The California Court of Appeals has held that websites operated by online only businesses are not “places of public accommodation” subject to Title III of the ADA, agreeing with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and...more
8/9/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disparate Impact ,
E-Commerce ,
Internet Retailers ,
Public Accommodation ,
Retailers ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Website Accessibility
Businesses continue to feel the pain from the deluge of website accessibility complaints filed by vision-impaired individuals and organizations representing the vision-impaired. Much of the problem is due to the lack clear...more
Businesses with an online presence should take note that the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held - in a split decision - that websites are not places of public accommodation under Title III of the...more
In addition to concerns surrounding the accessibility of a business’ website, retailers now have a new concern – the accessibility of their gift cards. Plaintiffs have recently filed a number of lawsuits alleging that the...more
Businesses should expect that lawsuits and demand letters alleging that their websites violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) will continue to increase in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s October 7,...more
10/9/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
Dominos ,
Due Process ,
Mobile Apps ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine ,
Public Accommodation ,
Reversal ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
In the first decision by a California appellate court addressing the application of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) to websites, the court in Thurston v. Midvale Corp. (Sept. 3, 2019) 2019 WL 4166620,...more
9/10/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Brick-and-Mortar Stores ,
E-Commerce ,
Popular ,
Public Accommodation ,
Split of Authority ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
Members of Congress are once again asking the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to take action addressing website accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) in light of the increasing number of lawsuits...more
Domino’s Pizza LLC has submitted a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review and reverse a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed a website accessibility case to proceed against Domino’s. The...more
6/18/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Due Process ,
Jurisdiction ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Public Accommodation ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Reversal ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
As businesses continue to face lawsuits and demand letters alleging that their websites are inaccessible to blind and deaf patrons in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), courts across the country...more
1/17/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Due Process ,
Primary Jurisdiction Doctrine ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
A California court has dismissed a website accessibility case shortly after commencing trial, issuing a sua sponte nonsuit on grounds that the defendant credit union’s website is not subject to the ADA.
Martinez v. San Diego...more
12/31/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Credit Unions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissals ,
eBay ,
eBay Test ,
Public Accommodation ,
Sua Sponte ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility
2017 was a busy year for retailers and businesses with an online presence, as they faced a wave of demand letters and lawsuits alleging that their websites are inaccessible to the visually impaired and/or hearing impaired in...more
1/8/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Blue Apron ,
Corporate Counsel ,
CVS ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dominos ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Internet Retailers ,
NPRM ,
Retailers ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Winn-Dixie Stores
Numerous community banks that had received demand letters from the advocacy group Access Now alleging that their websites and mobile apps are inaccessible in violation of Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act (the...more
1/2/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Community Banks ,
Demand Letter ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Mobile Apps ,
Settlement ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
Courts across the country continue to weigh in on the issue of website accessibility. Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire denied a Motion to Dismiss filed by online food delivery...more
Courts across the country continue to weigh in on the issue of website accessibility. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire denied a motion to dismiss filed by online food delivery servicer Blue...more
11/21/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Split of Authority ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
On 18 July 2017, the UK's Advertising Standards Authority ("ASA") published a new report which calls for an end to gender stereotyping in advertising. The report comes at the end of an investigation into this issue, during...more
8/1/2017
/ Advertising ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Counterfeiting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
EU ,
EU Single Market ,
Logos ,
Retailers ,
Title III ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK ,
Wage and Hour ,
Website Accessibility ,
Work Schedules
Retailers and other businesses that have been waiting for the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) to promulgate regulations concerning website accessibility under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) will...more
Another website accessibility decision against a retailer, this time involving Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. in the Central District of California, highlights the uncertainty of the law and of litigating such cases while courts...more
Retailers with both physical locations and a website should take note that a United States District Court has held that Winn-Dixie violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) because its website was...more
Businesses with an online presence should take note that a United States District Court has held that Winn-Dixie violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) because its website was inaccessible to the...more
As retailers see an increasing number of customers seeking to bring animals into their stores, they should ensure that they have well-defined policies and train their employees concerning compliance with the ADA’s provisions...more
Online businesses, including financial institutions, banks, and retailers, have faced a wave of demand letters and lawsuits alleging that their websites are inaccessible to the visually impaired and/or hearing impaired in...more
In order to help retailers improve access to all customers and reduce potential liability, this is the first in a three-part series offering tips for compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). This week we...more