Seyfarth synopsis: California Court of Appeal affirms ruling that inaccessible restaurant website violated the Unruh Act and orders that restaurant website comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA....more
9/11/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Due Process ,
Popular ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Standing ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: Congress Members recently renewed their efforts to take legislative action and urge the DOJ take regulatory action regarding physical and website accessibility, respectively....more
9/4/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Equal Access ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
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...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A SDNY judge dismissed a website accessibility lawsuit finding that the company mooted the allegations in the complaint by remediating the accessibility barriers and that the Court lacked personal...more
6/12/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Kroger ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
As we had predicted, the number of website accessibility lawsuits (i.e. lawsuits alleging that plaintiffs with a disability could not use websites because they were not coded to work with assistive technologies like screen...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Ninth Circuit overturns district court’s dismissal of website accessibility lawsuit on due process and primary jurisdiction grounds, remands case to proceed with discovery....more
1/17/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Mobile Apps ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
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
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: With the recent proliferation of web accessibility demand letters and lawsuits, businesses often ask whether settling a claim with one plaintiff will bar future lawsuits brought by different plaintiffs. One...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New website and mobile app accessibility settlement agreement requires WCAG 2.0 AA conformance, training, and feedback mechanism.
Being named one of the most innovative companies of 2016 doesn’t make...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: 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...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: DOJ announced today an extension to October 7, 2016 for the public to submit comments on the SANPRM for state and local government websites.
In May of this year the Department of Justice surprised us...more