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Websites Are Not A Public Accommodation Under the ADA, Says California Court of Appeals

August 2, 2022

By Minh N. Vu 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. In a precedent setting, 35-page opinion, the California Court of Appeals yesterday closed the door on California lawsuits brought against online only businesses, agreeing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that websites are not “public accommodations” covered by Title III…

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Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice Issue Joint Guidance On Accessible Telehealth Services

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

August 2, 2022

By Kristina Launey and Julia Sarnoff Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Justice recently issued Guidance for telehealth accessibility with specific examples. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many health care providers and patients turned to telehealth as a way to provide and receive health care services while in lockdown. Telehealth allows providers to see patients via videoconference (or telephone) and exchange written materials electronically. While telehealth has many advantages, it…

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2022 ADA Title III Mid-Year Federal Lawsuit Filings Drop 22% Compared to 2021

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

July 12, 2022

By Minh Vu, Kristina Launey, and Susan Ryan The year 2021 was a blockbuster for ADA Title III lawsuits filed in federal court, with over 11,452 filings. At the end of June 2021, the lawsuit count was 6,304. This year, the number of lawsuits filed by the end of June 2022 has dropped to 4,914 – a stunning 22 percent reduction. Mid-year numbers in prior years were as follows: [Mid-Year ADA Title III…

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Standards for Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment, EV Charging Stations, and Self-Service Equipment Are Forthcoming

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

June 30, 2022

By Minh N. Vu Seyfarth synopsis: The Spring 2022 Unified Regulatory Agenda is out with rulemakings on medical equipment, EV charging stations and fixed self-service transaction machines on the list of items to be addressed. We predicted that there would be more regulatory activity in the ADA Title III universe under the Biden Administration and the Spring 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the “Agenda”) confirms our forecast. However, the Agenda does not…

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Second Circuit Blasts Mass-Produced, “Mad-Libs-Style” ADA Title III Complaints and Affirms Dismissal of Four Braille Gift Card Lawsuits

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

June 4, 2022

By John W. Egan and Minh N. Vu Second Circuit issues scathing decision directed at “mad lib”-style serial ADA Title III complaints, and affirms-on the basis of standing-the dismissal of four lawsuits alleging that retailers violated the ADA by not providing gift cards containing Braille. As we previously reported, from the end of 2019 through the first few months of 2020, a group of serial ADA plaintiffs barraged New York federal courts with over…

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Bringing Website Accessibility Lawsuits in New York Just Got a Little Harder for Repeat Plaintiffs

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

March 31, 2022

By Minh N. Vu 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. New York federal courts have been inundated with website accessibility lawsuits in recent years and continued to lead the country with 2,074 cases filed in 2021. By comparison, California came in at a distant second…

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Federal Website Accessibility Lawsuits Increased in 2021 Despite Mid-Year Pandemic Lull

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

March 21, 2022

By Kristina M. Launey & Minh N. Vu 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. The numbers are in for total website accessibility lawsuit filings in federal courts in 2021, and they show a whopping 14% increase from 2020. The total number of lawsuits filed in federal courts alleging that…

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ADA Title III Federal Lawsuit Filings Hit An All Time High

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

February 17, 2022

By Minh Vu, Kristina Launey and Susan Ryan Seyfarth Synopsis: Plaintiffs continue filing ADA Title III lawsuits in record numbers with no sign of stopping. As regular readers of this blog know, the number of ADA Title III lawsuits filed in federal court in 2020 dipped slightly under 11,000, but the plaintiffs’ bar came roaring back in 2021. There were at least 11,452 federal filings last year – an all-time record since we started…

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DOJ Updates Its COVID-19 and ADA FAQs with Information About “Streateries” and Medical Facilities’ Visitor Policies

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

February 8, 2022

By Eden Anderson Seyfarth Synopsis: The DOJ issued guidance on two COVID-era access issues, confirming outdoor business operations must comply with the ADA and prohibiting medical providers from adopting blanket bans on companion accompaniment. The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently updated its Common Questions About COVID and the ADA (“Common Questions”) to include information on issues of interest to businesses with outdoor operations, including so called “streateries,” and to medical providers. For restaurants and retailers…

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Crystal Ball 2022: More Aggressive DOJ Enforcement, More Lawsuits, and Maybe a New Rulemaking.

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

January 4, 2022

By Minh N. Vu Seyfarth synopsis: We predict 2022 will look a lot like 2021 with roughly the same number of lawsuits and DOJ pushing the boundaries of the ADA. Like 2020, 2021 was a tough year for businesses. Still dealing with the constantly-changing COVID-19 landscape, businesses were also bombarded with what may be another record number of ADA Title III federal lawsuits as well as rejuvenated U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) enforcement activities. Here…