ADA LAWYERS. ADA DEFENSE.

ADA Website Lawsuits

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In recent years many ADA lawsuits have been filed against businesses that conduct commerce online where their website is not accessible to the visually impaired. Blind and visually impaired internet users who are disabled under the ADA have a number of options for “reading” their computer screens and using online commerce features. The most widely accepted website technical standards for compatibility with screen reading software is Version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, commonly known as WCAG 2.0. When implemented on a website, these guidelines make the website usable by individuals with visual impairments, and the guidelines have been adopted on the websites of many (if not most) major online retailers.

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ADA Architectural Barrier Requirements

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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that “places of public accommodation” make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, including compliance with very specific architectural requirements. The most common accommodations include installation of disabled parking spaces, restaurant seating, accessible bathrooms, ramps, and other such features needed to integrate the disabled.

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The law also applies equally to landlords and tenants, making each jointly liable for ADA violations that are present on the property. Tenants may be sued even though alleged violations are on property controlled by the landlord (for example, a parking lot), and landlords may be sued for alleged violations in a tenant space (for example, inaccessible restaurant seating). As a result, the business owner, and its landlord (the property owner) are almost always sued together in these cases.

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Online Reservation System Cases

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Hotels must ensure that individuals with disabilities can make reservations for accessible guest rooms during the same hours and in the same manner as people who do not need accessible rooms. These regulations require that any means by which hotels take reservations must “[i]dentify and describe accessible features in the hotels and guest rooms [. . .] in enough detail to reasonably permit individuals with disabilities to assess independently whether a given hotel or guest room meets his or her accessibility needs.”

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Who can file an ADA lawsuit?

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Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits are governed by the same general rules as other federal civil rights cases. The ability to bring a case is called "standing" to sue. There is a very complicated body of case law on this issue, but in a nutshell, to bring an ADA claim, a plaintiff must be disabled as that terms is defined by the ADA, they must have encountered a barrier to access applicable to their disability, and the issue must be fixable by curt order. So if a person is not disabled, they cannot bring an ADA case. If a disabled person does not encounter a barrier, they have no ADA case. Finally, if a disabled person encounters a barrier but there is nothing for the court to do about it (for example, the issue was fixed before an ADA lawsuit was filed), then there is also no ADA case.

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Are all ADA defense lawyers the same?

In a word: No. As ADA lawsuits have become more common, there has been an entry into the ADA space by ADA defense lawyers who do not have necessarily have as much experience as those, like our firm, who have been practicing in this area for more than a decade and a half. Why does experience matter? Simply put, while most ADA cases settle, some just do not. If a case is just not resolvable, an ADA defense lawyer with less experience might be at a loss, whereas firms that have won ADA cases will know exactly how to move forward. We have won summary judgment, and even at trial, for clients in ADA cases - and no doubt, an ADA defense lawyer who has a track record of winning cases will be in a better position to settle on strong terms for their clients. So simply put, all ADA defense lawyers are not the same, and anyone sued in an ADA case should always understand a lawyer's depth of experience in this field.

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Does my website have to comply with the ADA?

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This is a complicated question. But as a practical matter, if you do not want to be sued, then yes, your website should comply with the ADA, because otherwise you might get dragged into court in a state or jurisdiction far away, where the judge believes that the ADA applies to websites. True, nothing in the ADA (as of this writing) directly speaks to compliance on websites, and also true that judges around the country have many different views regarding the ADA and websites. It may also be true that your website is only informational (not transactional), and that you live in a state with almost no ADA litigation. All of that can be true, but none of it will be helpful if you are sued for ADA violations far from home, in a judicial district where application of the ADA to websites is the norm. So to answer this question - maybe the ADA applies to your website and maybe it does not, but comply anyways, create access anyways, and avoid lawsuits anyways.

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ADDITIONAL ADA FAQs CAN BE READ HERE

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ADA LAW & LAWSUITS GUIDEBOOK by Nolan Klein, Esq., is available for FREE download HERE

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Additional ADA Source Materials:

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Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990​

1991 Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines​

2010 Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines

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We Offer Reliable ADA Defense Services – Contact Us Today!

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Our experienced ADA attorneys have extensive knowledge and experience handling ADA compliance and lawsuit defense issues, and we can help to ensure that your business handles ADA issues and litigation properly. Contact us for a free consultation. and to learn more about how our firm can assist with your ADA issues.