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
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
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: 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: 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: 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
Seyfarth Synopsis: UC Berkeley and the DOJ resolve an 8-year investigation with a comprehensive Consent Decree that requires UC Berkeley to make virtually all the content on its online platforms accessible to people with...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Court of Appeals puts an end to lawsuits against online only businesses in California and calls out DOJ and Congress for inaction....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: One of the most famous accessibility lawsuits of all time finally settles before trial under terms that may never be known....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A California federal court decided after a trial that a blind plaintiff did not have standing to bring a lawsuit about an inaccessible website under Title III of the ADA, and California’s Unruh Act only...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent Second Circuit decision holds that a plaintiff’s encounter with an alleged legal violation on a website, without more, does not give that plaintiff standing to sue under Title III of the ADA....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: ADA Title III website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal courts in 2021 jumped 14% over 2020, besting the 12% 2020 increase aided by a huge November 2021 spike in filings....more
Seyfarth synopsis: The DOJ issued a new guidance on website accessibility that contains basic information about the ADA’s requirements for lay people but no new information for legal practitioners....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Eleventh Circuit has refused to reconsider its decision to vacate its prior order and the trial court’s judgment because of mootness; while disability rights advocates demand regulatory action from DOJ...more