular ,
Public Accommodation ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: The number of federal ADA Title III lawsuits continue to surge in 2017, fueled largely by website accessibility claims; while legislative reform efforts continue to mitigate the physical accessibility...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: California will soon have a new law requiring WCAG 2.0 AA compliance for state agencies’ websites by 2019.
On October 14, 2017 California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 434, which will create a...more
12/4/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
New Legislation ,
Posting Requirements ,
Public Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: The number of federal lawsuits alleging inaccessible websites continues to increase, along with the number of law firms filing them. Businesses remain well-advised to seek advice from counsel experienced...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Two New York federal judges recently said that the ADA covers websites (even those not connected to a physical place) and one held that working on improving the accessibility of one’s website does not make...more
8/8/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Grocery Stores ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Public Accommodation ,
Rewards Programs ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites ,
Winn-Dixie Stores
Seyfarth Synopsis: In amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Justice Department agreed with the Fifth Circuit and defendant Coca-Cola that a vending machine is not a place of public accommodation and that public...more
7/27/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coca Cola ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Public Use ,
Title III ,
Vending Machines
The increase of ADA Title III lawsuits in federal court shows no signs of stopping. From January 1 through April 30, 2017, 2629 lawsuits were filed — 412 more than during the same period in 2016....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The number of federal ADA Title III lawsuits continue to surge, fueled by new plaintiffs, new plaintiffs’ lawyers, and website accessibility claims.
Our 2016 lawsuit count is complete, and the results...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Here’s our take on Sunday’s 60 Minutes episode on “drive-by” abusive ADA Title III lawsuits and the legislative efforts to address them.
60 Minutes aired a segment about ADA Title III “drive-by”...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: If you would rather not read the 30-page small print Federal Register notice, this summary will provide you with what you need to know about the Justice Department’s most recent official pronouncement on...more
5/23/2016
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Mobile Apps ,
Public Accommodation ,
Social Media ,
Title II ,
Title III ,
Undue Burden ,
Website Accessibility
Our research department has crunched the numbers from the federal court docket and the verdict is that the ADA Title III plaintiff’s bar and their clients are still busy filing lawsuits. Here are the findings...more
We’ve done the review and crunched the numbers: It appears that the surge of ADA Title III lawsuits we saw from 2013 to 2014 is holding strong, though possibly leveling off.
You may recall that there was a 60% increase...more