Two recent New York district court decisions underscore how serial website accessibility plaintiffs are encountering greater challenges to demonstrate their standing to pursue ADA claims in federal court....more
5/5/2025
/ Amended Complaints ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discovery ,
Dismissals ,
Jurisdiction ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
New York ,
Serial Lawsuit Filers ,
Standing ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
The FTC issued a Decision and Order prohibiting accessibility plug-in/Widget vendor AccessiBe from making misleading claims and to pay $1 million....more
5/2/2025
/ Advertising ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Consent Order ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Misleading Statements ,
Penalties ,
Software ,
Title III ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Plaintiffs filed 2,452 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2024 – a 13% decrease from 2023....more
4/23/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Legal Technology ,
Litigation Strategies ,
New York ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Settlement ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
The DOJ’s new step-by-step guidance for state and local governments on how to comply with new regulations that mandate accessible web content is also useful for public accommodations looking to make their websites and mobile...more
2024 saw some interesting developments and an uptick in lawsuit filings from 2023; expect less ADA Title III enforcement and rulemaking activity from DOJ in 2025....more
1/13/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent decision holding that web-only businesses cannot be sued over the accessibility of their website under the ADA is the first of its kind in the Southern District of New York and may cause...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs filed 2,794 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2023 – a 14% decrease from 2022....more
6/14/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOJ issued final regulations under Title II of the ADA requiring state and local government websites and mobile apps to conform to WCAG 2.1 AA in two or three years, with few exceptions....more
4/10/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Final Rules ,
Mobile Apps ,
State and Local Government ,
Title II ,
Title III ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: SDNY Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismisses with prejudice a website accessibility lawsuit with vague allegations about plaintiffs’ standing....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The W3C recently adopted Version 2.2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) which adds nine new success criteria for digital accessibility....more
12/13/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Standards ,
State and Local Government ,
Title III ,
W3C ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: SCOTUS’s refusal to clarify standing requirements for “tester” plaintiffs in ADA Title III lawsuits means it’s business as usual for the plaintiffs’ bar....more
12/7/2023
/ Acheson Hotels LLC v Laufer ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Oral Argument ,
Public Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
Seyfarth Synopsis: SCOTUS asked revealing questions in Wednesday's Acheson v. Laufer oral argument, but left attendees wondering whether the Court will provide much-needed guidance on the so-called “tester standing” issue...more
10/6/2023
/ Acheson Hotels LLC v Laufer ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Oral Argument ,
Public Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
Synopsis: SCOTUS denies serial plaintiff’s attempt to dismiss her case and avoid the court’s consideration of a critical legal issue in ADA Title III lawsuits – tester standing....more
8/14/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Oral Argument ,
Public Access Laws ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability
Seyfarth Synopsis: Department of Justice (DOJ) issues proposed website accessibility regulations applicable to state and local governments under Title II of the ADA....more
8/7/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Information Technology ,
NPRM ,
Public Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Title II ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
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...more
6/22/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
California ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disabled Persons Act ,
Mobile Apps ,
Title III ,
Unruh Civil Rights Act ,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) ,
Website Accessibility
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....more
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 yesterday....more
6/6/2023
/ Acheson Hotels LLC v Laufer ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Certiorari ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Hotels ,
Public Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
Seyfarth synopsis: A New York federal judge invokes the All Writs Act to dismiss a later-filed website accessibility lawsuit against the same defendant to protect the integrity of an existing consent decree that already...more
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...more
3/28/2023
/ Acheson Hotels LLC v Laufer ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Certiorari ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Failure to Accommodate ,
Public Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Statutory Violations ,
Title III ,
Website Accessibility ,
Websites
Seyfarth synopsis: Leading the country with 3,173 federal ADA Title III lawsuits in 2022, plaintiff-friendly court decisions will likely keep New York in the top spot....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After ten years, the Department of Justice (DOJ) finally issued a report on the accessibility of federal government websites which exposes widespread accessibility barriers....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The number of ADA Title III lawsuits filed in federal court dropped by 24 percent, the lowest since 2017, and California is no longer the center of the ADA Title III universe....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs filed 3,225 website accessibility lawsuits in federal court in 2022 – a 12% increase over 2021....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: We predict another busy year on all fronts as DOJ continues to push its regulatory and enforcement agenda....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: We predict another busy year on all fronts as DOJ continues to push its regulatory and enforcement agenda....more